Cerdanyola del Vallès, 7th October 2019. In this occasion, 10 PhD students presented their projects related to a wide variety of research fields.
First of all, Isidro Crespo, PhD student at XALOC beamline in collaboration with the Wageningen University, presented his studies about the molecular mechanism and structural biology of auxin response factors involved in plant growth. After, Nerea Bernardo, also early-stage researcher from XALOC, showed her research about antibiotic resistance and the prevention of its spread by conjugation, via the study of crucial proteins of the pLS20 conjugative plasmid at a structural and functional level.
The third speaker was Jan Groen, PhD candidate working at the MISTRAL beamline in collaboration with CIC BiomaGUNE. He talked about his thesis project related with 3D visualization of designed modular repeat proteins and their effect on cardiac fibrosis in vivo using correlative light microscopy and cryo-soft-X-ray tomography.
After bioscience related projects, it was the time for materials science and magnetism research. Firstly, Anna Mandziak, in her last year of the thesis performed in CIRCE beamline (PEEM endstation), presented her work about manipulating magnetic domains in thin magnetite films, also done in collaboration with Instituto de Física Química Rocasolano.
After the break, it was the turn for Nithyapriya Manivannan, PhD student from CLAESS beamline in collaboration with Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), who talked about Se-enriched functional food and the interactions and competing mechanisms among different elements. Next speaker, Raphaëlle Houdeville, explained her thesis project in synchrotron powder diffraction in operando batteries at non-ambient temperature conditions, carried out at the MSPD beamline of ALBA.
Then, Max Schütte presented his industrial PhD project in the use of RF plasma for UHV cleaning and for fabrication of hybrid carbon/transition metal oxide multilayers, done in cooperation with Universitat de Barcelona (UB). After him, ALBA Accelerators Division was represented by Patrick Krkotic, who described his project for the Future Circular Collider, focused on the surface impedance of high-temperature superconducting coated conductors and requirements for their use as beam screen materials, also in collaboration with the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).
Ignasi Bellafont from the Engineering Division presented his thesis focused on the study of the beam induced vacuum effects in the cryogenic beam vacuum chamber of the Future Circular Collider. This research is also in collaboration with UPC. Finally, was Letícia de Melo’s turn, whose thesis objective performed in BOREAS beamline at ALBA is to study the exchange coupling effects in hybrid Gr-4f/3d FM systems.
The event was chaired by Salvador Ferrer, Scientific Assistant of ALBA, and the division heads of the Experiments, Engineering and Accelerators areas: Klaus Attenkofer, Joan Casas and Francis Pérez. At the end, the ALBA Synchrotron's Director, Caterina Biscari, congratulated all the participants and she also highlighted the importance that most of them are working in a project which is a collaboration with an external institution representing an important link for ALBA.
From left to right, from top to bottom: Isidro Crespo, Nerea Bernardo, Jan Groen, Anna Mandziak, Nithyapriya Manivannan, Raphaëlle Houdeville, Max Schütte, Patrick Krkotic, Ignasi Bellafont and Letícia de Melo. In the last picture, Anna Mandziak receiving the award for the best presentation with the Head of Experiments Division, Klaus Attenkofer; ALBA's Director, Caterina Biscari; and AUSE's Presindent, Gloria Subías.
