Curriculum Vitae

Principal
Research
Publications
Communications
Curriculum Vitae
Contact info

PERSONAL DATA

· Full name: Fèlix Casanova i Fernàndez

· Birth: November 25th, 1977 in Vilafranca del Penedès (Barcelona), Catalonia.

· Current position: Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California San Diego (California), USA.

EDUCATION

· Master's Degree in Physics, 7/29/1999, Universitat de Barcelona.

· Post-graduate Degree (D.E.A.) in Instrumental Techniques in Physics and Materials Science, 7/12/2001, Universitat de Barcelona.

· Ph.D. in Physics, cum laude, 3/09/2004, Universitat de Barcelona. The doctoral thesis, entitled Magnetocaloric effect in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 alloys , was supervised by Prof. Xavier Batlle (Dpt. Física Fonamental, U.B.).

PRIZES

· Doctorate extraordinary prize for the best doctoral thesis lectured in 2003-2004 within the program Instrumental Techniques in Physics and Material Science  (Física Fonamental and Física Aplicada i Òptica departments, Universitat de Barcelona). May 2005.

RESEARCH STAYS IN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED INSTITUTIONS

Predoctoral stays

· Stay at Instituto de Magnetismo Aplicado (UCM-RENFE) of Madrid, using the Melt Spinning and Arc Melting techniques for alloy synthesis. June 2000 (1month).

· Stays at Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory (CNRS-Max Planck Institut), measuring magnetization at high magnetic fields:
-March 2001 (1 week)
-June 2001 (1 week)
-October 2001 (1 week)
-May 2002 (2 weeks)
-October 2002 (2 weeks)
-October 2003 (2 weeks)

Postdoctoral stays

· Stay at Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory (CNRS-Max Planck Institut), measuring magnetization at high magnetic fields. May 2004 (2 weeks).

· Stay at Physics Department in the University of California - San Diego (UCSD), with Prof. I. K. Schuller's group (nanoscience group - thin film laboratory), working in magnetic nanostructures. March 2005 - present. 

FELLOWSHIPS

· Under-graduated fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, for research in Departament de Física Fonamental (Universitat de Barcelona). Academic year 1998-1999.

· Predoctoral fellowship from the Catalan Generalitat de Catalunya to carry out a doctoral thesis in epartament de Física Fonamental (Universitat de Barcelona). January 2000 - December 2003.

· Postdoctoral fellowship from the Fulbright Commission and Spanish Ministry of Education and Science to carry out the project "Fabrication of ordered magnetic nanostructures with technological applications", at thin film laboratory - nanoscience group (Prof. I. K. Schuller), Physics Department, University of California - San Diego. March 2005 - February 2007.

CONTRACTS

· Contract with Bosch i Gimpera Foundation for a collaboration with Prof. Javier Tejada (Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona). October 2004-December 2004.

· Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California with Prof. I. K. Schuller (Physics Department). March 2007-present.

PARTICIPATION IN PROJECT GRANTS

·Title: Materiales magnéticos nanoestructurados de aplicación tecnológica

Sponsor: Secretaría de Estado de Educación, Universidades, Investigación y Desarrollo (Spanish Government)

Project number: MAT2000-0858   Amount: 76,328.54 euro   Duration: 2000-2003

Leading researcher: Amílcar Labarta Rodríguez

·Title: Materials: Transicions de Fase i Propietats Magnètiques i de Transport

Sponsor: Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació (Catalan Government)

Project number: 2001SGR00066   Amount: 30,050.61 euro  Duration: 2001-2005

Leading researcher: Antoni Planes Vila

·Title: Nanopartículas magnéticas: Auto-ensamblaje y efecto túnel.

Sponsor: Ministerio de Ciencia and Tecnología (Spanish Government)

Project number: MAT2003-01124   Amount: 140,000.00 euro  Duration: 2003-2006

Leading researcher: Amílcar Labarta Rodriguez

·Title: Nanotechnology and Magnetic Qubits to Implement Quantum Computation

Sponsor: European Commission

Project number: IST-2001-33186   Amount: 1,648,000.00 euro  Duration: 2002-2004

Leading researcher: Javier Tejada Palacios  

·Title: MURI Integrated Nanostructured Supersensors

Sponsor: Air Force Office of Science Research - MURI

Project number: FA9550-04-1-0160   Amount: -  Duration:  2002-2006

Leading researcher: Ivan K. Schuller  

·Title: Porous Systems for Super Dense Memories and Sensor Applications

Sponsor: Air Force Office of Science Research

Project number: F49620-02-1-0288   Amount: $480,000  Duration: 2006-2008

Leading researcher: Ivan K. Schuller  

LANGUAGES

· Catalan: speaking, reading and writing correctly (Mother tongue).

