Miguel Anaya, a researcher attached to the Multifunctional Optical Materials Group of the Institute of Materials Science of Seville, receives a scholarship from “La Caixa” to pursue doctoral studies in Spain. Among the 526 accepted applications, this young researcher has been the only applicant from the University of Seville to receive one of the 25 scholarships offered.
“la Caixa” scholarships cover all areas of knowledge, and are awarded on a very competitive basis. The selection process includes an English test and a personal interview, and involves professors and researchers with a solid curriculum of contributions in the disciplinary field of the application. Specifically, the selection panels took into account three factors to evaluate the applications: a) The excellence of the proposal, b) The impact of the project, and c) The importance of the effect that the scholarship may have on the candidate’s scientific career. Since 1982, “la Caixa” has awarded scholarships to study at the best universities in the world. In particular, for the subdiscipline or area of Materials Science and Technology, only 7 scholarships have been awarded to date. These scholarships are also published in the prestigious journal Nature.
Miguel has been working within the Multifunctional Optical Materials group, led by the CSIC scientific researcher Hernán Ruy Míguez, since October 2012. During this time, his efforts have focused on the design of optical structures that increase the performance of dye-based solar cells.
The project for which he has received the scholarship will last four years at most and is entitled: “Optical design of photoelectrochemical devices”. His research will be based on a solid theoretical basis applied to the modelling of photoelectrochemical devices. In this context, the company will design novel photonic structures with the aim of integrating them into different solar cells. After optically optimising these systems, it will proceed to the experimental development of devices to obtain efficiency improvements and changes in their appearance that will give them added value.
