Graduated in Physics from the Faculty of Sciences at the University Moulay Ismail (Meknes, Morocco) in 1996, he obtained his PhD in Physics in 2003 from the Université de Namur (Belgium), in the Department of Physics, where he carried out his doctoral thesis at the Laboratoire d’Analyse par Réactions Nucléaires (LARN). After completing his PhD, he undertook a postdoctoral stay at the Laboratoire de Physique des Matériaux Électroniques (LPME, Université de Namur), focusing on electronic and semiconductor materials.

His research activity is developed in the field of solid-state physics and materials science. His main research lines are structured in two axes: crystal growth of semiconductor materials (thin films, bulk materials, and nanostructures) using various synthesis and deposition techniques, and materials characterization, employing structural, microstructural, and chemical techniques such as XRD, HRXRD, SEM, and HRTEM. In addition, he conducts other characterization studies in collaboration with different research groups.

He is currently the head and specialist in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) at the Central Service for Experimental Research Support (SCSIE) of the University of Valencia, collaborating with several research groups.

He is author and co-author of more than 80 scientific publications in indexed international journals and has participated in numerous conferences and national and international research projects. He also carries out extensive university teaching activities in areas related to physics, materials science, and advanced characterization techniques.

Current Position: Professor (Catedrático) in the Department of Applied Physics, University of Valencia, Spain.

Overview:
38 years of academic activity encompassing research, teaching, and management. Member of the Optical Fiber Group (https://www.uv.es/lfo/) and the Institute of Materials Science of the University of Valencia. My work has been recognized by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (CNEAI committee) with six six-year research assessment periods (sexenios), one six-year knowledge transfer assessment period, and six five-year teaching assessment periods (quinquenios).

Degrees:

1. Degree and Master’s in Physics (Licenciatura), University of Valencia, 1987.

2. PhD in Physics, University of Valencia, 1992.

3. Postdoctoral training: Visiting researcher at the Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, 1994–1995, within the Program for the Training of Doctors and Technicians Abroad (Spanish Ministry of Science and Education).

Employment:

1. Research fellow, 1987–1990.

2. Assistant Professor (Ayudante), University of Valencia, 1990–1995.

3. Associate Professor, University of Valencia, 1995–1996.

4. Lecturer, University of Valencia, 1996–2009.

5. Professor, University of Valencia, October 2009–present.

Research Interests:
My research has been conducted within the framework of 35 research projects funded by national and regional governments. The activity has focused on microwave and optical fiber technologies, specifically covering the following topics:

1. Development of microwave devices for radar antennas.

2. Optical fiber fabrication by MCVD; development of rare-earth-doped and photosensitive fibers.

3. Fabrication of Bragg and long-period fiber gratings.

4. Development of lasers and optical amplifiers operating at 0.577, 1.06, 1.15, 1.55, and 2.07 μm, including CW, Q-switched, and mode-locked operation.

5. Fabrication of high-power fiber amplifiers using LMA and double-cladding technologies.

6. Microwave photonics.

7. Characterization of optical fibers (e.g., Verdet constant, phase and group indices).

8. Fiber post-processing by chemical etching (fabrication of tapers and microcavities for sensors and filters).

9. Development of optical fiber sensors for physical parameters (particularly strain, temperature, voltage, and electric current).

10. Development of fiber sensors for chemical and biological species (particularly hydrogen, glucose, antibodies, and DNA).

Summary of Research Results:
This research activity has resulted in the following infrastructures and outputs:

1. Establishment of a fiber grating fabrication laboratory at the University of Valencia.

2. Establishment of a microstructured fiber fabrication laboratory at the University of Valencia.

3. 198 articles in indexed journals.

4. 10 patents.

5. 286 conference papers.

6. 6 book chapters.

7. Supervision of 6 PhD theses.

Knowledge Transfer to Society and the Productive Sector:

1. Participation in 12 research projects funded by private companies focused on the development of microwave components, lasers, and sensors. Main companies involved include RYMSA, Arteche, INDRA, NKT, and European Laser Therapeutics.

