Luis Fonseca, re-elected as director of the IMB-CNM for four more years

The researcher Luis Fonseca Chácharo repeats as director of the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC), after completing the renewal process carried out both at IMB-CNM and CSIC. In this way, he will remain at the head of the institution for four more years, until 2029. The scientific deputy directors team is renewed: researchers Mar Álvarez and Xavier Jordà leave their roles as deputy directors, that they held between 2021 and 2025; and Neus Sabaté and Francesc Pérez Murano, also researchers at the center and CSIC research professors, join the team. In the technical direction, David Quirion repeats as head of the Clean Room.

In recent years, IMB-CNM has consolidated its position as a reference center, both nationally and internationally, in the field of micro and nanoelectronics. Its research and technological development activity is at the forefront in areas such as photonics, quantum, sensors and radiation detectors. This excellence was officially recognized last year with the accreditation as a center of excellence María de Maeztu, granted by the State Research Agency.

At the organizational level, the institute has also promoted an internal transformation aimed at fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers beyond the traditional groups. The result of this evolution are the strategic axes, which structure research around key thematic areas: Energy and Mobility, Health and Environment, Physics Frontiers and Civil Security, as well as the Advanced Technology and Processes Unit.

At the same time, the Equality and Sustainability Committees have been created, and the commitment to Scientific Culture has been reinforced, with the award of two projects with funding from the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

The team led by Fonseca will continue the current strategy, with special emphasis on strengthening the Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room, which already obtained ISO9001 certification in the previous period. Among the challenges of the new cycle are the implementation of the María de Maeztu program and the materialization of the PERTE Chip investments, including the expansion of the Clean Room, which requires the collaboration of different administrations.

Also strategic are the investments obtained through the Chips JU (Chips Joint United) initiative programs, which will allow to continue improving the micro and nanofabrication infrastructure and to reinforce the role of the institute as a reference in the national and European semiconductor ecosystem. This leadership is reflected in the active participation of IMB-CNM in the two authorized chip competence centers in Spain, in the European microelectronic design platform and in three European pilot lines: heterogeneous integration, integrated photonics and semiconductor quantum devices.