After visiting the ICN2, Prof Konstantin Novoselov offered on May the 27th a talk at the UAB Science Faculty in the framework of the Manuel Cardona Conferences. Over 300 people attended the event and shared a very interesting presentation by the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics winner.
On Wednesday May the 27th, the UAB Campus had an exclusive opportunity to meet Prof Konstantin Novoselov, from the University of Manchester, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 together with Prof Andre Geim for their "groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene". He offered a talk in the framework of the ICN2 Manuel Cardona Conferences and the ICN2 Severo Ochoa Program where he shared his knowledge about the brand new research field he is working in. The title of the talk was “Materials in the Flatland”.
The seminar was held in the UAB Science Faculty Conference Hall which was crowded in few minutes: more than 300 people attended the talk. Both students and researches from all over the Campus met to meet personally one outstanding figure in nanoscience. ICN2 researcher Prof Stephan Roche conducted the seminar and introduced the speaker together with Antoni Méndez, The Faculty Dean.
Prof Novoselov talked about his experience as a researcher and explained in a very accessible and amusing way the state-of-the-art about graphene. After this, he focused the talk in 2D materials and their potential in future applications. His vision is optimistic and he explained with genuine enthusiasm how recent discoveries allow the creation of new materials never seen before in nature by combining 2D materials.
Prof Novoselov also gave some piece of advice to the students about how to follow a scientific career. He recommended them to ‘not follow anyone's footsteps’ and ‘look for what motivates you and work hard’. He believes that jumping into 2D materials research just because it is a growing discipline would be a major mistake. Instead, he suggested to look for a field that really moved the students and to devote all their efforts to make it flourish.
Before the seminar, Prof Novoselov had visited the ICN2. Prof. Pablo Ordejón, Director of the ICN2, and Prof Stephan Roche, ICREA researcher and Group Leader at ICN2, welcomed him and introduced him to the Institute objectives and challenges. Prof Novoselov visited the laboratories led by ICREA Prof Gustau Catalan and ICREA Prof Sergio O. Valenzuela, and stablished with them a lively discussion.