Nanosurf Awards Swiss Nanotechnology PhD Award

Basel, June 5, 2024 – The Swiss Nano Convention 2024 concluded with the award ceremony at the Congress Center in Basel, where the Swiss Micro- and Nanotechnology Network celebrated outstanding contributions to the field. The event, held on June 4th and 5th, was sponsored by leading Swiss companies in the Nanotechnology industry.

Dr. Dominik Ziegler, CEO of Nanosurf, presented the Nanosurf PhD award. His presence underscored Nanosurf’s commitment to fostering scientific excellence. The Nanosurf prize was awarded to Samuel Mendes Leitão of EPFL for his work published in Nature Nano, titled “Spatially Multiplexed Single-Molecule Translocations through a Nanopore at Controlled Speeds.” (doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.08.511427). While we celebrate the achievements of these remarkable researchers, the Swiss Micro- and Nanotechnology Network will feature their work on their website, reinforcing Switzerland’s position as a hub of scientific advancement.

Prof. Georg Fantner accepted the award on behalf of Mr. Mendes Leitão, who was unable to attend. Dr. Ziegler emphasized the role of innovation in scanning probe technologies and used this opportunity to thank EPFL and Prof. Fantner for their inspiring and innovative work in the field of scanning probe microscopies and the long-lasting collaboration between EPFL and Nanosurf.

The ceremony also recognized several other distinguished researchers:

• Marco Coraiola from the IBM Zurich Research for his paper titled “Phase-engineering the Andreev band structure of a three-terminal Josephson junction” published in Nature Communications. (doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42356-6)​ (IBM Research)​​ (Directory of Open Access Journals – DOAJ)​.
• Guanhao Huang from EPF-Lausanne for his paper titled “Room-temperature quantum optomechanics using an ultralow noise cavity” published in Nature. (doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06997-3).
• Chenglian Zhu from EMPA / ETHZ for his paper titled “Single-photon superradiance in individual cesium lead halide quantum dots” published in Nature. (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-07001-8).
• Petru P. Albertini from EPF-Lausanne for his paper titled “Hybrid oxide coatings generate stable Cu catalysts for CO2 electroreduction” published in Nature Materials. (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41563-024-01819-x).

Nanosurf congratulates all the award winners for their exceptional contributions and looks forward to a future filled with groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in nanotechnology.

These awards highlight the pioneering research conducted by these scientists and underscore the importance of ongoing innovation and collaboration in the field of nanotechnology.