Group leaders Monica Lira and Daniel Ruiz promoted to CSIC Full Professors

by Virginia Greco

Dr Lira-Cantú is leader of the Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group since 2006 and Dr Ruiz-Molina of the Nanostructured Functional Materials Group since 2008.

In its latest call for internal promotion of researchers, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) opened 6 new positions for Professors in the Materials Science field. Dr Monica Lira-Cantú, leader of the ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group, and Dr Daniel Ruiz-Molina, leader of the ICN2 Nanostructured Functional Materials Group, have been each awarded a CSIC Full Professor position. From the ICN2, we congratulate them on this important milestone.

Mónica Lira-Cantú, Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy Group

After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in 1992, Monica Lira-Cantu obtained her Master’s and PhD degrees in Materials Science at the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB) and the Universitat Automa de Barcelona in 1995 and 1997, respectively. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Schneider Electric and ICMAB until 1998. From 1999 to 2001 she was a permanent senior staff chemist at ExxonMobil Research & Engineering (formerly Mobil Technology Co) in New Jersey (USA), establishing a group on energy-related applications.

Dr Lira-Cantú has received various awards, as well as visiting scientist fellowships at laboratories in Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and Japan. She is group leader of the Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy since 2006. She obtained a tenured track position at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in 2007 and was promoted to Scientific Researcher in 2017.

The research interests of Dr Lira-Cantú lie in the synthesis and application of nanostructured materials for highly efficient and high stable next-generation thin-film solar cells: halide-perovskite, dye-sensitised, all-oxide and organic solar cells. Her group has developed halide perovskite solar cells with > 21% efficiency and 1000 h stability under continuous illumination. The group also focuses on the application of solar cells in printed battery-less, self-powered electronics for the IoT (on flexible, transparent and/or smart materials).

Find here the full biography and publication list.

Learn more about Dr Lira-Cantú’s research interests and activities:

Daniel Ruiz-Molina, Nanostructured Functional Materials Group

Daniel Ruiz-Molina got his PhD in Chemistry with a thesis on polyradical dendrimers at the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) under Prof. Jaume Veciana’s tutorship. Then he obtained a postdoctoral position at the University of California San Diego (USA), where he spent three years working on single molecule magnets and molecular switches.

Since 2001 he has held a permanent position as a Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) researcher, most recently at the ICN2, where he is the leader of the Nanostructured Functional Materials Group. His main research areas include the fabrication of hybrid colloids and surfaces, biomimetic functional nanostructures, and micro- or nanoparticles for smart applications and encapsulation and delivery systems.

Find here the full biography and publication list.

Learn more about Dr Ruiz-Molina’s research interests and activities: