Los ICREA

Los catedráticos de investigación de ICREA forman una comunidad dinámica de científicos e investigadores de todas las áreas del conocimiento, que contribuyen al progreso de la humanidad con sus estudios, interpretaciones y cuestionamientos. Entre y descubra sus increíbles descubrimientos y hallazgos:

Valenzuela, Sergio O.

Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)

CLOSE

Valenzuela, Sergio O.
Research Professor at
Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)
Engineering Sciences
view profile

Research interests

In recent years, electronic devices have been scaled down to nanoscale sizes where quantum effects begin to interfere with their functioning. Materials and devices in such scales often present unexpected and counterintuitive physical properties. Prof. Valenzuela's Group focus is the development of novel devices, which are designed to gain insight of specific physical properties of the system components, relevant both for fundamental reasons and applications at the nanoscale. The current research interests of the group span spintronics, spin caloritronics, quantum transport and manipulation, using 2D materials and topological insulators, and quantum metrology. For more information see: http://nanodevices.icn2.cat.

Key words
Spintronics, magnetism, quantum computing.
van den Bergh, Jeroen

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

CLOSE

van den Bergh, Jeroen
Research Professor at
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
Social & Behavioural Sciences
view profile

Research interests

I work on the interface of environmental economics, climate-policy research, and innovation studies. Research in recent years focuses on effectiveness and public support of climate policy. This accounts for undesirable systemic impacts, such as energy rebound and carbon leakage. It involves application of methods and insights from behavioural and evolutionary economics, operationalized through agent-based modelling, questionnaire surveys and online experiments. Past work covered integrated ecological-economic modelling, contributions to the growth-versus-environment debate, environmental policies applied to urban-transport issues, biodiversity valuation and policy, modelling of recycling in material-product chains, and international dimensions of environmental policy.

Key words
Environmental and resource economics | Energy and climate economics | Environmental science and ecological economics | Evolutionary economics and innovation studies | Spatial (regional, transport and urban) economics.

ORCID
: 0000-0003-3415-3083

RESEARCHER ID
: C-7103-2008
van Hulst, Niek F.

Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)

CLOSE

van Hulst, Niek F.
Research Professor at
Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)
Engineering Sciences
view profile

Research interests

My current interest is to control light interaction at the nanometer scale. To this end, my group specializes on optical antennas, with nanoscale hot spots, and on coherent control schemes to command light on the "femto-nano" scale. We study individual molecules, quantum dots and single proteins, in strong interaction with nanoantenna-cavities and sub-10-fs pulses; controlling excitation-emission rates, direction, spectra, polarization, single photon character. We focus particularly on transport and coupling in single light-harvesting antenna complexes at native conditions, to unravel the efficiency and robustness of energy conversion in such natural molecular antennas. At ICFO I aim to stimulate young researchers, towards well-rooted skilled scientists and assertive critical thinkers, ready to shape their future and sustain the world. To reflect & recharge, I like to touch ground in the Massis del Garraf, rambling between Mediterranean waters and Catalan winefields.

Key words
NanoPhotonics, Single Molecules, Optical Antennas, Molecular Photonics, Quantum Coherence, Coherent Control, Energy Transfer

ORCID
: 0000-0003-4630-1776

RESEARCHER ID
: J-2121-2012
Verde, Licia

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

CLOSE

Verde, Licia
Research Professor at
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
view profile

Research interests

I am interested in Cosmology, which is the study of the origin, evolution and composition of the universe. One of the recent discoveries in cosmology is that more than 70% of what makes up the universe is not even matter, but something that suggests that some energy is associated with the nothingness of vacuum: "dark energy". Dark energy may as well be one of the major problems in physics today and is motivating a host of future and planned experiments. I study the "large-scale distribution of galaxies", their statistical properties and how the emerge and evolve from the Universe's initial conditions, which can be gleaned from the statistical properties of the heat left over from the big bang. These observations are used to shed light on the Universe composition, including the dark energy component, the Universe's history and evolution and ultimately the physics governing it.

Key words
Cosmology: large-scale structure of the Universe, interpretation of cosmological data, connection between theory and observations

ORCID
: 0000-0003-2601-8770
Vernos, Isabelle

Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG)

CLOSE

Vernos, Isabelle
Research Professor at
Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG)
Life & Medical Sciences
view profile

Research interests

Life depends on the ability of cells to divide while maintaining their genomic integrity. Cell division is therefore a critical process and yet involves the full reversible reorganization of most of intra-cellular components. In particular it involves the transient assembly of a microtubule based molecular machine, the bipolar spindle that organizes and segregates the chromosomes during cell division. We recently identified a novel mechanism involving the postranslational modification of the spindle microtubules that is required for chromosome segregation fidelity in normal cells. This mechanism is at stake in cancer cells that often misegregate chromosomes. Indeed aneuploidy and chromosomal instability are two hallmarks of particularly aggressive tumors. Our aim is to understand how this mechanism and other regulatory signalling pathways ensure the proper execution of mitosis and identify novel targets to prevent cancer cell proliferation.

Key words
Cell division

ORCID
: 0000-0003-1469-9214

RESEARCHER ID
: C-1687-2015
Vidal i Ferran, Anton

Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

CLOSE

Vidal i Ferran, Anton
Research Professor at
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
view profile

Research interests

Our current objectives encompass developing efficient, reliable and selective catalytic systems for synthetic transformations of interest, and studying their use to prepare relevant products for the life science and fine chemical sectors. Crucial aspects of this work include the modularity of the catalytic systems, the versatility of the synthetic strategies for their preparation and the incorporation of supramolecular motifs (when appropriate) in the catalyst’s structure to achieve additional function, taking into account the issue of sustainability. In terms of the catalytic transformations under homogeneous conditions that are being studied, our research interests focus on generating value-added products from unsaturated compounds through pivotal chemical transformations such as stereoselective hydrogenations, hydroformylations, hydroalkoxylations, hydrovinylations and hydroborations and C-C couplings on non-halogenated substrates.

Key words
Organic chemistry, Enantioselective catalysis, Preparation of industrially relevant enantiopure products, Development of sustainable production methods, Supramolecular Catalysis, Molecular Recognition, Chiral Functional Materials

ORCID
: 0000-0001-7926-1876

RESEARCHER ID
: A-5784-2013