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Final Workshop ULTIMATE-I project, Barcelona (Spain), from 30th March to 1st April 2026

Final Workshop ULTIMATE-I project– Barcelona, March-April 2026

FINAL PROJECT MEETING: ULTIMATE-I

“Ultra Thin Magneto Thermal Sensoring” Supported by the European Union | Grant Agreement ID: 101007825

Location & Dates

  • Venue: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), Campus Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain).
  • Dates: Monday, 30 March – Wednesday, 1 April.  (Note that from the last communication the dates have been extended one day, Wednesday 1 April, to avoid tightness of the schedule).

Program Highlights  (see the attached agenda, already including most of the presentation titles)

  • Invited Speakers (Mariela Menghini-IMDEA, Madrid;  Anna Palau– ICMAB-CSIC, Barcelona, Jordi Sort-UAB-ICN2, Barcelona)   1h (50min presentation + 5 min questions)
  • Scientific Sessions: Progress reports from Senior Researchers and group updates for the Final EU reporting. 30min  (25 min presentation + 5 min questions)
  • Young Researchers Sessions: PhD students and early-stage researchers are strongly encouraged to present their individual work. 20min  (15 min presentation + 5 min questions)
  • Technical Tours: Guided visits to the ALBA Synchrotron installation and the ICN2 laboratories.  (ALBA visit scheduled for Monday 30 March in the afternoon)

Logistics & Funding (only for registered ULTIMATE-I members)

  • Accommodation: All attendees from outside Barcelona will be lodged at the Yugo-ALBA Viu residence (individual rooms with Breakfast included, funded by the project budget, from Sunday 29 night, until Wednesday morning, 3 nights). Please inform us of your itinerary, so we can make the proper booking
  • Meals:All meals*, including a Gala Dinner on Tuesday 31st March evening(place: Masia Casa Fuster in Sant Cugat del Vallés https://casafuster.net/), are covered by the project for all attendants.  Let us know if you are interested in having dinner on Sunday 29 March evening upon your arrival?    * except for Monday evening Dinner:  we are still considering covering also Monday evening dinner (this is at the moment subject to ULTIMATE budget availability and EU projects limitations)
  • Transportation: Most of the places are walking distance, however for those who don’t like walking, transportation between Yugo Residence and ICN2, as well as to the Gala Dinner, will be offered by the organizers.  
  • Travel Grants: The project will fund travel expenses for all attendants from European institutions and those visitors carrying out secondments in European laboratories. (Read policy for travel expenses reimbursement in next paragraph)
  • Registration (free for all ULTIMATE attendants and invited speakers)

Important Deadlines & Action Items

  • Confirmation: Please confirm your participation by emailing the organizer: jose.santiso@icn2.cat. Those of you that haven’t confirmed your participation, please do it as soon as possible. Let us know also your tentative itinerary, so we can arrange the accommodation.
  • Travel expenses reimbursement: Those attendants (not coming from Zaragoza) will be covered by ICN2 budget. The reimbursement will follow typical conditions: low fare tourist class travel tickets, plus local transportation (taxi, metro,etc) Please keep harcopy of boarding pass to hand to ICN2, and all tickets for travel expenses. We will ask you to fill some reimbursement form with your personal data: Name, Passport / identity Card number,  Bank account details fro transfer.
  • Title Submission:Submit a tentative title for your presentation no later than February 26. (Abstract is not necessary at this stage)

We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona for this final milestone!

Agenda-ULTIMATE-I-BCN-2026_120326Download

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Integrating Simulations and Experiments for Advanced Applications – Workshop Highlights from Belgrade

On January 13, 2026, we organized the Workshop on Integrating Simulations and Experiments for Advanced Applications at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) in Belgrade. The event, supported by Enterprise Europe Network, brought together researchers from academia and industry to discuss how multiscale simulations and advanced experimental methods can jointly accelerate materials innovation.

The workshop covered recent results from the European Union-funded projects ULTIMATE-I, BLESSED, and HIP-2d-QM, with a strong focus on fuel cells and functional materials, advanced atomistic and continuum simulations, and applications spanning spintronics, ferromagnetism, energy conversion, optics, and space technologies.

The scientific program highlighted the role of molecular dynamics, reactive force fields (ReaxFF), density functional theory, and discrete element methods in understanding complex material behavior. Topics included interactions of small molecules with graphene and MoS₂ nanonetworks, hydration-controlled transport in Nafion membranes, multiscale modeling of enzyme–substrate interactions, and degradation mechanisms in PEM fuel cell electrodes. Industrial perspectives were provided by Freudenberg Technology Innovation, demonstrating how digital modeling is increasingly embedded in materials and process development.

Beyond individual presentations, the workshop fostered open discussion on how simulation-driven insights can guide experiments, improve material design, and shorten development cycles. The interdisciplinary and international character of the meeting underlined the importance of close collaboration between academic institutions and industrial partners.

We thank all speakers and participants for their contributions and the lively scientific exchange. Events like this reinforce the value of integrating simulations and experiments to address current challenges in energy, functional materials, and advanced applications.

Workshop on Integrating Simulations and ExperimentsDownload

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Scientific publication: “Ferroelectricity in graphene nanoribbon devices enabled by collective water molecule dynamics”

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65922-6

Nature Communications, Volume 16, Article number: 10982 (2025)

9th Dec. 2025

Muhammad Awais Aslam, Igor Stanković,  Gennadiy Murastov,  Amy Carl,  Muhammad Zubair Khan, Zehao Song, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Alois Lugstein, Christian Teichert,  Roman Gorbachev, Raul D. Rodriguez & Aleksandar Matković 

Repository link

All Open Access, Gold, Green Submitted

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Outreach activities at INMA (UNIZAR)

Myriam Aguirre (ULTIMATE-I project Coordinator-UNIZAR) was visiting INIFTA LAB in La Plata-CONICET-National University of La Plata. On this occasion, Alejandra Borzi was awarded with the INMA gift for her participation in outreach activities during her stay research at the University of Zaragoza.

In addition to Alejandra Borzi, other INMA members (Tatiana Escalante, Ana Carolina Moreno Maldonado, Miguel Rengifo, etc.) have participated in various outreach activities, including visits to primary schools, secondary schools, etc., where they also promoted the ULTIMATE-I, MELON and NESTOR projects (all of which are RISE projects) and NEMERFEC project (MSCA project).