Three new Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellows

The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, part of Horizon Europe, support outstanding research and innovation collaborations across all areas of knowledge. The 2024 call received a record number of 10,360 submissions, from which only 1,696 have been selected, highlighting the highly competitive nature of the program and the excellence of the awarded proposals.

Innovative research for a sustainable future

One example of such excellence is Rashmi Runjhun, who achieved a perfect score of 100% and will join the Organic Nanostructured Photovoltaics group. “I feel privileged in achieving this score and such a successful evaluation!”, she comments. Her proposal aims at reducing carbon emissions and combating the climate emergency by developing a compact photovoltaic-electrochemical cell for green hydrogen production. “We expect to develop an efficient green technology for solar energy conversion and storage, as renewable energy sources provide excellent ways to meet the energy requirements,” she explains. “I hope that I will be able to successfully achieve my goals and contribute to the success of my group as well as ICFO.”

Researchers Sumaiya Parveen and Kaiqi Zhao will also contribute to the green transition by joining the CO₂ Mitigation Accelerated by Photons group. “I aim to contribute to Europe’s Green Deal goals by developing sustainable, high-performance materials for low-energy computation,” says Sumaiya. Her colleague Kaiqi will develop a multi-module smart electrosynthesis system to efficiently convert gases such as CO₂ and propylene into valuable chemicals. “I was inspired to apply for the fellowship because of its strong support for ambitious and interdisciplinary research, with real-world impact,” he comments, “but also for the opportunity to work under the supervision of Prof. Pelayo García de Arquer”. Sumaiya adds, “I also look forward to engaging in ICFO’s outreach initiatives and gaining valuable experience.”