2. Member of the founding board of FYLA, a company specialized in the fabrication of fiber lasers and supercontinuum light sources (https://www.fyla.com).

3. Collaboration as a specialist with the Spanish National Health Service (Ministry of Health), 2008–present.

4. Participation in the lifelong learning program “Nau Gran” for people over 55 years old, University of Valencia, 2010–present.

Teaching Activity:

1. 38 years of teaching theoretical and laboratory courses in:

   • Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Physics (specialization in Photonics).

   • Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry.

   • Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Telecommunications Engineering.

2. Supervision of 24 bachelor’s and master’s theses.

3. Participation in training courses for high school teachers.

4. Contributions to 19 conferences focused on education.

5. Participation in nine projects on teaching innovation and education.

6. Participation in the University Admission Examinations (EVAU), 1997–2023.

Management Activity:

1. Administrative positions:
   1.1 Vice Dean, Faculty of Physics, University of Valencia, 2004–2005.
   1.2 Head of the Department of Applied Physics, University of Valencia, 2005–2011.
   1.3 Vice Dean, Faculty of Physics, University of Valencia, 2012–2018.

2. Member of the Faculty of Physics Assembly, 1992–2001 and 2005–2018.

3. Member of the University Assembly, 1993–1997 and 2005–2009.

4. Member of the University Teaching Committee, 2012–2018.

5. Member of the Panel for Assessment and Improvement of Academic Performance of Physics Students, University of Valencia, 2003.

6. Member and Chair of the Academic Committee of the Physics Degree, University of Valencia, 2005–2018.

Conference Organization Activity:

1. Program Committee Member, OSA Advanced Photonics Congress on Specialty Optical Fibers and Applications.

2. Program Committee Member, International Conference on Photonics, Optics and Laser Technology.

3. Scientific Committee Member, International Conference on Higher Education Advances.

4. Scientific Committee Member, National Symposium of the International Union of Radio Science.

[Biography, english version]

Antonio Díez began his research activity in 1995, when he joined the Laboratory of Fiber Optics, at the University of Valencia (LFO-UV), Spain. He received his PhD in physics in 1998 from the University of Valencia. During his PhD, he complemented his training with two stays at the Optoelectronic Research Centre, U.K. In 1999, he joined the Optoelectronics Research Group at the University of Bath, U.K., for nearly two years as a post-doctoral researcher. In 2001, he joined the University of Valencia, where he served successively as Assistant Professor and Lecturer. Currently, he is Full Professor at the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Valencia, Spain. As a member of LFO-UV, he has actively contributed to the implementation of several new research lines at LFO-UV. A. Díez has participated in more than 40 research projects granted in competitive calls from different public administrations, and in more than 20 research/transfer projects with different companies and technological institutions. A. Díez is cofounder of the company FYLA Laser S. L., created in 2006 as a “spin-off” company of the University of Valencia. His teaching activities include undergraduate and master subjects, as well as doctoral studies. He has taught subjects in Physics degree, Electrical Engineering, Master in Advanced Physics, and Doctorate in Physics. In all of them, the contents of the subjects are related to electromagnetism, electromagnetic waves, and photonics. He has been supervisor/co-supervisor of 9 PhD theses and several master's theses.

Bachelor's degree in Physics (1987) from the University of Valencia and Laurea in Physics from the University of Padua (1994). She began her research career in 1988 in Italy, first at the INFN (1988) and then at the CNR (1989-1993) with an FPU scholarship, a stay that led to her obtaining a PhD in Physics (University of Valencia, 1994) with a thesis on interferometric measurement of plasma density, in the RFX fusion project-experiment, Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) type.

She has been a tenured professor of applied physics at the University of Valencia since 2000 in the Department of Applied Physics and Electromagnetism, after having been an assistant professor (1994). She is also a researcher at the Institute of Materials Science of the University of Valencia (ICMUV).

