Active and smart materials

Lía Campos-Arias finished her Chemistry degree in 2017 at the University of Basque Country. Her bachelor thesis, carried out in Inorganic Chemistry department, was about developing sodiumvanadium fluorophosphates family cathodes with graphene covering for Na-ion batteries. From it resulted a communication in poster format for the Biennial Reunion of Spanish Chemical Royal Society in 2017.
After that, she did a Master in Energies and fuels for the future at the Autonomous University of Madrid and she concluded it in 2018. She did the Master thesis in the Institute of Material Science of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) related with the microstructure optimization of piezoelectric ceramic materials for energy harvesting.
Finishing her studies, she collaborated in the MOLEMAT project (Molecularly Engineered Materials and process for Perovskite solar cell technology) at the BCMaterials during 8 months, working with 2D perovskite solar cells. Afterwards she worked at VITO, an independent Flemish research organization in the area of cleantech and sustainable development, during 6 months. Her work there consisted in the optimization of CO2 electroreduction to obtain formic acid, which is part of an EU project co-directed by several Universities and Research companies from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and United Kingdom.
Currently, she is developing her PhD studies in the area of conformable printed electronics at the BCMaterials.

Ander García Díez obtained his BSc. in Physics (2014) and MSc. in New Materials (2015), both from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). His final degree thesis (TFG) and master thesis (TFM) revolved around the application of magnetic nanoparticles in magnetic hypertermia, both under the supervision of Prof. Mª Luisa Fernández-Gubieda.

Later (2019), he obtained his degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). On October 2019, he joined BCMaterials as a Predoctoral researcher to
work on active and smart materials.

Andrés García Franco graduated in Chemistry in 2020 at the University of Murcia (UMU). His final grade work was the study of the electrocatalytic capacity of gold nanoparticles in the oxygen reduction reaction using square wave voltammetry.

He finished the Master in New Materials in 2021 at the University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the University of Cantabria (UC). He development his final master work at BCMaterials with the title of “Fabrication and Characterization of ThMn12-type compounds for his applications as permanent magnets”.

Currently, he is developing my PhD studies in the area of advanced functional materials at the BCMaterials.

Interest and objectives

• Development in new magnetic materials without critical raw materials with optimal magnetic properties.
• Recycling and reutilization of existing magnetic materials.

Expertise
Smart and functional materials and devices for sensors and actuators, energy and biomedical applications

Bio
S. Lanceros-Mendez graduated in physics at the University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain. He obtained his Ph.D. degree at the Institute of Physics of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany. He was Research Scholar at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA and visiting scientist at the Pennsylvania State University, USA and University of Potsdam, among others. He is principal investigator at the BCMaterials –Basque Center for Materials, Applicatons and Nanostructures, Spain and Associated Professor at the Physics Department of the University of Minho, Portugal and. From 2012 to 2014 he was also Associate Researcher at the INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. His work is focused in the area of polymer based smart and functional materials for sensors and actuators, energy and biomedical applications.

Interests and objetives
Further information of the research activities:
http://esm.fisica.uminho.pt
https://www.facebook.com/electroactivesmg

Curriculum Vitae — Google Scholar — ResearcherID — ResearchGate

Dr. Beatriz Leiva graduated in Biochemistry in 2020 at University of Granada (UGR). Her degree thesis is called “Biomedical applications of mesoporous silica nanoparticles”, and it was done in the Inorganic Chemistry Department of the Science Faculty in Granada.

After that, she finished the Master in Biomaterials in 2021 at the Complutense University of Madrid. Her master thesis was about the synthesis and the characterization of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in order to create a new treatment for the osteoporosis disease. It was carried out in the Faculty of Pharmacy of UCM.

At the moment, she is working on her PhD at BCMaterials under supervision of Dr. Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez. Her work focus on the development of active cell microenvironments for advanced tissue regeneration strategies.

Sheila Maiz Fernández graduated in Chemistry in 2017 at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Her degree thesis was on synthesis and characterization of hyaluronic acid nanogels in the Macromolecular Chemistry Laboratory of the Faculty of Science and Technology of Leioa.

Subsequently, she finished her master’s degree in New Materials in 2018 at the University of the Basque Country and the University of Cantabria with a thesis based on Injectable hydrogels based on chitosan for tissue engineering applications, carried out in the Macromolecular Chemistry Laboratory of the Faculty of Science and Technology.

She is currently starting his PhD in electroactive materials for tissue engineering applications at BCMaterials.

Sara Martín Iglesias graduated in Biotechnology in 2017 at the University of León. Her degree thesis was on “Analysis of local ansesthetics on Hyaluronic Acid for Viscosupplementation therapy”.  Subsequently, she finished her master’s degree in Biomedical Biotechnology in 2019 at Polytechnic University of Valencia with a thesis based on “Application of Mesenquimal Stem Cells for Tissue Engineering”, carried out in the Histopatology and Tissue Engineering group at University of Valencia .

She is currently starting his PhD in Active and Smart Materials for Tissue Engineering Applications at BCMaterials under the direction of Unai Silván and Senentxu Lanceros.

