Human resources of the unit encompass 15 permanent staff personnel (13 researchers and 2 engineers), one visitor researcher up to July 2017 and, at present, 14 PhD Students and contracted postdocs working in different themes and projects.
The NFM integrates a committed group of researchers belonging to the CSIC and the University of Seville which develop a competitive research activity with high impact in the field of surface technology. Research is supported by warrant researchers (“garantes”) and a scientific director with a long research trajectory and complementary scientific profiles that work together in order to achieve the maximum impact of common research projects.
The cooperative work within the unit becomes reinforced thanks to the complementary expertise of their staff members. The following chart lists this personnel and gives account of their main expertise and their role within the unit.
Agustín R. González-Elipe. Research Professor of CSIC.
José Cotrino. Full Professor Uni. Sevilla.
Asunción Fernandez. Research Professor CSIC.
Juan P. Espinós. Research Professor CSIC.
Francisco Yubero. Researcher CSIC.
Angel Barranco. Researcher CSIC.
Juan C. Sánchez-López. Researcher CSIC.
Ana Borrás. Tenured scientist CSIC.
Alberto Palmero. Tenured scientist CSIC.
Rafael Alvarez. Associate Professor University Seville.
Ana Gómez-Ramírez. Associate Professor University Seville.
Victor Rico. High level engineer CSIC.
Maria Carmen Jiménez de Haro. High level engineer CSIC.
The scientific profiles of the staff personnel define a series of complementary expertise and different degree of maturity in different aspect of surface technology and nanostructured functional materials. A brief outline of these profiles is presented next.
SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR
PROF. AGUSTÍN R. GONZÁLEZ-ELIPE, scientific director of the NFM unit, is research professor of CSIC. He was director of the ICMSE (1998-2001) and Area coordinator of the Materials Science and Technology area of CSIC (2001-2004). He has participated as member of different boards and committees (e.g., MATSEEC committee of the ESF,2009-2013, the scientific advisory committee of CSIC ,2012 -…, synchrotron committees, several evaluation committees). He is also member of the advisory board of several journals and was associated editor of Appl. Surf. Sci during 2013-2015. He has been visiting fellow in different Universities and research centers outside Spain. He is recipient of the “Sociedad Española de Materiales” award in recognition of the best scientific career in the field.
He initiated his carrier working in catalysis to shift then to the development of surface science works and, since the last 15-20 years, to activities related with different aspects of surface and thin films processing technologies in relation with the nanostructuration of surfaces and the development of functional applications. He has published more than 420 papers which have received more than 9600 citations and a h index of 47. At present he coordinates the national network FUNCOAT+ that integrates the research of 17 Spanish laboratories working in the surface functionalization of materials. Regarding the NFM unit, he coordinates the different activities carried out by its members, orienting the activities and defining a common strategy for all of them.
RESPONSIBLES OF RESEARCH LINES.
PROF. JOSÉ COTRINO BAUTISTA, professor at the University of Seville, began his scientific activity working on theoretical models of plasma physics, later changing to the applications of plasmas at various technologies, including the science of materials, gas conversion and the design of plasma reactors, both at reduced pressure and at atmospheric pressure. He was professor of Applied Physics at the Cordoba University and currently of Theoretical Physics at the Seville University. He has published more than 100 papers and has a h-index of 25. He is currently coordinator of a regional project on the industrial use of dielectric barrier discharges at atmospheric pressure and a project with TDK to characterize their industrial plasma reactors used for the manufacturing of capacitors.
PROF. ASUNCIÓN FERNÁNDEZ (born 1958) is a research professor of CSIC at the ICMS. She is the responsible investigator of the RL2 for advanced characterization and a member of the steering committee of the MdM unit. She has been the Director of the ICMS (2001-2009) and member of the Committee for Materials Science and Technology area of CSIC (2012-2014). She has leaded the research group “Nanostructured Materials and Microstructure – NanoMatMicro” since 1991 and is the head scientist of the Electron Microscopy Laboratories of ICMS and the CicCartuja center since 1996. In 2012 she stablished at the ICMS the Laboratory for Nanoscopies and Spectroscopies LANE, supported by the regional REGPOT program of the European Commission. She has been visiting fellow in different Universities and research centers outside Spain, recently from October 2013 to March 2014 has been“Academic Guest” at the EMPA laboratories (Swittzerland). She has participated as member of different boards and committees like president of the Mathematics and Physics advisory committee for the CNEAI (Spanish National Commission for Evaluation of Research Activity) (2004-2005).