After joining the University of Valencia, she conducted research into laminar and semi-magnetic semiconductors, particularly their optical properties. Since 1996, she has also been working on materials under extreme high-pressure conditions (diamond and Paris-Edinburgh cells), with structural, optical (fluorescence, absorption, Raman, IR), and transport measurements, including high temperatures, on materials of geophysical and technological interest, and also with experience in European synchrotron radiation facilities (LURE, ESRF, DIAMOND, SOLEIL, and ALBA).

Participant in more than 30 funded research projects, including a CONSOLIDER Ingenio 2010 project (MALTA, High Pressure Matter) and three PROMETEO projects from the Valencian Regional Government (Advanced Materials for Green Technologies, GREENMAT).

She has held several academic management positions. She was director of the Department of Applied Physics and Electromagnetism for six years (2017-2023) and, prior to that, secretary of the same department (2003-2006). She was vice dean of studies and chair of the Physics CAT (2006-2012) and chair of the CEPE for the development of the new Bachelor's Degree in Physics (2008-2010) linked to European harmonization.

For more than 25 years, she has been intensely involved in outreach activities focused on understanding the fundamentals of science and the scientific method, emphasizing the relationship between theoretical and experimental aspects and university-secondary school relations. She has given more than 50 lectures, training courses, and experimental workshops.

Initiator and head of the UV Classroom Physics Demonstration Collection, a pioneering project to revive the use of experimental demonstrations in teaching, with more than 200 demonstrations available to all teachers. Coordinator (since 2005) of the Experimenta Physics and Technology Fair-Competition, with around 300 participants and more than 3,000 visitors each year, for which she has obtained competitive projects from the FECYT and agreements with the Valencia Science Museum annually since 2013. She is also responsible for the Experimenta Lab (since 2006), a laboratory attended by aprox. 700 secondary school students each year. Since 2011, she has been coordinator of the Archimedes Physics Working Group (2013 Physics in Society Award - Science in Action), which promotes the above activities. She is also a physics specialist for the regional university entrance exams (since 2008), president and organizer of the Valencia Physics Olympiad (since 2008), and vicepresident of the Division of Physics Teaching and Dissemination of the Royal Spanish Physics Society (RSEF). In 2018, she was awarded the RSEF-BBVA Foundation Prize for Teaching and Dissemination in University Education.

I obtained my PhD in Physics in 2000 at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. In 2003, I joined the Universitat de València as a Ramón y Cajal fellow. I am currently an Associate Professor at the department of Applied Physics and the leader of the research unit POEMAS (Procesos OptoElectrónicos en Materiales Avanzados y Superficies) integrated in the group Innomat led by Professor Ana Cros in the Institut de Ciencia dels Materials of Universitat de València (ICMUV). Currently our research lines include: the conformation, optical response, and charge transfer processes in functionalized graphene-based nanomaterials; interlayer charge separation in multidimensional halide perovskites, which constitute the latest breakthrough on PV technology; and photocurrent in 2D semiconductors.Our main research activities combine optical spectroscopies with scanning probe microscopies (SPM). In particular, we perform co-localized measurements of Raman scattering and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and/or light-assisted KPFM. We are also interested in using plasmonic resonances to improve the sensitivity threshold and the spatial resolution of Raman spectroscopy by performing experiments of either surface or tip enhanced Raman scattering (SERS and TERS). The combination of several non-destructive techniques with multi-scale sensitivity (from nanometers to millimeters) is essential for tracking the fundamental physicochemical processes involved in material and device optimization. Part of these research activities have led to PhD and Master thesis. I have supervised 5 PhD, 2 of them still in progress, and 6 Master thesis, 1 on-going.

I have participated in 15 research projects, being the principal investigator of 6 of them (2 regional, 3 national and 1 European), one of them starting in September 2025: Integrated spectroscopies and probe microscopies for energy generation and high-power transistors (PID2024-161277OB-I00) IPs: Núria Garro and Ana Cros, Funding:113.750 €

Concerning my research production, I have published more than 90 ISI research papers, including +45 Q1 and 3 D1, with a total number of citations of 1510. The average number of citations during the last five years is 77 per year and my h-index is 24. I have 4 sexennial research periods, the last one was evaluated in December 2019.