· Spanish: speaking, reading and writing correctly (Mother tongue).

· English: speaking, reading and writing correctly.

EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES that I am skilled at:

Nanofabrication techniques:

·Membranes of self-assembled nanopores by aluminum anodization

·Thin films deposition by sputtering, e-beam evaporation and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)

·Etching techniques: reactive-ion etching, argon-ion milling and acid etching.

·E-beam lithography and photolithography.

Other fabrication techniques:

·Arc melting

·Melt spinning

Characterization techniques:

·Magneto-cryogenic systems

·Gas flow systems for sensors characterization

·X-Ray Diffraction

·Scanning Electron Microscopy

·SQUID and extraction magnetometry

·Transport measurements

·Optical interferometry

·Adiabatic calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

CURRENT RESEARCH LINES

My two main research lines are based in ordered nanostructures:

1-Gas adsorption in nanoporous materials (anodized nanoporous alumina) for:

a) Chemical and biological sensing applications

b) Fundamental studies of phase transitions in confined geometries (capillary condensation and others)

2-Spin injection from a ferromagnet to a normal metal or superconductor using lateral spin valves for: 

a) Magnetoelectronic devices

b) Study of spin properties in complex systems

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

1· "Entropy change and magnetocaloric effect in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4", F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes, Physical Review B 66, 100401(R) (2002) (Rapid Communications). PDF.

2· "Scaling of the entropy change at the magnetoelastic transition in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4", F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes, Physical Review B 66, 212402 (2002). PDF.

3· "Magnetic field induced entropy change and magnetoelasticity in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys", J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta and B. Martínez, Physical Review B 66, 224413 (2002). PDF.

4· "Change in entropy at a first-order magnetoelastic phase transition: Case study of Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 giant magnetocaloric alloys", F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes, Journal of Applied Physics 93, 8313 (2003). PDF.

5· "Multiscale origin of the magnetocaloric effect in Ni-Mn-Ga shape-memory alloys", J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, F. Casanova, X. Batlle and A. Labarta, Physical review B 68, 094401 (2003). PDF.

6· "A High-Sensitivity Differential Scanning Calorimeter with magnetic field for magnetostructural transitions", J. Marcos, F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta, A. Planes and Ll. Mañosa, Review of Scientific Instruments 74, 4768 (2003). PDF.

7· "Effect of the magnetic field on the magnetostructural phase transition in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4", F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes and S. de Brion, Physical Review B 69, 104416 (2004). PDF.

8· "Magnetic field induced entropy change and magnetoelasticity in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys", J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta and B. Martínez, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 272-276, e1595 (2004). PDF.

9· "Magnetocaloric and shape-memory effects in Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic alloys", J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta and B. Martínez, Journal de Physique IV 115, 105 (2004). PDF.

10· "Dynamics of the magnetostructural phase transition in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4", F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, E. Vives, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, and A. Planes, The European Physical Journal B 40, 427 (2004). PDF.

11· "Differential Scanning Calorimetry experiments in RCo2", J. Herrero-Albillos, F. Casanova, F. Bartolomé, L. M. García, X. Batlle and A. Labarta, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 290-291, 682 (2005). PDF.

12· "Direct measurement of the field-induced entropy change in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 magnetocaloric alloys", F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, F. J. Pérez-Reche, E. Vives, Ll. Mañosa, and A. Planes, Applied Physics Letters 86, 262504 (2005). PDF.

13· "Coexistence of short-range ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic correlations in Ge-rich Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 alloys", F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle and S. de Brion, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 38 3343 (2005). PDF.

14· "Entropy change at the magnetostructural transition in RCo2 (R=Dy, Ho, Er)", J. Herrero-Albillos, F. Bartolomé, L. M. García, F. Casanova, X. Batlle, and A. Labarta, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 301, 378 (2006). PDF.

15· "Giant heat dissipation at the low-temperature reversible-irreversible transition in Gd5Ge4", F. Casanova, A. Labarta, and X. Batlle, Physical Review B 72, 172402 (2005). PDF.

16· "Acoustic emission at the magnetostructural transition of the giant magnetocaloric material Gd5Si2Ge2", F. J. Pérez-Reche, F. Casanova, E. Vives, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, J. Marcos, X. Batlle, and A. Labarta, Physical Review B 73, 014110 (2006). PDF.

17· "Nature and entropy content of the ordering transitions in RCo2", J. Herrero-Albillos, F. Bartolomé, L. M. García, F. Casanova, A. Labarta, and X. Batlle, Physical Review B 73, 134410 (2006). PDF.