Her research activities have been mainly focused on the physical-chemical study of nanomaterials, aiming to control the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanostructured thin films; as well as, to apply microstructural characterization techniques for the study of materials in the nano-scale. Currently she is investigating novel methodologies for fabrication of porous thin films by plasma assisted deposition techniques, and the development of catalytic coatings for hydrogen generation/storage and its catalytic combustion. She has published more than 230 papers with a h-index of 43.
PROF. JUAN PEDRO ESPINÓS MANZORRO is research professor of CSIC. He is Doctor in Chemistry by the University of Seville (1984) working in heterogeneous metal catalysts. He is expert in the electrical characterization of gas sensors and since its incorporation in the ICMS in the deposition, characterization and processing of thin films for different functional applications (catalysis, sensor, solar cells, fuel cells, optics, wear resistance,…). He is expert in the surface characterization of materials by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and other photoemission techniques. He has published more than 195 papers in SCI journals and has a h index=35. He has directed the doctoral thesis of 5 students and since 1996, he has been director of the postgraduate course “Physical Methods for the Analysis of thin films and solid surfaces”, annually imparted at ICMS.
WARRANT RESEARCHERS
DR. FRANCISCO YUBERO is senior researcher of CSIC. He is a physicist with experience in fundamental research in electron spectroscopies for surface analysis, and applied research with activity in fuel cells, electrochromics, aesthetic coatings, thin film based sensing optical devices, or dichroic mirrors. He is co-author of 11 patents and about 180 SCI scientific papers, which have received more than 3000 citations (H index 27) so far. At present, he is principal investigator of a competitive national research project AEI/FEDER (MAT2016-79866-R). He has been director of 6 doctoral thesis.
DR. ANGEL BARRANCO is CSIC senior scientist since 2017 at the ICMS. He is Doctor in Chemistry by the University of Seville (2002) working in the development of plasma assisted processes for the control of porosity in silicon oxide nanostructures. He had three post-doctoral stays in the CNRS (France, 2002), EMPA-ETH (Switzerland, 2003-2004) and as Ramon y Cajal fellow in the University of Seville (2005-2006). In 2007 he became Tenured Scientist in the CSIC. He is a specialist in plasma technology applied for the synthesis and processing of nanostructured materials and has an ample experience in the deposition and characterization of multifunctional films and multilayers by dry processes and in the development of photonic devices. He has been principal researcher in 12 projects including the coordination of an EU Strep Project and has participate in more than 35. He has published 116 papers in SCI journals (H index 25) that have received more than 2000 citations and is co-author of 10 patents, three of them transferred to the industry. He has been director of 6 doctoral thesis.
DR. JUAN CARLOS SANCHEZ-LOPEZ is currently CSIC Senior Researcher at the ICMS. He got his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry (1998) on nanostructured materials prepared by gas-phase condensation. As a post-doct he became expert on mechanical and tribological properties of coatings, a research topic that he has continued at the ICMS. At present he is concerned with the development of nanostructured coatings a for protective applications (mechanical, tribological, oxidation resistance, etc.). He is author of more than 110 articles (h index 28) in SCI journals with more than 3000 citations and 3 patents. He has been recipient of the 2004 Young Scientists and the grant Fundación Domingo Martínez awards .
DR. ANA BORRAS holds a tenured position in the Spanish National Scientific Council (CSIC) since 2011. In 2010, she was awarded with a Ramon and Cajal Grant. After completing her PhD in the Uni. Seville (2007) she moved as a postdoc to EMPA-ETH (Switzerland), where she focused on the synthesis and applications of small-molecule nanowires and organic nanocomposite thin films. Currently she leads the research on Multifunctional One Dimensional Nanomaterials, topic in which she has directed several research projects and published more than 65 peer-reviewed publications and numerous scientific presentations, including 10 invited lectures in International Symposia (h index: 21). Her achievements have been recognized with issue covers in high impact (3 in Adv. Mater., 1 in Adv. Funct. Mater., 1 in Adv. Optical Mater., 1 in Adv. Mater. Interf., 2 in Nanoscale, 4 in Plasma Proc. Polym.). She is coauthor of 5 invited articles/reviews (Nanoscale, Prog. Mater. Sci., J. Phys. D, Adv. Struct. Chem. Imaging and ECS Transactions), and has supervised 4 PhD Thesis. She received in 2007 the Extraordinary Doctorate Award in Science from University of Seville, in 2013 the Prize to Young Scientist from the Scientific Academic of Seville and, in 2016, the Excellence in Research Prize from the City Council of Seville. Her article in Prog. Mater. Sci. (Perspectives on OAD thin films: From fundamentals to devices) has been highlighted as top 1% of articles in 2016/2017 (WoS, Materials Science Multidisciplinary).
