Dr. Loredana Protesescu


University of Groningen,  Faculty of Science and Engineering,

Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials / Chemistry of nanomaterials

 

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I have been an assistant professor since 2019 at  Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen. I am an inorganic chemist with solid expertise in the chemistry of (novel) nanomaterials, their structural particularities, and their surface chemistry in relationship to self-assembly, and their properties. I use chemical design to achieve functional materials at the nanoscale with applications in energy, extreme environment, and bio-applications. I have vast experience in the development of tailored semiconductor nanocrystals with applications in opto-electronic devices. My contribution to the perovskite semiconductors nanocrystals is reflected by my extensive work with lead and tin halide perovskites with 2D and 3D structures and morphologies.

      I have published more than 50 papers. I contributed to the development of two patents, and I am the scientific advisor of Peafowl Plasmonics, a Sweden start-up company. Furthermore, I won the Nanomaterials 2020 Young Investigator Award, a Veni NWO grant (2019), and an OTP NWO grant (2024). I was selected as an Early Career Board member for Nano Letters starting 2022. Starting 2023, I am chairing the ECB. 


Research interests:

Chemical design for advanced functionalized nano-materials

My research interest is how to enable functional nanomaterials using chemical design to achieve properties considered impossible for the next generation of applications taking advantage of nanoscale.

I study novel colloidal nano-materials while developing synthetic strategies, and programming their structural particularities and their surface chemistry in relation to their properties and potential applications in energy, extreme environment, and bio-applications. The colloidal nanocrystals are specially designed and studied for their physical properties such as optical characteristics, conductivity, magnetism, ultra-high temperature ceramics, or bio-physics.


Education and professional experience:

2019- present

 

2017-2018

 

 

2016-2017

 

January 2016

Assistant professor (tenure track), Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials

 

 Postdoctoral Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemistry, advisor: Prof. dr. dr. Mircea Dincă, (Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship).

 

 Postdoctoral Scholar, ETH Zurich/D-CHAB, Functional Inorganic Materials, Kovalenko Group, with Prof. dr. Maksym V. Kovalenko.

 

Doctoral degree, ETH Zurich/D-CHAB, Functional Inorganic Materials, with Prof. dr. Maksym V. Kovalenko. Thesis title: “Novel luminescence colloidal nanocrystals and studies on nanocrystal surface chemistry”


Awards:

2023               Chair of Early Career Board  for Nano Letters

2021                Early Career Board member for Nano Letters (appointed for 3 years)

2020                Nanomaterials 2020 Young Investigator Award, MDPI, Basel.

2019                NWO VENI grant (250K euro). The Netherlands.

2018                ETH Medal (for top 5% PhD Theses), ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

2017                Best PhD Thesis Award in Materials Science, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

2016                Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship (early postdoc mobility).

2016                Best Poster Prize at MRS-2016 Conference (Symposium “Perovskite- Based Photovoltaics and Optoelectronic Devices”).

2014                SCNAT_SCS Travel Award.


Teaching experience:

2022-ongoing  Coordination chemistry, bachelor (coordinator and lecturer)

2020-ongoing  Engineered nanomaterials for industry, master (coordinator and lecturer)

2019-ongoing  Structure at Macro, Meso and Nanoscale, master (coordinator and Lecturer

Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen


Scientific and synergistic activities:

  • Total of 54 publications in peer-reviewed journals (Science, JACS, Advanced Materials, ACS nano, Nanoletters, Chemical science, etc)
  • Invited lectures and conference participation: >25 lectures (NanoGe-Spring meeting 2022, Amolf – 2022, University of Amsterdam 2022, Twente University, 2022, Nanoseries 2022, Brazil MRS – 2021, University of Uppsala, Sweden/2020, Physics@Veldhoven, the Netherlands/2020, Amolf/The Netherlands/2019, etc)
  • 2 patents (with Avantama, Switzerland, 2016: Solid polymer composition, Luminescent crystals and manufacturing thereof 2017).
  • 1 patent filed (RUG)
  • Peafowl Plasmonics (Sweden Startup)– Scientific Advisor
  • Supervisor for 5 PhD students , more than 25 master and bachelor
  • Chair of organization Symposium Chemistry of nanomaterials, NanoGe , spring 2021, 2022.
  • Public lectures/experiments for primary schools Groningen (2020,2021), on Maturandentag (2012, 2013) and Tag der Offenen Labor (2012, 2013).
  • Board of reviewers (2020-2021): Frontiers in Chemistry, Elsevier;
  • Active reviewer for journals from ACS, Royal Society, Elsevier.

 


Membership of professional societies:

ACS (since 2013), MRS member (since 2015)


Professional service and management:

  • Early Career Board member for Nano Letters (appointed for 3 years)
  • Scientific executive boards (External, review committees, program committees)
  • Program committee national meetings- Physics@Veldhoven (2022) – CHAINS (2022)
  • Selection of executive boards (internal, Faculty board, institute, educational) 
    • Member of Board of Examiners (Nanoscience/Physics)-2023- present)
    • Member of Program Committee (CH/CE)-2019-2023)
    • Member of curriculum committee Master Advanced materials 2020
    • PhD defense committees RUG, University of Amsterdam.
    • Organizer PhD colloquium and Zernike Colloquium.
    • Webinars organization for materials chemistry group (with participants from Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials),

Media:

It's okay to have kids  https://ukrant.nl/magazine/its-okay-to-have-kids/?lang=en