IREC continues to strengthen its research team with two new Joan Oró grants (FI 2026), awarded by the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR). The fellowships are designed to support the recruitment of predoctoral researchers and provide funding for a maximum of four years.

Open to PhD candidates at Catalan universities, the Joan Oró FI program reflects AGAUR’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientists — and, in this case, adds two promising researchers to IREC’s growing expertise in battery and materials science.

Dominic Borgialli will develop a PhD thesis entitled “Electrochemical control of oxide ions for neuromorphic computing,” supervised by Francesco Chiabrera and Albert Tarancón in the Nanoionics and Fuel Cells Department, starting in August 2026. He will be enrolled in the Materials Science doctoral program at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Dominic holds a master’s degree in Industrial Chemistry (2022-2024) and a Bachelor degree in Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, both from the University of Turin, Italy.

Xiaowen Zheng will pursue a PhD thesis on the topic of “Electrolyte-Driven Interface Engineering for High-Stability Aqueous Zinc-ion Batteries” supervised by Prof. ICREA Andreu Cabot and Qing Sun from the Functional Nanomaterials Department, starting in September 2026. She will participate in the doctoral program at the University of Barcelona (UB). Xiaowen holds a BSc in Materials Forming and Control Engineering from the School of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, and an MSc in Material Science and Engineering from the School of Materials, Shandong University, both universities in China.

Acknowledgements (in Catalan): Amb el suport del programa predoctoral AGAUR-FI ajuts (2026 FI-1 00587 i 2026 FI-1 00618) Joan Oro de la Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament de Recerca i Universitats de la Generalitat de Catalunya i del Fons Europeu Social Plus.