Two former ICN2 PhD students, Dr Bhawna Nagar and Dr Núria Fabri Faja, have been granted the CERCA Pioneer Award 2019 for their doctoral theses. The prize is a recognition for research works that stand out for their industrial- and commercial-oriented perspective.
Yesterday, December 16, the Catalan Research Centres Institute (CERCA) conferred the Pioneer Awards 2019 to four young researchers, whose doctoral theses were developed in one of the CERCA centres and produced results oriented to industrial applications and commercial exploitation. The aim of this recognition is to nurture technology transfer from academy to industry and to support researches which can have an impact on society in the short term.
Two out of the four awards were obtained by former ICN2 PhD students: Dr Bhawna Nagar and Dr Núria Fabri Faja. This doubles a success that was scored in the past and confirms the relevance of the applied research developed in our laboratories. The Jury recognized the innovative and application-oriented nature of both the doctoral theses.
Dr Nagar presented her work on “Printed Graphene for Energy Storage and Sensing Applications”, which she carried out as a member of the Novel Energy-Oriented Materials group, led by Prof. Pedro Gómez Romero, and the Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors group, led by ICREA Prof. Arben Merkoçi, and Dr. Fabri Faja her research on “Clinical Diagnosis and pathogen detection with a novel multiplexed nanophotonic point-of-care biosensor”, developed within the NanoBiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications group, led by Prof. Laura Lechuga Gómez.
The Pioneer Award, which consists in a 1000-euro cheque, is funded by the CERCA Institute, the Collider Programme of Mobile World Capital Barcelona and the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI). The awarding ceremony was chaired by CERCA Director Dr Lluís Rovira.