PhD

Ana Catarina Fernades Araújo

PhD

Computational spectroscopy combines the strengths of in situ (experimental vibrational spectroscopy techniques) and in silico tools (discrete and periodic ab-initio methods) to explore in greater depth the structural landscape of disordered materials such as deep eutectic solvents (DES), polymers and composites. Through an iterative process where the computationally estimated vibrational signatures of "guess structures" are compared against the spectral fingerprints observed through experiment, a complex picture emerges, where the ordered crystalline domains of polymeric materials, or co-crystals formed under the eutectic point in certain DES, contrasts with the diverse, flexible network found in the amorphous polymeric regions, or molten DES. Through better understanding both the conformational and energetic aspects of this complex structural landscape some interesting structure-property relationships emerge, and new pathways for intelligent material design unravel.

Pedro Miguel Duarte Vaz

PhD

Pedro Vaz holds a PhD in Chemistry (Universidade de Aveiro, PT; 2003) and a BSc in Chemistry (Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, PT; 1998), focusing on structural characterization (vibrational and neutron spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry). He was a staff researcher at the University of Lisbon, Portugal and at the ISIS Neutron & Muon Facility, Didcot, UK. In 2015 he moved into the private sector serving as scientific director, lab manager and consultant for companies in different sectors. He is also head scientist, at Tellspec, where he implements and validates spectroscopy solutions for non-invasive chemical analysis. More recently, at Champalimaud Foundation in its role as researcher at the Lung Unit he is developing early diagnostics for lung cancer using breaht analysis. He has co-authored more than 90 scientific articles, 3 book chapters and several communications at scientific meetings. In parallel, he was also invited to lecture at UPMC, Sorbonne (Paris, France), Osaka Prefecture University (Osaka, Japan) and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (Thuwal, Saudi Arabia).