INL
INL
Meet the team
The INL International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, located in Braga (North of Portugal), was founded by the governments of Portugal and Spain under an international legal framework to perform interdisciplinary research and deploy and articulate nanotechnology for the benefit of society. INL aims to become the worldwide hub for nanotechnology, addressing society’s grand challenges.
Dr. Joaquín Fernández-Rossier (Group Leader Theory of Quantum Nanostructures)
He is a condensed matter theorist with an interest in quantum phenomena at the atomic scale, quantum materials, quantum sensing and quantum simulation in quantum computers. He has published more than 150 indexed research papers, including Science (3), Nature (2), Nature Materials (2), Nature Nanotechnology (4), Advanced Materials (2), Nature Chemistry, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Physical Review Letters (20), Nano Letters (4), 2D Materials (7), Physical Review X, and Physical Review B (62). His papers have been cited more than 10500 times (Google Scholar). His h index is 53 (Google Scholar). He has graduated 6 PhD students and is co-supervising 7 more.
He holds both a Diploma (1994) and a PhD (1999) in Physics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He spent 2 years (99-01) as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California San Diego Physics Department and 18 months (01-03) at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2003, he obtained a Ramon y Cajal assistant professor position at the Universidad de Alicante, and he was promoted to a permanent position in 2008 and to an associate professor (professor titular) in 2009. He joined INL in 2011.
Dr. Leonard Deepak Francis (Group Leader Nanostructured Materials)
Leonard Deepak Francis is the group leader of the Nanostructured Materials Group at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL). His broad area of research is focused on using advanced electron microscopic techniques for the study of materials/nanomaterials for various applications, as well as in the study of fundamental physical phenomena and dynamics at the nanoscale.
Leonard received his PhD in 2005 from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India, working with Prof. C.N.R.Rao. Subsequently, he was a postdoctoral fellow (2006–2008) with Prof. Reshef Tenne at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Thereafter, he was a postdoctoral fellow (209-2011) working with Prof. Miguel Jose-Yacaman at the University of Texas before moving to INL.
He has published over 125 papers and 8 review articles in major international journals. In addition, he has three book chapters. Several of his articles have made it to the cover pages of journals.
Monike Rocha (Business and Strategic Relations)
Monike Rocha has been part of the Business and Strategic Relations Department at INL since 2017. She works on European grants preparation, submission of public and private grant applications, and management of European and interregional funded projects. Monike works closely with the Legal and the IP Departments and provides practical advice on compliance with Data Protection Policies.
Monike has a degree in Law and a Post Degree in Law and Informatics from the University of Minho. Before joining INL, Monike worked in the administration and accounting sectors at the University of Minho Academic Services in Portugal and in the Automotive Business in Brazil.
Aqrab ul Ahmad (Research fellow, Nanostructured Materials)
Aqrab ul Ahmad joined INL in February 2023 as a Research fellow and works in the Nanostructured Materials Group. His main tasks are the growth of novel 2D layered and van der waals magnetic nanostructures with controlled morphology and compositions using CVD, CVT and solution-processed methods for advanced electronic applications.
He did his PhD in microelectronics and solid-state electronics from the Dalian University of Technology China.[2020]. He developed novel synthesis routes for growing 2D nanosheets of layered materials [h-BN, Graphene, metal chalcogenides] during his education. He got training in synthesising, fabricating, and characterising 2D materials-based energy storage and health monitoring devices. After completing his PhD, he joined Riphah International University Faisalabad campus in Pakistan as an Assistant Professor of Physics [2021]. He performed his teaching and research duties by supervising graduate students. He established an Advanced 2D materials growth lab in the Department of Physics. His research interests are growing and utilising 2D nanostructures for energy, health and microelectronics fields. He is the author of more than thirty peer-reviewed scientific articles.
Inês Costa (Communication, Conferences & Marketing )
Inês works closely with funded projects developed at and with INL and is responsible for designing and implementing the Communication Strategy.
Inês is also involved in the organization and management of scientific conferences and interdisciplinary corporate initiatives such as the Scale Travels – program oriented towards the convergence between both the Arts and Science spheres.
Before joining INL in 2017, Inês Costa worked on digital marketing strategies for e-commerce companies in India and Spain.
Patrícia Barroso (Communication, Conferences & Marketing )
Patrícia Barroso holds a Master's in Communication Sciences and a Post-Graduation in Digital Marketing, Strategic Digital Marketing, and Communication.
At INL, Patrícia is responsible for managing INL's internal communication, web design, graphic design, funding projects websites management and photography.
