Degrees
  • M. Sc. and B. Sc. in Physics, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, 1979
  • Ph. D. in Solid State Physics, A. F. Ioffe Physical Technical Institute, Russia, 1988

Work Experience

7/99 – present

Principal Investigator, Center for Research in Ceramic and Composite Materials & Dept. of Ceramics and Glass Engineering, University of Aveiro, Portugal
9/97 – 6/99

Senior Research Associate, Dept. of Ceramics and Materials Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, U.S.A.
1/94 – 8/97

Research Associate, Laboratory of Ceramics, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland
1/79 - 12/93

PhD student, junior researcher, senior researcher, Laboratory of Ferroelectricity and Magnetism, A. F. Ioffe Physical Technical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia


Research Interests

  • Processing, characterization and applications of ferroelectric thin films
  • Sensors and actuators, MEMS
  • Dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of materials
  • Nanoscale characterization of electroactive materials via scanning probe techniques
  • Transport phenomena in dielectrics and ferroelectrics
  • Multiferroics and magnetoelectrics


Teaching Activities

  • “Scanning probe microscopy for biologist” - short course within master program in bioengineering (2005-2006, University of Aveiro, Portugal)

  • “Scanning probe microscopy of materials” - short course within ECIU master program in materials science and engineering (Fall 2004-2006, University of Aveiro, Portugal)

  • “Nanoscale characterization of ferroelectrics”, summer course (Aug. 2004, Prince of Songkla Univ., Thailand)

  • “Piezoelectric materials” (Spring 2003, University of Aveiro, Portugal)
  • “Principles of scanning probe microscopy”, (Fall 2002, University of Aveiro, Portugal)
  • “Properties of materials” (Spring 2001, University of Aveiro, Portugal)
  • “Special ceramics” (Falls 1999 and 2000, University of Aveiro, Portugal)
  • “Advanced electronic ceramics” (Spring 1999, Rutgers University, U.S.A.)
  • “Materials technology for ferroelectric microsensors, microactuators, and microelectronic components” summer school (Aug. 1996, EPFL, Switzerland)
  • Supervised a number of undergraduate, graduate and PhD students (Ioffe Inst., Rutgers, EPFL, U. Aveiro)


Professional Activities

  • IEEE-UFFC Society – Ferroelectric Committee member
  • Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control – Associate Editor

  • Reviewer for various scientific journals including “Journal of Physics”, “Integrated Ferroelectrics”, “Ferroelectrics”, “Applied Physics Letters”, “Journal of Applied Physics”, “Sensors and Actuators”, “Journal of the American Ceramic Society”, “Ultramicroscopy”, “Journal of the European Ceramic Society”, “NanoLetters”, “Journal of Materials research”, “Journal of Electronics”, “Journal of Micromechanics”, “Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control”.

  • Chairman of the 6th European Conference on Applications of Polar Dielectrics (ECAPD-6)

  • Member of the International Advisory Boards of the European Conference on Applications of Polar Dielectrics and of the International Symposium "Micro- and Nanoscale Domain Structuring in Ferroelectrics"

  • Session chair at various international congresses and seminars
  • Member of Electrochemical Society, Materials Research Society and IEEE-UFFC Society
  • Reviewer for the grant agency of Czech Republic


Awards
  • 2nd Prise, Ioffe Physico-Technikal Institute , Russia (1988)
  • FASIP Award, Rutgers University , Piscataway , U.S.A. (1999)
  • Best poster award at 8 th Intl. Symposium on Ferroic Domains and Mesoscopic Structures (ISFD-8).
  • IEEE Senior Member (2004)
  • Award of the Portuguese Ministry of Education, Science and Technology “Estimulo de Excellencia” (2004)

List of current projects

  • “Relaxor behavior in strontium titanate ceramics” (FCT, Portugal)
  • “Ceramics and films of incipient ferroelectrics for tunable capacitor applications” (FCT, Portugal)
  • “Piezoelectric composite thick films via hybrid sol-gel technique for high-frequency applications” (FCT, Portugal)

  • “Nanoengineering of magnetic and luminescent particles for cell separation and biolabelling techniques” (FCT, Portugal)

  • " Optimization of paper surface quality with engineered pigments " (FCT, Portugal)

  • Bilateral collaboration projects with Université de Valenciennes (France), Darmstadt University of Technology (Germany) and Institute of Physics ( Czech Republic )

  • "Multifunctional ceramic layers with high electromagnetoelastic coupling" (STREP, EU)

  • "Polarization-driven self-assembly of organic and biomaterials using ultrathin ferroelectric polymers" (INTAS, EU)

Invited presentations

  • “Nanoscale characterization of ferroelectricmaterials for microelectronic applications", Asian Meeting on Electroceramics, Thailand, Dec. 2006

  • "Local piezoelectric characterization of ferroelectric materials for MEMS", 5th Asian Meeting on Ferroelectrics, Japan, Sept. 2006

  • "Scanning Force Microscopy of ferroelectric relaxors", 11th Intl. Meeting on Ferroelectricity, Brasil, Sept. 2005

  • “Scanning Force Microscopy of ferroelectric relaxors”, 11th Intl. Meeting on Ferroelectricity, Brasil, September 2005

  • “Local piezoelectric properties and domains in ferroelectrics studied by piezoforce microscopy”, Université Jules Verne, Amiens , France , May 2005

  • “Scanning Force Microscopy of ferroelectric relaxors”, 7th European Conference on Applications of Polar Dielectrics, Czech Republic , September 2004

  • “ Scanning Force Microscopy of ferroelectric domains and polar structures in dielectric materials”, 15th International Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials”, Latvia , July 2004

  • “Local electromechanical properties of ferroelectric materials for piezoelectric applications”, 9th International Conference on Electroceramics and Their Applications”, France , June 2004