From ICMAB-CSIC we want to send huge congratulations to three of our researchers for achieving the feat of becoming Research Professors. In the latest call by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), new positions were opened for Research Professors in Public Research Centers, specifically in the field of Materials Science and Technology. We are proud to announce that three of these positions have been awarded to ICMAB researchers.
Read more about their achievements here.
Agustín Mihi
"Becoming a research professor is a great recognition of the work done over the years. I am deeply grateful to my group and the ICMAB community, as this achievement was only possible through collaboration".
Agustín Mihi earned his PhD in Physics in 2008 from the Institute of Materials Science of Seville (ICMS, CSIC), Spain. Next, he was awarded the prestigious Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. In 2011, he joined the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) through a Marie Curie COFUND fellowship. Since 2016, Dr. Mihi has been working at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), where he came with an ERC Starting Grant, focusing on the development of large-area nanophotonic architectures to enhance the performance of optoelectronic devices.
Agustín's work revolves around nanostructures that uniquely interact with light to optimize light-matter interactions. His group specializes in soft nanoimprinting lithography, a scalable nanofabrication technique that employs elastomeric pre-patterned stamps to create nanostructures across various materials, including colloids, biopolymers, and semiconductors. This approach enables the fabrication of patterned structures over large areas, yielding remarkable photonic properties such as lasing, circular dichroism, and enhanced light absorption or emission. Agustín currently leads the European EIC pathfinder RADIANT, and is part of other two more EIC pathfinders (ICONO and DYNAMO).
Agustín Mihi is the group leader of the Nanophotonics Team, part of the NANOPTO Research Group
Gerard Tobías-Rossell
"Becoming a Research Professor is recognition of all the work performed to date. While it is a personal achievement, it has only been possible thanks to the outstanding researchers—both past and present—who have contributed to the success of the research line".
After completing his degree in Chemistry with honours (UAB, 2000), Gerard Tobías-Rossell embarked on a PhD under the supervision of Amparo Fuertes and Enric Canadell at ICMAB-CSIC, with research stays at Ames Laboratory (USA) and the University of Antwerp (Belgium). He then moved to the University of Oxford (2004-2009) as a postdoctoral researcher, where he specialized in carbon nanomaterials. Since 2009, he has led research at ICMAB at the Nanoengineering of Carbon and Inorganic Materials (NanoCIM) Group, within the Solid State Chemistry Reserach Unit. He has also participated in several national and international projects, including funding from an ERC Consolidator Grant.
His research focuses on the design and synthesis of carbon and inorganic functional nanomaterials, with a special emphasis on exploiting their synergies to achieve novel or enhanced properties. While his primary research currently centers on cancer imaging and therapy, he is also actively involved in the template-assisted growth of various inorganic materials, leading, for example, to tubular one-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures.
Florencio Sánchez
Florencio Sánchez holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Barcelona. He joined ICMAB in 2003 and focuses his interest on the development of functional complex oxides, controlling the structural and functional properties in epitaxial thin films, and integrating them into functional heterostructures. He is an expert in epitaxial growth, including epitaxial integration on Silicon. His main interest in the last 15 years is focused on ferroelectric oxides, with relevant contributions in the development of BaTiO3 and, in the last six years, in the ferroelectric phase of HfO2.
His group, Ferroelectric oxides for energy and memory devices (FOXEM), is a world leader in the epitaxial stabilization of ferroelectric hafnia. FOXEM has made pioneering contributions to the understanding of epitaxial growth and the structural and ferroelectric properties of this oxide. Florencio Sánchez is co-author of around 270 articles that have been cited around 10,000 times.
Pioneering research, shaping the future of materials science
These prestigious appointments are a testament to the dedication, hard work, and collaborative spirit that define the researchers at ICMAB-CSIC. Agustín Mihi, Gerard Tobías, and Florencio Sánchez have all made significant contributions to the fields of nanophotonics, carbon nanomaterials, and complex oxides, and their work continues to inspire the next generation of scientists.
At ICMAB, we are incredibly proud of their accomplishments and look forward to the continued impact of their research on both the scientific community and society as a whole. Congratulations once again to Agustín, Gerard, and Florencio on this well-deserved recognition!
