Dr. Corneliu Ghica graduated the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, in 1994. He obtained his PhD degree in physics in 2001 at the University of Bucharest and “Louis Pasteur” University in Strasbourg, France, following a co-tutorial PhD. Between 2001-2007 he had several post-doc and visiting researcher positions at Claude Bernard University in Lyon, France, and the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Dr. Ghica is currently a Senior Researcher Rnk. 1 at the National Institute of Materials Physics, Magurele, Romania, leading the Laboratory of Atomic Structures and Defects in Advanced Materials. His research interests are related to microstructural investigations of advanced materials at nanometric and atomic scale and understanding the correlations between their physical properties at the microscopic and macroscopic level, in order to be able to design new materials for practical applications. He is co-author to more than 125 scientific papers published in ISI journals, 6 books and book chapters.

Title: Nanoscale materials characterization in a borderless Central European space: NIMP participation in CERIC-ERIC

Abstract:

Advanced materials nowadays are often based on manipulating physical and chemical properties at nanometric scale or even below. Ultrahigh resolution and ultrasensitive instruments as well as adequate data processing techniques are necessary to pull out reliable information at this scale. Using modern imaging, spectroscopic and combined techniques, NIMP is deeply involved in revealing structural and chemical features at nanometric and subnanometric level, thus contributing at designing new nanostructured materials and correctly understanding the physical and chemical phenomena at the origin of their macroscopic properties. With a vast expertise in the field and a dedicated infrastructure set up during the last 10 years, NIMP is currently the Romanian representing entity within the CERIC European research infrastructure consortium. The talk will give an overview of the opportunities offered by CERIC-ERIC to researchers across Europe and worldwide for free access to top level instrumentation for nanoscale characterization of advanced materials, illustrated with concrete examples and results obtained by the Romanian researchers and infrastructure participating in the consortium.