18· "Reply to Comment on 'Nature and entropy content of the ordering transitions in RCo2' ", J. Herrero-Albillos, F. Bartolomé, L. M. García, F. Casanova, X. Batlle, and A. Labarta, Physical Review B 75, 187402 (2007). PDF.

19· "Effect of surface interactions on the hysteresis of capillary condensation in nanopores", F. Casanova, C. E. Chiang, C.-P. Li, I. V. Roshchin, A. M. Ruminski,  M. J. Sailor and I. K. Schuller, Europhysics Letters 81, 26003 (2008). PDF.

20· "Direct observation of cooperative effects in capillary condensation: the hysteretic origin", F. Casanova, C. E. Chiang, C.-P. Li, and I. K. Schuller, Applied Physics Letters 91, 243103 (2007). PDF.

21· "Gas adsorption and capillary condensation in nanoporous alumina thin films", F. Casanova, C. E. Chiang, C.-P. Li, I. V. Roshchin, A. M. Ruminski,  M. J. Sailor and I. K. Schuller, submitted to Nanotechnology.

BOOKS AND CHAPTERS

1· Chapter num. 12 ("Entropy change and magnetocaloric effect in magnetostructural transformations"; F. Casanova,  X. Batlle, A. Labarta, J. Marcos, E. Vives, Ll. Mañosa, and A. Planes) of the book "Magnetism and Structure in Functional Materials", edited by A. Planes, Ll. Mañosa and A. Saxena, Springer Series in Materials Science, Vol. 79, p. 223-235 (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2005).

2· Invited article ("Porous alumina"; F. Casanova) in the McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology 2009, to be published by McGraw-Hill (New York).

PATENTS

1· "Nanoporous controlled release therapeutic agent container and method" by I. K. Schuller, I. V. Roshchin and F. Casanova (University of California San Diego). U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60 / 854,135 filed on Oct. 25, 2007. 

COMMUNICATIONS TO CONFERENCES

1- Invited talk ("Magnetocaloric effect in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4"; F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes) in the "Users Meeting" of Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory (Grenoble, France, EU) on September 21th, 2002.

2- Oral communication ("The entropy change at a first-order magnetoelastic phase transition: the case study of Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 giant magnetocaloric alloys"; X. Batlle, F. Casanova, A. Labarta, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes) in the "47th Annual Conference on Magnetism & Magnetic Materials" in Tampa (Florida, USA) from November 11th to 15th, 2002.

3- Oral communication ("Magnetocaloric and shape-memory effects in Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic alloys"; J.Marcos, Ll.Mañosa, A.Planes, F.Casanova, X.Batlle, A.Labarta and B.Martínez) in the "7th European Mechanics of Materials Conference

4- Poster communication ("Disipación de energía en la transición magnetoelástica del compuesto Gd5(SixGe1-x)4"; F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes) in the "XXIX Bienal de la R.S.E.F." within the "Centenario de las Reales Sociedades Españolas de Química y Física", in Madrid (Spain, EU) from July 7th to 11th, 2003.

5- Poster communication ("Energy dissipation at the magnetoelastic transition in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4"; F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes) in the "International Conference on Magnetism ICM2003" in Rome (Italy, EU) between July 27th and Agust 1st, 2003.

6- Poster communication ("Magnetic entropy change in highly frustrated kagomé SrCr8FexGa4-xO19"; F. Casanova, X. Batlle, A. Labarta and B. Martínez) in the "International Conference on Magnetism ICM2003" in Rome (Italy, EU) between July 27th and Agust 1st, 2003.

7- Oral communication ("Magnetocaloric and shape-memory effects in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys"; J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, F. Casanova, X. Batlle and A. Labarta) in the "International Conference on Magnetism ICM2003" in Rome (Italy, EU) between July 27th and Agust 1st, 2003.

8- Invited talk ("Entropy change and magnetocaloric effect in magnetostructural transitions"; A. Labarta, X. Batlle, F. Casanova,  A. Planes, Ll. Mañosa, E. Vives and J. Marcos) in the "Workshop on interplay of Magnetism and Structure in Functional Materials" in Benasque (Spain, EU) from February 9th to 13th, 2004.

9- Poster communication ("Evolution of the first-order transition in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 by magnetic field cycling and distribution of avalanches"; F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, E. Vives, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes) in the "Workshop on interplay of Magnetism and Structure in Functional Materials" in Benasque (Spain, EU) from February 9th to 13th, 2004.

10- Poster communication ("Energy dissipation at the magnetoelastic transition in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4"; F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes) in the "Workshop on interplay of Magnetism and Structure in Functional Materials" in Benasque (Spain, EU) from February 9th to 13th, 2004.