Bachelor's degree in Physical Sciences from the University of Valencia (1989). He began his research career in 1991 as an F.P.I. fellow, completing several pre-doctoral stays at the Groupe de Physique des Solides (GPS) at the University of Paris VI-VII, obtaining a PhD in Physical Sciences from the University of Valencia in 1995, with a doctoral thesis entitled “Preparation and characterization of superconducting thin films of the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system.” He then completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship (1996-1997) at the LURE synchrotron, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay (France), funded by a grant from the Ministry of Education and Science. During this stay, he reoriented his research towards high-pressure and high-temperature techniques (in structural, vibrational, optical, and transport measurements) for the study of semiconductors and oxides under pressure. He was an Assistant Professor between 1993 and 1998, an Associate Professor between 1998 and 2000, and since 2000 he has been a Full Professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Electromagnetism at the University of Valencia. He has six five-year periods of teaching experience.

He has published 80 articles in indexed journals (50 in Q1) with 2,333 citations, an average of 141 citations per year, and an h-index of 28. He has participated in 85 conference presentations. He has five years of research experience.

He has participated as a researcher in the research team in 18 funded research projects, including a CONSOLIDER Ingenio 2010 project (MALTA, High Pressure Materials) and three PROMETEO projects of the Generalitat Valenciana (Advanced Materials for Green Technologies, GREENMAT). In addition, he has developed five research projects for the National R&D&I Plan as Principal Investigator (four of them as coordinating researcher for coordinated projects), and has extensive experience (almost 30 years) as a user of European synchrotron radiation facilities (LURE, ESRF, DIAMOND, SOLEIL, and ALBA), mainly in X-ray diffraction techniques. One of the most relevant objectives of his current research work is the synthesis under high pressure and high temperature of new phases of materials with technological applications of interest in various fields. To this end, he has designed and assembled a high-pressure and high-temperature system using a large-volume Paris-Edinburgh press with automatic control of both pressure and temperature.

In terms of training activities, he has co-directed a doctoral thesis, three final degree projects, and two final master's projects. He has participated in four editions of the Spanish High Pressure School (two in Valencia, one in La Laguna, and one in Oviedo), aimed at doctoral students. He has also participated in three editions (2018, 2019, and 2022) of the Introduction to Materials Science Course, organized at the Institute of Materials Science of the University of Valencia (ICMUV) for third- and fourth-year students of Physics and Chemistry. He has also participated in seven doctoral thesis committees (four of them at Sorbonne University in Paris).

He has participated in the organization of two conferences: XLVI EHPRG Meeting, Valencia (2008) (International) and V National Meeting of the Association of Synchrotron Radiation Users of Spain (AUSE), Valencia (2011).

He has also held various academic management positions. He was secretary of the Department of Applied Physics and Electromagnetism for six years (2005-2011) and head of the same department for six years (2011-2017). He has also been coordinator of the Double Degree in Physics and Mathematics (2020-2024) and mobility coordinator for this double degree (2021-2024). Since April 2024, he has been secretary of the Faculty of Physics.

David Santamaria-Perez received the B.Sc. degree from University de Burgos (2001) and the Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University Carlos III of Madrid (2006). Currently, he is Professor in the Department of Applied Physics and the Institute of Material Science of the University of Valencia (ICMUV) and he is the leader of the “Carbonates at extreme conditions” experimental research line.

Previously, he was postdoctoral researcher at Max-Planck Institute of Chemistry (Germany), University Complutense of Madrid, the University College London (UK) and the University of California Los Angeles, UCLA (USA). He has been invited researcher at the center for Science at Extreme Conditions (CSEC) of the University of Edinburgh (UK) and the Geowissenschaften Institute of the Univerity of Frankfurt (Germany). He also held a senior Marie-Curie and a Ramón y Cajal fellowships.

He has been involved in experiments that have allowed (i) rationalizing the structures of minerals, (ii) redetermining the phase diagram and thermodynamical parameters of metals and alloys, and (iii) unveiling novel dense phases, while actively contributing to the development of cutting-edge experimental techniques.  He has published more than 130 scientific articles and 5 book chapters.