An European Consortium, coordinated by IBEC, has been awarded EU funding to coordinate a project that aims to train a new generation of researchers in the science and technology of Scanning Probe Microscopes.
Thanks to the generous Marie Curie ITN funding, the ten consortium members of the SPM2.0 European Training Network – located in Spain, France, Austria, the UK and Italy – will be able to provide researchers with state-of-the-art multidisciplinary scientific training in this field of research, covering basic science to industrial applications, which should enable them to generate new scientific knowledge. The students under the programme will also receive practical training on transferable skills in order to increase their employability and to qualify them for positions in the private and public sectors.
Advanced microscopy techniques are widely recognized as one of the pillars onto which the research and manufacture of nanotechnology based products is sustained. Scanning Probe Microscopes are currently the advanced microscopy techniques experiencing the fastest evolution and innovation, crossing fundamental barriers. Novel systems already exist that show potentially unparalleled performance in terms of 3D nanoscale imaging capabilities, imaging speed and chemical sensitivity mapping.
“In the science and technology of Scanning Probe Microscopes, Europe is currently in a leading position,” says IBEC’s Nanoscale Bioelectrical Characterization group leader Gabriel Gomila, who will coordinate the SPM2.0 European Training Network. “The main aim of our network is to consolidate Europe as the world leader in Scanning Probe Microscopy technologies and its emerging applications in key sectors such as materials, microelectronics, biology and medicine.”