11- Poster communication ("Magnetocaloric effect in Heusler alloys"; J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, F. Casanova, X. Batlle and A. Labarta) in the "Workshop on interplay of Magnetism and Structure in Functional Materials" in Benasque (Spain, EU) from February 9th to 13th, 2004.

12- Poster communication ("Dinámica de la transición de primer orden en el Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 y distribución de avalanchas"; F. Casanova, A. Labarta, X. Batlle, E. Vives, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa and A. Planes) in the "III Reunión Nacional de Física del Estado Sólido. Grupo Especializado de Física del Estado Sólido (GEFES)", in Donostia (Basque Country, EU) from June 2nd to 4th, 2004.

13- Invited talk ("Magnetocaloric effect in shape memory alloys"; A. Planes, J. Marcos, Ll. Mañosa, F. Casanova, A. Labarta and X. Batlle) in the "XIII International Materials Research Congress. Symposium 14, Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys", in Cancun (Mexico) from August 22nd to 26th, 2004.

14- Poster communication ("DSC experiments in RCo2"; J. Herrero-Albillos, F. Casanova, F. Bartolomé, L. M. García, A. Labarta and X. Batlle) in the "Joint European Magnetic Symposia, JEMS'04", in Dresden (Germany, EU) from September 5th to 10th, 2004.

15- Oral communication ("Entropy change in RCo2 first-order transitions"; J. Herrero-Albillos, F. Casanova, F. Bartolomé, L. M. García, A. Labarta and X. Batlle) in the "49th Annual Conference on Magnetism & Magnetic Materials", in Jacksonville (Florida, USA) from November 7th to 11th, 2004.

16- Oral communication ("Mechanisms of the magnetostructural transition in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4 giant magnetocaloric alloys"; F. Casanova, F. J. Pérez-Reche, E. Vives, Ll. Mañosa, A. Planes, A. Labarta and X. Batlle) in the "IEEE International Magnetics Conference, Intermag 2006" in San Diego (California, USA) from May 8th to 12th, 2006.

17- Oral communication ("Microcapillary condensation in anodic alumina nanopores"; F. Casanova, A. Ruminski, C.-P. Li, I. V. Roshchin, M. J. Sailor and I. K. Schuller) in the "2006 MRS Fall Meeting" in Boston (Massachusetts, USA) from November 27th to December 1st, 2006.

18- Oral communication ("Metastability and capillary condensation hysteresis in nearly ideal cylindrical alumina nanopores"; F. Casanova, C. E. Chiang, C.-P. Li, I. V. Roshchin, A. M. Ruminski,  M. J. Sailor and I. K. Schuller) in the "2007 APS March Meeting" in Denver (Colorado, USA) from March 5th to March 9th, 2007.

19- Oral communication ("Control of capillary condensation in tailored alumina nanopores"; F. Casanova, C. E. Chiang, C.-P. Li, I. V. Roshchin, A. M. Ruminski,  M. J. Sailor and I. K. Schuller) in the "2007 MRS Fall Meeting" in Boston (Massachusetts, USA) from November 26th to 30th, 2007.

20- Oral communication ("Direct observation of pore blocking and advanced adsorption in nanoporous alumina: cooperative effects at the origin of hysteresis"; F. Casanova, C. E. Chiang, C.-P. Li and I. K. Schuller) in the "2008 APS March Meeting" in New Orleans (Louisiana, USA) from March 10th to March 14th, 2008.

21- Oral communication ("On the nature of the Griffiths-like phase behaviour in Gd5Ge4 giant magnetocaloric alloy"; N. Pérez, F. Casanova, F. Bartolomé, L. M. García, S. de Brion, A. Labarta and X. Batlle) in the "IEEE International Magnetics Conference, Intermag 2008" in Madrid (Spain, EU) from May 4th to May 8th, 2008.

OTHERS

·  Referee of the journals of the American Physical Society (Physicar Review Letters, Physical Review B).

· Referee of the journals of the Institute of Physics (Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Nanotechnology).

· Organizer staff member of the "3rd EuroConference on Magnetic Properties of Fine Particles and their Relevance to Materials Science", in the Barcelona Scientific Park from October 19th to 22nd, 1999. Organized by Prof. Xavier Batlle and  Prof. Amílcar Labarta from the "Universitat de Barcelona".

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

· Extra lessons of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, corresponding to Middle School, High School and Bachelor's degree (1st year of study). Summers of 1993-2000.

· Extra lessons of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, corresponding to High School and Bachelor's degree (2nd year of study), in a tutoring school (Excellens, Vilafranca del Penedès, Barcelona). Summer 1999.

· Lectures (problems) on the subject Mechanics and waves,  corresponding to 1st year of Physics study (Master's degree), in the Physics Faculty of the Universitat de Barcelona. Academic years 2000-2001, 2001-2002 and 2002-2003.