News

Recruitment for the post of INL Deputy Director-General

The Council of INL is seeking an experienced and strategy-oriented person to serve as INL’s next Deputy Director-General to succeed Prof. Paulo Freitas. A key element in the organization, the DDG will coordinate and prepare, alongside the Director-General, long-term plans that meet INL’s mission. As an important bridge throughout INL’s community, analysing critically, providing guidance and inspiring others to collectively achieve common goals are some of the core responsibilities of the role. The Deputy Director-General will collaborate closely with the Director-General (DG) to shape strategic direction and offer impactful leadership, enhancing the Laboratory’s reach, excellence, and commitment to cutting-edge nanotechnology research, as set forth in the INL 2030 Strategic Vision. This role involves driving innovation, engaging industry leaders, and nurturing relationships across government agencies, industry partners, and academic institutions. The ideal candidate should possess a distinguished track record in research, development, and innovation, complemented by proven leadership in steering high-performance teams. About INL At INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, located in Braga (North of Portugal), scientists and engineers from all over the world work in a highly interdisciplinary environment and strive to make INL become a worldwide hub for the deployment of Nanotechnology, addressing society’s grand challenges. The INL […]

Professor Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres appointed to be the new Director General of INL

The Council of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) has announced the appointment of Prof. Dr Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres as INL’s new Director-General. Prof. Dr Sotomayor Torres was selected for her outstanding qualifications and experience in the nanotechnology field. Prof. Dr Sotomayor Torres will take office on September 15, 2023. As Director-General, Prof. Dr. Sotomayor Torres will be responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction and management of INL. Prof. Dr Sotomayor Torres will work to foster the institute’s mission of advancing nanotechnology research and innovation and to promote the institute’s global impact for the benefit of society. Prof. Dr Sotomayor Torres earned her Ph.D. in Physics at Manchester University and has held significant roles in various European research centres. She has also been honoured with numerous awards and grants, including the ERC Advanced Grant in 2021 for her pioneering work in phononic interconnects aimed at energy-efficient electronic circuits. Prof. Paulo Freitas DDG, INL

INL obtained the “HR Excellence in Research” award

INL was granted the HR Excellence in Research distinction of the European Commission in the framework of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) and is now listed among the HRS4R-acknowledged institutions. The award demonstrates INL´s commitment to continuously improving its human resource policies in line with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. This achievement is the result of a joint effort involving the INL´s HRS4R Commission (Steering Committee and Working Group) and the research community. From now on, INL can use the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ award to promote a stimulating and favourable work environment for researchers. This will be an evolving procedure, and INL will thrive to continue improving its human resources strategies towards a better research environment. The European Commission recognizes with the ‘HR Excellence in Research Award’ the institutions which make progress in aligning their human resources policies to the 40 principles of the Charter & Code. Find here INL listed on the Euraxess website under “Charter and Code Endorsements.

Fire Drill at INL

The INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory carried out an evacuation simulation of the INL buildings, today morning, July 3rd. Several agents linked to the civil protection of Braga were involved, namely Firefighters and Security Forces. This exercise aimed to test the response capacity of the INL and civil protection agents in Braga in the context of an emergency situation. This is an action in accordance with the Technical Regulation on Fire Safety in Buildings in force. The total evacuation of people working in the INL buildings was part of the self-protection measures within the scope of the aforementioned regulation, and took place, after the alarm sounded, under the coordination of those responsible for the areas and in accordance with the protocols in force. We work every day to avoid occurrences of this kind, but we have to be prepared in case they happen, for those who work at INL and for those who live close to us.

INL Colloquium with Hongjie Dai, Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University

Yesterday, Hongjie Dai, a Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University, presented an inspiring talk at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. During his talk, professor Hongjie Dai showcased the enormous potential of carbon nanostructures for nanoscience and nanotechnology in three different areas. Examples include nanotube-based quantum transport devices, based on nanotubes, graphite and porous carbon nanoballs-based batteries and various carbon-based systems for biological imaging in the infrared, with applications for accurate cancer imaging and study of vaccine effects on living tissue. In his own words: “I had a great visit and enjoyed meeting you all and other researchers at INL. I appreciate everyone spending the time talking about science and life in Braga.“ Hongjie Dai is the Jackson-Wood Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University. He has made fundamental contributions to nanosciences, especially to novel carbon-based nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons. He pioneered nano-carbon biological and nanomedicine applications including imaging in the NIR-II/SWIR window. In the renewable energy area, he advanced new electrocatalysts for splitting fresh water and seawater and developed rechargeable aluminium-ion batteries and Na/Cl2 and Li/Cl2 batteries. Professor Hongjie Dai is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and […]

INL takes part in ESNA, a hybrid alliance for open innovations

INL together with other six leading organisations joined efforts in an ecosystem, fully committed to serving the market in the field of environmental nano-functionalized plastic and paper products. It’s the creation of a new European Sustainable Nanotechnology Solutions Association that will transform innovative ideas into pioneering products. ESNA was officially presented at the EuroNanoForum 2023, held in Sweden, from the 11th to the 13th of June and the Association is the fruit of the successful FlexFunction2Sustain project, funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation. ESNA was registered officially on February 27th, 2023, and became operational by March 2023. The association was created as a non-profit association according to the French 1901 law of association with its place of business in Paris, France. The Association will work with members of the FlexFunction2Sustain Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) for nano-functionalization technologies to offer comprehensive services which are integrated to provide a complete, all-round offer to substantially reduce the time and cost to progress through the innovation chain from an idea to a successful product. The ecosystem will support innovative SMEs and industries by providing expert support from an early development stage to the optimised transformation of prototypes into valuable […]

The government of Extremadura and the Iberian Energy Storage Research Center (CIIAE) visit INL

During the past two half-days, INL hosted the visit from the Secretary-General of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Government of Extremadura along with the four Area Directors of the new Iberian Research Centre for Energy Storage (CIIAE). This visit falls within the context of a memorandum of understanding signed during the XXXIII Spain-Portugal Summit between Portugal and Spain for the creation and development of the Iberian Centre for Research and Energy Storage (CIIAE) in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, in which both governments highlighted INL as a relevant structure that in collaboration with the CIIAE will make an essential contribution to the Iberian energy storage strategy. The main objective of this visit was to learn first-hand about the scientific and technological activity carried out by INL in strategic areas such as Energy, Environment, Health, Food, Digital Nanosystems, Advanced Materials and Computing, as well as a progress update regarding the CIIAE research departments. Spain and Portugal are committed to reinforcing the Iberian cooperation in research and innovation in energy storage, articulating this collaboration through both centres: CIIAE and INL.