Seville, January 16, 2018. Sol Carretero Palacios, researcher at the Institute of Materials Science of Seville (ICMS), attached to the cicCartuja – a joint center CSIC-University of Seville-Junta de Andalucía – extends her continuity at the ICMS thanks to a Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación contract.
This scientist from Madrid has focused her research, on the one hand, on the theoretical study of photovoltaic devices such as dye and perovskite solar cells, trying to maximize absorption in them by including plasmonic and dielectric nanoparticles. The boom in the development of perovskite cells has shown record efficiency figures, postulating it as one of the most revolutionary scientific practices.
Graduated in Physics from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Sol Carretero studied for a year at the University of Zaragoza, where she also completed the Master’s Degree in Physics and Physical Technologies. In 2011 she obtained her PhD on optical transmission mechanisms in nanostructured materials, under the supervision of Prof. Luis Martín Moreno.
After completing her postdoctoral stay in Munich, where she was awarded the prestigious Humboldt Fellowship to work with Prof. Feldmann, Carretero joined the Nanostructured Optical Materials (MOM) group at ICMS in 2014, led by Prof. Hernán Míguez. Her work at this institute was part of a European Research Council (ERC) project on the design and manufacture of flexible materials with extraordinary optical properties.
In parallel, Sol Carretero also investigates at ICMS the influence of optical properties on the Casimir Force in plane-parallel systems, being of particular interest due to its potential applicability in micro and nanomechanical devices with zero friction or, on the contrary, in systems with maximum adhesion.
The Juan de la Cierva – Incorporation contracts are aimed at promoting the employment of young doctors by Spanish research organisations or R&D centres, with the aim of helping them to strengthen the research skills acquired during an initial stage of postdoctoral training. The grants are to co-finance employment for a period of two years.