NOVAS Project

Novel Particle Accelerators in Science

Team



Javier Resta López
Principal Investigator

Javier2.Resta@uv.es

Javier Resta received his degree in Physics (“Licenciatura”) from the University of Valencia (Spain) in 2001. Then, he moved to Mainz University (Germany) where, in 2003, he obtained a “Diplomarbeit” in Theoretical Nuclear Physics. In 2004, he was awarded with a doctoral fellowship from CERN. His PhD thesis was focused on the design and performance characterisation studies of nonlinear collimation systems for both circular (e.g. LHC) and linear (e.g. CLIC) colliders. After obtaining his PhD in Accelerator Physics with “Summa cum laude” from the University of Valencia in 2007, Dr Resta worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at different prestigious international institutions: John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science (JAI), Oxford University; the Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC) under the umbrella of a “Juan de la Cierva” fellowship; and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba, Japan.

In 2014, Javier joined the University of Liverpool within the framework of a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship for experienced researchers. He conducted Beam Physics research to better understand the Beam Dynamics in low energy antiproton and ion storage rings towards the performance optimisation of existing and new antimatter facilities. In 2017, Javier was promoted to the position of Research Coordinator and Deputy Leader of the Quantum Systems and advanced Accelerator Research (QUASAR) Group at the University of Liverpool and Cockcroft Institute. He has led a wide-ranging R&D portfolio, including advanced beam dynamics studies, beam diagnostics and novel particle acceleration techniques.

Since July 2020, Dr Resta is a Distinguished Researcher (Plan GenT) at the Institute of Materials Science of the University of Valencia (ICMUV). 



Pablo Martín Luna
PhD student

pamarlu@alumni.uv.es

Pablo Martín Luna graduated with honours in Physics from the Universitat de Valencia (UV), Spain, in 2020. During his studies he obtained a collaboration grant with the Department of Applied Physics and Electromagnetism. During 2020-21 he received his Master’s degree in Advanced Physics (specialisation in photonics) from the UV, a JAE INTRO 2020 scholarship for training in the IRIS group of IFIC in Valencia and a grant for research collaboration in IFIC. Moreover, he obtained the 4th place in PLANCKS 2021, an international physics competition for bachelor and master students.

He has worked in numerical simulations of the relativistic dynamics of charged particles in electromagnetic fields using the Boris method. Currently, he is a PhD student with a FPU2020 grant in order to explore novel particle acceleration techniques using carbon nanostructures.



Juan Rodríguez Pérez
PhD student

juan.rodriguez-perez@uv.es

Juan completed his bachelor's degree from the University of Valencia (UV) in 2021. Thereafter, in 2022 he went on to earn a a master's in Advanced Physics, specializing in theoretical studies. Throughout his academic journey, he addressed challenges in theoretical physics, notably resolving the 2D Ising model using methods from Onsager, Kaufmann, and Baxter, and investigating analogous radiation models in acoustic black holes.

In the past, Juan also collaborated with the PhysioMRI group at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), where he developed a Python software from the ground up to interpret raw data from pioneering mT MRI scanners, producing clear images.

As a PhD student at the University of Valencia, Juan carries out research on Laser Wakefield Acceleration (LWFA) with structured inhomogeneous high density plasmas.



Fazel Taft
PhD student

Fazel.Taft@uv.es

Fazel is a nuclear engineer who specialises in radiation applications. In 2017 he obtained his master's degree from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), where he received a scholarship to work on beam dynamics and magnet design of a cyclotron for PET imaging as part of a national project in Iran. He has also collaborated with research groups from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, and the Alceli company on the development of a new accelerator for proton therapy.

Fazel's PhD project at the University of Valencia focuses on the optical design and beam dynamics studies of the novel ISOLDE Superconducting Recoil Separator (ISRS).