The Spanish State Research Agency has recently awarded three Juan de la Cierva fellowships to recruit postdoctoral researchers at IREC. These prestigious fellowships aim to promote the integration of young PhDs into Spanish R&D centers to complete their postdoctoral training. The fellowships have a duration of two years, with starting dates between December 2024 and July 2025.

Dr. Tiezhu Guo has joined the Functional Nanomaterials Department at IREC under the supervision of ICREA Prof. Andreu Cabot. His research will focus on the primary area of Materials Science and Technology, particularly in the subarea of Materials for Energy and the Environment. Dr. Guo obtained his PhD from Xian Jiaotong University (China) in September 2023. Guo will work on nanostructured materials as sulfur host in metal-sulfur batteries for flexible electronic devices.

Dr. Jacob Andrade-Arvizu is working at the Solar Energy Materials and Systems Department, with Prof. Alejandro Pérez-Rodríguez. His research falls under the primary area of Energy and Transport, with a specific focus on Energy. Dr. Andrade-Arvizu earned his PhD from the University of Barcelona in September 2021. He will work on the development of advanced thin-film photovoltaic devices based on kesterite absorbers. His research will focus on engineering bandgap tunability and designing novel p-i-n architectures to achieve higher efficiencies.

Dr. Antonio Maria will contribute to the Nanoionics and Fuel Cells Department with Dr. Marc Torrell as a mentor. His work is aligned with the primary area of Energy and Transport, focusing on Energy. Dr. Maria completed his PhD at the University of Genoa (Italy) in May 2023. Maria will be developing a reversible high-temperature electrolyser to enable efficient green hydrogen production and use, employing innovative sintering techniques to minimize power consumption during cell manufacturing.

These appointments highlight IREC’s commitment to fostering research excellence and advancing technological solutions in energy and environmental fields.

Acknowledgements of the grants (in Spanish)

Las ayudas Juan de la Cierva (JDC2023-052232-I, JDC2023-052569-I, JDC2023-051452-I) han sido financiadas por MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por el FSE+.