The Young Researchers Day 2024 finalizes a good year of progress in predoctoral research at IMB-CNM

The early stage researchers of the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC) gathered for a second Young Researchers Day on April 25 at the center's facilities. The PhD students presented their thesis projects in 4 minutes and the postdoctoral staff showed their posters to the public, culminating in an awards ceremony. The event was sponsored by the A.I.E. D+T Microelectrónica and the IMB-CNM spin-offs Fuelium, Energiot and INBRAIN Neuroelectronics.

The YRD'24 was organized by the representatives of the predoctoral collective, Marc Navarro, Carla Riera Llobet, Javier Cuenca and Leo Salgado; and the postdoctoral, Ferran Pujol-Vila. It was an event open to the whole institute, where the members of the Internal Scientific Committee also participated as jurors of the thesis presentations.

This is an annual event, which started in 2023, to enhance and foster collaboration between people working at IMB-CNM, as well as to promote oral presentations and exchange between research areas and topics.

Awards for the best presentations and winners

The event ended with the awards ceremony, sponsored by the collaborating companies. The best PhD presentations and postdoctoral posters were decided by vote of the Internal Scientific Committee (60%) and the public (40%), the awardees were:

• 1º prize: Maria Benito
• 2º prize: Leo Salgado
• 3º prize: Carla Riera Llobet

The prizes for the best poster went to:

• Íñigo Martin
• Murat Güneş

The people who won the quiz competitions on each presentation were:

• Laura Lefaix
• Ángela Henao

Presentations by predoctoral researchers

The thesis presentations were organized according to the thematic areas of research. A total of 25 people presented: 8 women and 17 men. In the areas of Energy and Mobility and Physics Frontiers and Civil Security, no female researchers presented.

Health and Environment Thematic Area

• Laura Lefaix: Wireless microdevices for stimulating electrically-excitable cells
• Sebastián Gavira: Microbial Cells as a Green and Sustainable Energy Source
• Leo Salgado: Graphene-based multimodal interfaces for in vivo neural biosensing
• Alexandre Moreno: Sensors and systems based on microelectronic technologies for cell culture monitoring
• Marc Navarro: Smart materials and resonant microelectromechanical systems for bioelectronic microdevices and electroceuticals
• Denise Marrero: Organ-on-a-chip with integrated semitransparent organic electrodes for barrier function monitoring
• Zohre Hamzei: Electro-Optical VOCs Microsensors for Monitoring Crop Health
• Marco Henares, hired within the framework of the CATMAL project, which is supported by the CaixaResearch Call for Research in Health of the ”la Caixa” Foundation: Electrochemical point-of-care analytical platform for the early diagnosis of malaria
• Marcio Jiménez: Development of advanced semiconductor dosimeters for new radiotherapies
• Adrian Rodríguez: Innovative silicon chips for intracellular applications
• Carla Riera Llobet: Adaptative Computation Techniques and microdosimetry for Proton therapy
• Javier Cuenca: Digital detection using an ISFET-based Lab-on-CMOS platform for high-sensitivity rapid tests
• Houyem Trabelsi: Metal chalcogenides films for gas sensor applications
• Pablo Rodríguez: Microbial Cells as a Green and Sustainable Energy Source
• David Batet: Disposable paper-based electronic sensing devices for sustainable eco-friendly platforms
• Angela Henao, hired within the framework of the DOSIFLASH project, which is supported by the CaixaResearch Call for Research in Health of the ”la Caixa” Foundation: SiC Dosimetry monitor for FLASH radiotherapy treatments

Energy and Mobility Thematic Area

• Ferran Bonet: Study of electro-thermal local phenomena in silicon carbide power devices by IIR-LD

Physics Frontiers and Civil Security Thematic Area

• Jofre Pallarès: Novel AI Methods and Tools for the Architectural Reverse Engineering of Digital ICs
• Èric Bach: Quality Assurance of the ATLAS18 ITk strip sensors
• Raúl Ramos: Electrospray-Based MEMS Technology for Propulsion Systems in Nano and Pico Satellites
• Juan Campoverde: Ultra Low-noise Multi-channel CMOS readout integrated circuits for fast and portable ion mobility spectrometry

Advanced Technology and Processes for Micro and Nanosystems Unit

• Eva Deltor: Low-Power Low-Noise High-Density Digital Readout Integrated Circuits for MWIR PbSe-CMOS High-Speed Imagers
• Maria Benito: Towards reduced dielectric losses in superconducting quantum circuits
• Shahadev Rodríguez Miguel: Micro Thermoelectric Harvesters based on Nanostructured Thin films
• Marçal Blasco: Bidimensional active components integrated with photonic circuits based on silicon nitride

A total of 8 posters were presented by 3 women and 4 men (one person presented two):

• Sandra Pérez: Towards the development of textile strain sensors
• Marta Fernández: Thermoelectric devices based on block copolymer nanostructured Si thin films
• Maria d’Antuono: Alternative approaches for obtaining α-Phase in Tantalum thin film
• Ferran Pujol: Soft optomechanical devices featuring intrinsic redox activity
• Murat Güneş: AGRARSENSE: Smart, digitalized components and systems for data-based Agriculture and Foresty
• Murat Güneş: Chemoresistive micromachined gas sensors for wine monitoring
• Iñigo Martín: Integration of thin film thermoelectric oxide materials into micro thermoelectric generators
• Sergi Brosel: Graphene solution-gated field-effect transistors (gSGFETs) for serotonine detection

• Group photo on the stairs of the IMB-CNM
• Young Researchers Day 2024 poster
• Young Researchers Day 2024 organizing committee, from left to right: Carla Riera Llobet, Marc Navarro, Ferran Pujol, Javier Cuenca and Leo Salgado.
• Awards for the best PhD presentations, from left to right: Leo Salgado, Carla Riera Llobet and Maria Benito.
• Welcome of the day with Luis Fonseca and Ferran Pujol.
• Coffee break session with posters of postdocs.