Conferences and Workshops

The ICN2 shared its devices and knowledge at the Tokyo Big Sight Conference Center in a multifaceted mission involving scientific talks, institutional visits and commercial contacts. At the 1 & 2DM Conference and Exhibition, ICREA Prof. Stephan Roche and ICREA Prof. Arben Merkoçi led discussions about synthesis and commercialization of 2D materials and graphene-based biosensors. Dr César Moreno and Prof. Pedro Gómez offered their view about hybrid electrode materials and quantum phenomena in graphene. The ICN2 Director Prof. Pablo Ordejón joined the CERCA Director Lluís Rovira in a Cooperation Event Between Albania, Japan and Spain entitled “Nanotechnologies for 21st Century”.

ICN2 researchers also took part in the NanoTech2020 International Nanotechnology Exhibition and Conference, held in the same week at the same Conference Centre, with scientific talks and discussions. There, the ICN2 booth, shared with CERCA and CSIC, became a meeting point for researchers and representatives from companies. Attendees dropped by to learn about the prototypes showcased by the Business and Innovation Area and the Marketing and Communication Department of the ICN2.

The symposium was co-organised by the ICFO and the ICN2. Prof. Jordi Arbiol, Leader of the ICN2 Advanced Electron Nanoscopy Group, was one of the coordinators of this event, in which speakers coming from Paris, Oxford, Jülich, Zurich, Heidelberg and Pisa participated. This Symposium was part of the Master of Multidisciplinary Research in Experimental Sciences organised by BIST and the UPF. More than 150 people gathered to discuss and learn about different imaging techniques with applications in materials science, biology and medicine.

On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the ICN2 held a special event to reflect upon the causes and consequences of the lack of women in STEM-related careers, especially in positions of responsibility, as well as the role that education since a very early stage can play in shaping identity, self-confidence and professional choices of young people. The event, led by Dr Neus Domingo, CSIC Distinguished Researcher and chair of the ICN2 Equal Opportunities Committee, included sociologist Dr Jörg Müller, of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) of the Open University of Catalonia, and physicist Dr Digna Couso, PhD in Science Teaching and director of CRECIM. The event was wrapped up with a ceremony to confer awards assigned by the ICN2 to young female researchers within the framework of the ICN2 Severo Ochoa Women Talent Programme: Best PhD Thesis Award, Best PhD Paper Award and Best Postdoc Paper Award.

On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, on March 9 the ICN2 hosted an event to discuss about gender balance in research and present the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Management Plan II, which was launched in 2019 and will extend up to 2022. The discussion was opened by Dr Neus Domingo, CSIC Distinguished Researcher and Chair of the ICN2 Equal Opportunities Committee, who introduced the initiatives that will be launched or continued within the second Equal Opportunities and Diversity Management Plan. The event was closed with the announcement of the winners of the Women Talent Programme research grants, an initiative included in the framework of the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence 2018-2022 Programme.

The Women in Graphene network of the European Graphene Flagship held the fourth edition of the “Women in Graphene Career Development Day”, a virtual event aimed at fostering networking as well as at sharing career experiences and advice among the female professionals involved in the Flagship. Among the speakers was Dr Cinzia Spinato, of the ICN2 Business and Innovation Department, who talked about bridging the gap between academia and industry. Starting from her personal experience, she explained the role of the technology transfer officer and of the business development officer, showing how relevant and challenging the work of these figures is.

“Biosensors for Pandemics: Reliable and efficient nanotech-based diagnostics in emergency situations” was an online conference that addressed the main problems that the scientific community faced in the first months of COVID-19 pandemics. This 1-day online event consisted of over 10 keynote presentations given by some of the best experts in the field. The event was organised by Phantoms Foundation, sponsored by the ICN2 and realised with ICREA as a partner institution. ICREA Prof. Arben Merkoçi and Prof. Laura Lechuga led the Organising Committee, with ICREA Prof. Stephan Roche acting as the event International Scientific Committee. The idea behind this Conference was to get together worldwide well known experts in biosensing technologies who are working in COVID-19 diagnostics or leading technologies with a great application potential in the near future.

GIF2020 was focused on the latest developments in graphene and 2D materials production methods towards wide scale commercialization, emerging opportunities for graphene-based materials, investment opportunities, updates on the application and commercialisation of graphene and 2D materials. It gathered the key players of the Graphene and 2DM Community and related sectors. The event was co-organised by Phantoms Foundation and ICN2, with ICREA Prof. Stephan Roche acting as scientific conference Chair. The event was launched following the success of previous Industrial Forum editions and considering that all major scientific and technological conferences are being cancelled or postponed worldwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Graphene Flagship work package 2, devoted to spintronics and led by ICREA Prof. Stephan Roche, held a two-day online event to kick-off a new phase of the project called Core 3. The Graphene Flagship transitioned into Core 3 to boost the progression toward the commercialisation of graphene and layered materials in the last three years of this initiative. Work package 2 pursues establishing the ultimate potential of graphene and two-dimensional materials for spintronic applications which could spread in the Internet of Things applications. The kick-off event reflected the excitement of the work package partners.

JPhD2020 is a joint effort organized by PhD fellows of the ICMAB, the IMB-CNM, the ICN2 and the UAB. This scientific meeting is mainly addressed to PhD students of any year, who are interested in sharing their research and in connecting with other research groups. This online edition included lectures from international and local professionals, presentations from fellow PhD students, a poster session and interesting hands-on tutorial workshops. This conference is a great opportunity to practice communication skills, discover different research fields, and connect with PhD students across the UAB campus.

The 2nd annual Women in Renewable Energy workshop, hosted under the umbrella of the ICN2 Severo Ochoa workshops, was held online on October 16. This event, dedicated to energy storage applications and key trends in sustainability, was organized by Prof. Mónica Lira from the ICN2 and Prof. Zakya Kafafi from Lehigh University in Bethlehem (USA). The excellent scientific sessions were followed by a roundtable on the role of women in science, their challenges, permanent discrimination, and the possibility of transforming scientific research into a more inclusive environment.

The Graphene Conference series is the largest international conference on graphene and 2D materials. In 2020 it was a fully-online event where participants were able to move throughout a virtual venue to attend scientific presentations, visit the industrial exposition and take part in a poster session. The event was organized by Phantom Foundation in collaboration with many research institutes and organisms, including ICN2 and ICREA. Advances in 2D materials technologies were discussed throughout more than 30 plenary presentations, two days of parallel workshops and a day dedicated to PhD students’ presentations. ICREA Prof. Stephan Roche acted as a member of the Organising Committee and a number of ICN2 researchers participated in the event programme. The Conference included an industrial forum and an exhibition, with a virtual booth of the FEDER GraphCAT project, led by ICN2 and ICFO together with BIST.