Júlia Jareño defended her PhD Thesis at the ICMAB meeting room, and by videoconference. She was in the room with her supervisor, Teresa Puig, and one of the members of the PhD Committee, José Santiso (Secretary), from the ICN2. The other two members were connected online: José Francisco Rivadulla Fernández (President), from the Universidad Santiago de Compostela; and Carmine Senatore (Vocal), from the University of Geneva, in Switzerland. A member from the UAB Doctoral Programme, Ramon Yáñez, was also connected to make sure that everything was done correctly. 

More than 40 people attended the PhD Thesis Defense online, through the Zoom platform. After the defense, her colleagues sang her the Gaudeamus Igitur to celebrate the new ICMAB Doctor! 

Why did you choose the ICMAB for your PhD?
Because of the great research facilities and the great group of people involved in SUMAN research line.

How would you explain your research to a non-scientific audience? 
I worked on improving the properties of superconducting materials in a novel growth method, to have materials interesting for applications.

What are the main applications of your research? Could you give us an example?
There are many applications for superconducting materials, related to their resistance free current transport, the high density of current that they can carry and also their generation of magnetic fields. One example is their use in generators for windmills.

From the lessons learnt here, which one do you value the most?
Here I learned how to be a researcher, in a very broad sense of the word.

What will you miss the most from ICMAB?
The people.

How do you think this experience will contribute to your training and to your future? 
I have learned a lot of different skills which will be useful both inside and outside of academia.

What are your plans once you finish your PhD?
To travel (if Coronavirus allows it)

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your PhD, that now you can recommend to the ones who are starting?
To organize myself better and always keep the long term goals in mind.

Why did you become a scientist? Which have been your role models? 
Because I enjoyed understanding how the world works. I wouldn’t say I had role models in science but good teachers who made the subjects interesting and easy to understand, creating my will to pursue science.

Which is your favourite female scientist? 
Teresa Puig

Describe in 3 keywords… 

• Your research: interdisciplinary, applied, interesting
• Barcelona: Lively, fun, home
• Your experience at ICMAB: fulfilling, challenging, intense

Thesis Title: Transient liquid assisted growth of superconducting nanocomposite films

Abstract: High temperature superconducting materials have unique properties which have been under investigation for many years. As such, there is a big international effort on optimizing performances and developing growth methodologies compatible with big-scale production at low cost. In this context, the results presented in this thesis are an important step forward, reporting for the first time the possibility to use the increased superconducting properties of nanocomposite technology together with a low-cost and high throughput liquid-based methodology based on chemical solution deposition.