Expertise
Stereolithography of UV curable resins, thermal and mechanical characterization: DSC, TGA-FTIR, DMTA.

Bio

Dr. Cristian Mendes Felipe obtained his Degree in Chemistry and the Master Degree in New Materials at the University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in Leioa (Spain) in the area of UV curable polymers for 3D printing. He carried out his PhD in Materials Science and Technology at BCMaterials together with the Macromolecular Chemistry Group (labquimac) of the UPV/EHU in the field of Multifunctional photocurable advanced materials for electronics and sensing applications. He has obtained a three years’ fellowship from Basque Government for a postdoc research in the Politecnico of Turin and BCMaterials for the investigation of 4D printing of photocurable polymers obtained from natural sources for smart and multifunctional applications. Dr. Mendes has realized different internships in the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Minho, as well as participated on different international and national conferences. He has published 10 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journal, most of them as first author, obtaining a special mention by the Wiley Online Library for a publication on the top ten of 2019 mentioned articles in the journal of Advanced Materials Technologies.

Currently, as a postdoc, his investigation will be related to UV and visible light curable materials obtained from plants and other natural sources for applications in electronics, sensing and multifunctional applications.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0801-4103

https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=F3hi4poAAAAJ&hl=es&oi=ao

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristian_Mendes3

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Nikola Perinka received his M.Sc. in printing engineering and Ph.D. in chemistry and technology of materials, both from University of Pardubice. His main research objective has been focused on formulation and printing of functional materials, as well as device fabrication. He possesses extensive experience in printing process and organic and flexible electronics (such as organic photovoltaics, organic light emitting diodes or sensors). Dr. Perinka has been participating in several national projects and has published several peer-reviewed papers in the field of chemistry and material science. During his Ph.D. he realized several internships in France (École Polytechnique) and Germany (TU-Chemnitz). After his Ph.D. joined Cetemmsa Technological Centre (Mataró-Barcelona, later Eurecat Technology Centre of Catalonia in Spain), where he worked mainly on the CIEN project HyPrint focused on the development of printed hybrid light emitting diodes.

Currently, Dr. Perinka has joined BCMaterials with main research focus on organic and printed electronics. He will participate in several national and international projects with the focus on flexible electronics.

“Printed Electronics, Flexible and Organic Electronics, Conducting Polymers, Printing Technologies, Photophysics and Photonics, Ink Formulation, Functional Materials”

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1768-4528
Author ID: 55945204900
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nikola_Perinka

Expertise
I have a 3 year´s experience on Molecular Dynamics simulations of mechanical and thermal properties for polymeric systems.
I have a large experience with thermical characterization techics (DSC and TGA) and mechanical charactyerization technics (DMTA)

Bio

Graduated in environmental sciences from the University of the Basque Country (UPV / EHU) in 2015 and after taking a master’s degree in New Materials from the same university, in 2020 I completed my phd entitled “Tailoring bombyx mori silk as multifuctional material for advanced applications” , developed at the BCMaterials – Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures foundation, a center included in the BERC (Basque Excellence Research Centers) network, in collaboration with the EPV / EHU macromolecular chemistry group (LABQUIMAC). Currently, as a post-doctoral researcher in the Basque Government program, I focus my work on the development of inks from bio-based materials and their printing by additive manufacturing at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus in Oregon, in collaboration with BCMaterials.

With the aim of advancing towards sustainability, my work is focused on the revaluation of bio-based materials. In addition, I have worked on molecular dynamics simulations, as well as in the development and characterization of polymeric materials. As part of various national and international research and projects, I have worked on several research areas such as electronics, catalysis, adsorption of pollutants, energy and biomedicine.

Aware of the capacity for knowledge as a way of personal and social empowerment, I dedicate part of my efforts to scientific dissemination,  mainly, as a member of the association for the dissemination of scientific culture, LOGOS elkartea (https://crystalclear.es/). Also I have participated in acts and events of scientific dissemination such as Zientziaz Blai (https://n9.cl/mow5) and We are scientists (https://somoscientificos.es/).

Curriculum Vitae

Career and achievements, present tasks and professional objectives

Carmen Rial received her BS in Physics from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She carried out her MS and PhD in Materials Science and Technology at the Instituto de Ceramica in the same university. Her dissertation focused on the fabrication of 3D photonic bandgap crystals for infrared and terahertz band by 3D printing technique. As a postdoc, her research activities have been mainly focused on 3D printing functional materials, components, and devices, which include photonic crystals, catalysts, tissue engineering scaffolds, and vacularized tissues. She has published 13 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals, 11 of them as first author, and she is also the author or co-author of more than 25 contributions at national and international conferences.
Her research interests span a range of topics in materials science and engineering, but focus in particular on the area of 3D printing, ceramics, colloidal science, and polymers.
Currently, she is involved in the development of polymer composites with suitable piezoresistive/piezocapacitive responses for sensor and actuator applications.

