For its third edition, the CSIC grants the awards to Relevant Doctoral PhD Thesis. The award recognizes doctoral theses carried out and defended by CSIC research staff.
This year, the Relevant Doctoral Thesis Awards recognize theses defended in 2023 and 2024 that stand out for their quality, impact, and scientific relevance. Each of the 20 awarded theses receives a prize of €1,000. These awards honor the work of early-career researchers, who are the true driving force behind scientific progress.
This year we have two ICMAB winners: Pol Sallés and Asier Zabalo. Sallés defended his PhD thesis on "Unfolding the challenges to prepare epitaxial complex oxide membranes by chemical methods" on 25 April 2023, supervised by ICMAB researcher Mariona Coll .
For his part, Zabalo defended his PhD thesis on "First-principles theory of spatial dispersion" on 8 Nov 2024, supervised by ICMAB and ICREA researcher, Massimiliano Stengel.
Currently, Pol Sallés has returned to ICMAB for a postdoc with Mariona Coll and is Adjunct Lecturer at UPC (Barcelona), after carrying out a postdoc in ESRF Grenoble; and Asier Zabalo is currently doing a postdoc at the University of Liège.
Congratulations, Pol and Asier!
Abstract of Pol Sallés' PhD Thesis
The development of fabrication approaches to prepare freestanding epitaxial complex oxides has opened a myriad of new opportunities to freely manipulate the oxides rising huge interest to be integrated in versatile next-generation electronic devices and envisaging distinct and novel properties to deliver performance improvement. This thesis explores the frontiers of cost-efficient chemical deposition methodologies to broaden the freestanding epitaxial oxide library prepared from Sr3Al2O6-based sacrificial layer. Cation engineering in Sr3Al2O6 has been thoroughly investigated to provide a robust approach to successfully prepare a variety of freestanding oxides including CoFe2O4, La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 and BiFeO3 to ultimately deliver an all-oxide functional device.
Pol Sallés, with his PhD supervisor, Mariona Coll, at the ICMAB garden, this week | ICMAB
Abstract of Asier Zabalo's PhD Thesis
This thesis focuses on advancing the fundamental understanding of a broad class of spatial dispersion properties within the field of condensed matter physics, by developing and applying novel, accurate, and efficient first-principles methods. We target three representative examples, respectively in optics (natural optical activity), lattice dynamics (Lorentz forces and molecular g factors), and electromechanics (flexoelectricity in polar metals). First-principles electronic structures calculations are performed within the framework of density-functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT), with plane waves and pseudopotentials. Spatial dispersion properties are studied under the framework of the recently implemented long-wave DFPT, on top of which we further develop our new theoretical and computational implementations.
Asier Zabalo at the ICMAB garden, when he defended his PhD at ICMAB | ICMAB
The awards ceremony at CSIC
The CSIC held the awards ceremony on Wednesday 8 October 2025 for the 3rd edition of the Relevant Doctoral Thesis Awards, the 3rd edition of the Margarita Salas Medal for Outstanding Career in Research Supervision, and the 2nd edition of the María Moliner Awards for Early-Career Doctoral Supervision.
With these awards, the CSIC reaffirms its commitment to research excellence, learning, and the training of new generations, establishing itself as an institution that not only generates knowledge but also promotes lifelong learning.
The event also featured a panel of experts and an outreach lecture on “Challenges in Conducting and Supervising Doctoral Theses” by Aitor Villafranca Velasco, National Research Award 2024 and Director of the Institute of Optics, CSIC (who will give our next BBT talk on 13 Nov 2025) and brought together award recipients, their families, thesis supervisors, institute directors and managers, as well as representatives of the CSIC scientific community.
Photograph of the awards ceremony | CSIC
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El CSIC entrega los premios Tesis Relevante, Medalla Margarita Salas y Premios María Moliner
ICMAB - Congratulations Dr. Pol Sallés, new ICMAB PhD Graduate!
ICMAB - Congratulations to Dr. Asier Zabalo, new ICMAB graduate!