DR. ALBERTO PALMERO is a tenured scientist at CSIC. He started his research career at the University of Seville (Spain) by modelling and characterizing argon and oxygen plasmas employed to grow thin films by chemical vapor deposition techniques. He continued his activity at the Utrecht University (The Netherlands) focusing on the plasma-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering technique and, particularly, on the transport of ballistic species in the plasma gas. Since 2008 his activity in the NFM unit has aimed at fine tuning atomistic phenomena on surfaces to grow “a la carte” thin films. His approach consists of combining computer simulations and fundamental experiments to achieve accurate control of the film nanostructure, as well as the subsequent development of prototype functional devices. He has published more than 60 scientific articles, including a book and several book chapters, with a h index of 17. He has also made numerous contributions for broad audiences in relation with his research on TV, newspapers and specialized magazines. He has participated in more than 20 research projects.
OTHER STAFF PERSONNEL
DR. ARÁNZAZU DÍAZ-CUENCA is currently Tenured Scientist CSIC. She received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Vasque country university (1995) working on heterogeneous catalysis. As a postdoc researcher in France she worked in the synthesis of new glass materials a research line that continued at the University of Limerick (Ireland) studying advanced ceramics with improved thermal and mechanical properties (research projects funded by the European Commission and NEDO, Japan). She joined the ICMS in 2003 under a “Ramón y Cajal” contract and in 2006 became CSIC staff scientist. She currently works on bioactive surfaces and biomaterials. She is author of more than 50 articles in SCI journals and 3 patents. She has been granted as principal investigator with national and regional projects and supervised 3 PhD Thesis and several Master projects in the biomaterials field.
DR. TERESA CRISTINA ROJAS is Tenured Scientist of CSIC from 2010. From 1997 to 2010, a position that she reached after working as Senior Engineer in High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and EELS spectroscopy at the ICMS. She has published 80 papers, which have received more than 3193 citations and a h index 29 and a i10 index 49. She is co-author of book chapters and 2 patents related to the preparation of metal nobles magnetic nanoparticles and their applications. She has has participated in 33 National and European projects and 5 with private companies. She is expert in the characterization of nanoparticles, thin films, coatings and nanostructured materials by TEM, HREM, HAADF-STEM, EFTEM, EELS, expertise that she has reinforced in different stays in vairous International Institutions. She participates in postgraduate teaching activities related with the characterization of nanostructures by TEM techniques. Since 2014 she is the coordinator of outreach activities in the ICMSE and CIC-Cartuja Centre.
DR. ANA MARÍA GÓMEZ RAMÍREZ obtained her PhD in 2011 at the University of Granada, getting the Doctor Europeus mention and the Extraordinary Award. She was a post-doc researcher at the University of Bayreuth (Germany) funded through Fundación Ramón Areces. She joined the ICMS thanks to a Juan de la Cierva grant. Currently, she works as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Seville. She has 19 research publications (h-index: 8), she is supervisor of one PhD thesis and three under-graduated students. She has participated in 13 research project focused on both fundamental research and technological applications. Her current research deals with atmospheric pressure plasmas and their characterization, focusing on plasma-catalysis processes for the production of new chemical (H2, NH3) and contaminants abatement (CO2, VOCs).
DR. RAFAEL ÁLVAREZ MOLINA is member of ICMS since 2008, and currently also a member of the Department of Applied Physics of the University of Seville. His research line involves the study and control of the processes that provide nanostructural features to thin films during their deposition and growth. He has participated in 13 research projects (regional, national and international), has authored 58 publications (37 of them as first author) and has an h-index of 13. He has registered 3 patents and one software program. He has received 3 awards for his achievements in research and innovation: the 2014 AEC National Prize, the 2014 IDEA2 Biomedical Innovation Program Award, and the 2015 Manuel Losada Villasante Prize in the category of Innovation Research. He normally acts as referee of prestigious international journals such as Applied Physics Letters, European Physical Journal or Applied Surface Science, among others.
CONTRACTED PERSONNEL AND PHD STUDENTS
At present 14 PhD students and contracted doctors form part of the NFM unit and is likely that at least half of them continue working within the unit when the MdM grant may be assigned for funding. Names and status are provided in the annex I and table attached to this applicatioin. It is noteworthy here that two of the post-docs are contracted thanks to Marie Curie grants after a serious international competition and evaluation of the candidate and the hosting laboratory. Most hired post-docs have previously worked for several years in laboratories abroad and have brought to the unit an inestimable expertise in new preparation techniques and in the specific applications that complement the current knowledge of the unit. The PhD students are committed fellows, most of them selected within the FPI program and are contributing to the realization of a considerable experimental work involving the synthesis of thin films, their characterization and the analysis of properties.