List of abilities:
3D Printing/Robocasting
Colloidal synthesis
Spin/dip coating
High temperature treatments
Surface&structural analysis (SEM, TEM, XRD, optical microscope)
Thermal analysis techniques (DTA, TG, dilatometry)
Rheological characterization (rotational rheometer and viscometer)
Mechanical characterization (microhardness tester, compression)

Links to external profiles:
SCHOOLAR GOOGLE:
https://scholar.google.es/citations?hl=es&user=a95IyrkAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
RESEARCHGATE:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/C_Tubio

Mikel Rincón Iglesias obtained his bachelor Degree in Chemistry with a final project about “Evaluation of the migration of benzophenone types photoinitiators into several food simulants in cardboard packaging” in June 2017 at the Analytical Chemistry Group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Afterwards, he continued his Master studies in Energies and Fuels for the future at Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), which he finished in June 2018. Furthermore, he did an internship at Institute of Materials Science of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC), where concluded his Master Thesis about “Influence of the presence of graphene sheets in the hydrothermal synthesis of carbon spheres” in the Photonic Crystals Group.
Nowadays, Mikel is performing his PhD studies developing multifunctional inks for printed flexible devices.

Interests and objetives
Currently he is working on the project “Development of printed sensors and actuators based on multifunctional inks”. The principal objective of this project is to process and characterize inks for applications on magntetic, magnetoresistive, magnetostrictive and magneto-electric devices (and therefore also piezoelectric). The inks will be developed both for screen printing and for inkjet printing technologies.

Expertise

Cell and Cancer Biology, Light Microscopy, Biomechanics, Cytoskeleton.

Bio

Dr. Unai Silvan studied Biochemistry at the University of the Basque Country and then joined the laboratory of Professor J. Aréchaga (Department of Cell Biology and Histology, UPV/EHU) as a doctoral student. In his dissertation (summa cum laude and dissertation prize) he developed a new in vivo model for the study of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) based on the transplantation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into the seminiferous tubules of mice. In addition, he completed a research stay in the laboratory of Professor M.A. Konerding at the University of Mainz (Germany) to learn the techniques to quantify the vascularization of experimentally induced tumors and participated in the analysis of the cancerous microenvironment. In 2008, Unai joined Cora-Ann Schoenenberger’s group at the Müller Institute at the Biocenter of Basel (University of Basel, Switzerland) as a postdoctoral fellow and had the opportunity to contribute to the knowledge of unconventional actin configurations. He was also involved in the study of the tumorigenic effect of an actin point mutation in mammalian cells and was able to use various biochemical and imaging techniques, including TIRF and electron microscopy, to understand the importance of an unconventional actin configuration in the patterning of different supramolecular structures as well as in polymerization. In 2012, Unai was appointed senior research fellow and head of the Cancer Cell Mechanics group in Professor Jess Snedeker’s laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich, Switzerland), where he investigated the role of the cytoskeleton in the development and progression of cancer, and quantified the response of cells to different biomaterials. Unai has published over 40 research articles and book chapters, which have received over 600 citations (h-index 14), and his work has been presented at over 60 national and international conferences.

Interests and objectives

In 2020, Unai joined BCMaterials as an Ikerbasque Research Associate in order to establish a group in the field of biomaterials, in which he will investigate the influence of the biomaterial-extracellular matrix interface on immune and somatic cells.

Mikel Undagoitia received his bachelor degree in chemistry from the University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in 2018 with a thesis about the development of fluorophosphate cathodic materials for sodium ion batteries and its application in high scale stationary batteries. Later, he obtained his master´s degree in New Materials in 2019 from the University of Basque Country. His master´s thesis degree was on the development of cathodic fluorophosphate-phosphate cathodic composite materials, also for sodium-ion batteries. Subsequently, he joined Leartiker (BRTA, Mondragon Corporation) as researcher and manager of Relicario project (Recycling of end-of-life carbon fibre reinforced plastics), an international project founded by EIT Raw Materials (European Institute of Innovation and Technology), collaborating with many companies as Extracthive, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Veolia, MAIER and University of Ghent (Ugent). His work was focused on the characterisation of recycled carbon fibres by solvolysis and their compounding with different thermoplastics for automotive applications. During this research stage, he had the opportunity to work with Professor Wim Van Paepegem, world-renowned expert in composite behaviour. After almost two years, in 2021, he decided to join BCMaterials to start his PhD in the field of sustainable batteries under the direction of Juan Pablo Esquivel and Verónica Palomares.

Amaia Zarandona Rodríguez graduated in Chemical Engineering in 2017 at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Her bachelor thesis was on “Regeneration of the catalyst for hydrogen production” and it was carried out in the department of Chemical Engineering (Leioa). Afterwards, she finished her master’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 2019 at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the University of Cantabria (UC). Her master thesis was on “Improvement of the thermal conductivity of different types of elastomers through the modification of the loads” with a fellowship in FLEXIX.

After that, she worked at VITO, an independent Flemish research organization in the area of cleantech and sustainable development, during 1 year. Her main work consisted in developing a novel electrochemical process for the transformation of glucose into added-value chemicals.

Nowadays, she is working on her PhD in the area of active and smart materials at the BCMaterials.