As part of the evaluation system of the Experiments Division at the ALBA Synchrotron, three group of scientists have been awarded in 2014. The "Best experiment" category was for Lucía Aballe and Michael Foerster from the CIRCE beamline thanks to their work "Synthesis and characterization of atomically flat cobalt ferrite single crystals down to nanometer thicknesses". This experiment, in collaboration with researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the ALBA Synchrotron, have developed a new way of producing and characterizing high-quality ultrathin cobalt ferrite nanostructures.
Lucía Aballe during the ceremony (left) and Francesc Farré (left) talking about the "Compact Fast Spinner" device.
Secondly, the jury (composed by the members of the Experiments division) chose a device developed by Francesc Farré as the "Best Instrumental Development". The "Compact Fast Spinner" is a cheap, easy to build and useful device for rotating samples at the high-resolution diffraction powder endstantion of the MSPD beamline.
Finally, the category of "Best publication" was awarded also to CIRCE beamline researchers, Carlos Escudero and Virginia Pérez-Dieste, for a publication in Science magazine. The study, led by the Univeristat Politècnica de Catalunya UPC (from Centre of Research in Nanoengineering and the Technological Institute for Energy) analyzed how atoms move in a real catalyst demonstrating that they react differently depending on the type of support being used. The study is an important step forward in the design of new catalysts with applications in the field of energy.
Caterina Biscari, director of ALBA, (left) Miguel Ángel García Aranda, scientific director of ALBA (on the right) with the winners: from left to right, Lucía Aballe and Michael Foerster, Francesc Farré and finally Carlos Escudero and Virginia Pérez-Dieste.
