Short biography
Gustau Catalán graduated in Physics at the Universitat de Barcelona (1997) and obtained his PhD, also in Physics, at the Queen's University of Belfast (2001). This was followed by a one-year round-the-world climbing expedition, the highlights of which were the setting up of a new route in the Dogon country of Mali ("The man with no name", 6c/250 metres, Ouro N'guérou) and the first ascent of a peak in the Himalayas (Draoich Parvat, 6200m, Garwhal). Upon returning to research, he has worked at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, 2002-2004), at the University of Groningen (2004-2005) and at the University of Cambridge (2005-2009). He joined ICREA in 2009 as a Research Professor and leader of the Oxide Nanophysics group at the Institut Català de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), where he remains. His research centres on the physics of oxides at the nanoscale, with emphasis on ferroics.
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