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Rui Fausto is Professor at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Coimbra, the Director of the Coimbra Chemistry Research Centre, and the coordinator of the Laboratory for Molecular Cryospectroscopy and Biospectroscopy (LMCB). He was born in Coimbra, the 7th January 1961 and obtained his graduation in Chemistry, in1984, and later on his PhD in Sciences (specialization: Chemistry), in 1988.  After his post-doctoral training at the NRC Canada in the fields of infrared, Raman and resonance Raman spectroscopies of proteins, Rui Fausto returned to Coimbra and introduced in the Chemistry Department of the University of Coimbra the technique of FT-infrared spectroscopy. The first FT-IR instrument was bought under the “Ciência”-UE funded program. Later on (1994), he started the installation of the first (and unique until now) Portuguese cryospectroscopy laboratory, the LMCB, using funds from the EU-PRAXIS XXI program. 

Rui Fausto is member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (Paris), integrates the Editorial Boards of 10 international scientific journals (being the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Molecular Structure, Elsevier, Amsterdam), the Directive Board of the (informal) world association of matrix isolation scientists and is President of the European Congress on Molecular Spectroscopy (EUCMOS) Permanent Steering Committee. Along his career, he has occupied many different positions in the administration and scientific management in the University of Coimbra, including the presidency of the Academic Council and the Vice-presidency of the Scientific and Directive boards of FCTUC and the presidency of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research of the University of Coimbra (an association of 40 research centers of the University of Coimbra recognized by the Portuguese Science Foundation, which integrates ca. 1600 investigators). In 2002, he received the RSC Journals Grant for International Authors Prize and in 2004 and 2005 he was one of the ca. 70 Portuguese scientists awarded with the Excellence Prize of the Portuguese Science Foundation / Portuguese Ministry of Science (1 of the 12 chemists in the country awarded with this prize). He is author or editor of >40 scientific books, from general Science to the general public (e.g., “Tempo e Ciência”, Colecção Ciência Aberta, Gradiva, ISBN 989-616-096-1) to specialized chemistry books (“Low Temperature Molecular Spectroscopy”, Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 0-7923-4083-3) and author of more than 400 scientific papers in high impact factor chemistry journals (Rui Fausto’s h-index: 51). His work has received more than 9000 citations and some of his books are currently used as manuals in university courses both in Portugal and abroad. Rui Fausto has taken an active part in the organization of ca. 40 international scientific meetings (having acted as Director of two NATO-Advanced Study Institutes) and supervised ~40 PhDs or post-doctoral researchers and ca. 60 young MSc. and Licentiateship students. Since 1986, he has been involved in ca. 50 funded international research projects (leading more than half of those, including the coordination in Portugal of an iberamerican network integrating scientists from 6 different countries, and the coordination of the major Coimbra Chemistry Centre Structural Research Project), which correspond to a total funding of more than 7.000.000 Euros. Two international patents are running. Rui Fausto is also a member of the Honor Committee of the Portugal-Latvia Association, of the International Observatory of the Human Rights (the coordinator for High-Education), the American Chemical Society, IUPAC, European Molecular Liquids Group and European Photochemistry Association. He is fluent in English and Spanish, has good knowledge of French and Italian, and basic knowledge of Turkish.

 

António Jorge was born in Coimbra in 1972. He graduated in Industrial Chemistry in 1996 at the University of Coimbra. After graduation, he started his research activity in the Department of Chemistry of the University of Coimbra, having completed a master's degree in 2001 and a PhD in 2006, in the specialty area of Physical Chemistry. During this period, he was awarded research, MSc and PhD grants, by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. Since 2006, he is an assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra. His main research activities have been focused on the study of photoinduced transformations, and in particular IR-induced conformational changes, of relevant biological molecules, combining matrix isolation FTIR spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. He has also been dedicated to the study of intra and intermolecular hydrogen bonding in systems of pharmaceutical interest.

 

Cláudio M. Nunes (home page) graduated in Chemistry from the University of Coimbra in 2004, obtained his MSc degree in Organic Chemistry in 2007 and PhD degree in Molecular Spectroscopy in 2012. He worked as postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory for Molecular Cryospectroscopy and Biospectroscopy (LMCB) of the University of Coimbra from 2013 to 2018. Besides a short-period as a Postdoc at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), he also spent several months working as visiting researcher at the Organometallic Chemistry Institute of the University of Oviedo (Spain), at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Wisconsin–Madison (USA), and at the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Justus-Liebig University Giessen (Germany). In 2019, he started his independent research career at the CQC - University of Coimbra as an Auxiliary Researcher funded by the CEEC program of the Portuguese Science Foundation. C. M. Nunes researcher program is focused on vibrational excitation chemistry and quantum mechanical tunneling. He currently coordinates a small research team hosted in the group of Prof. Rui Fausto and is principal investigator of the aCTIVE project (FCT/COMPETE 2020) and co-principal investigator of the QUANTUN project (FCT).

 

Licínia Justino graduated in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Coimbra in 1996 and obtained her PhD in Chemistry (Molecular Spectroscopy) from the same University in 2007. Her PhD studies were carried out both at the Chemistry (NMR Spectroscopy group) and Physics Departments (Computational Physics group) of the University of Coimbra. During this time, she also worked for a period at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, carrying out research in inorganic computational chemistry. She was awarded several research scholarships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, including a Scientific Initiation, a PhD and two Post-Doctoral scholarships. She was also awarded the Prof. Dr. António Jorge Andrade de Gouveia Prize. She is currently a researcher at the CQC, and her main research interests involve the application of molecular spectroscopy and quantum chemistry computational methods to the study of the structure and excited states of inorganic (metal complexes) and organic systems (conjugated organic polymers, conjugated polyelectrolytes and small organic molecules) designed for several applications, such as sensors, imaging, photovoltaic devices, light-emitting-diodes and other optoelectronic devices. In parallel with her research activities, she has also been involved in teaching various chemistry disciplines at the Chemistry Department of the University of Coimbra.

 

Susy Lopes obtained her PhD in Chemistry at the University of Coimbra. She was a PhD researcher at the University of Helsinki (Finland) and later continued her work at the LMCB at the CQC. Her main research experience areas include low temperature matrix isolation, infrared spectroscopy, vibrational selective excitation, characterization of high-energy forms, photochemistry, molecular structure, conformational analysis, and high-level quantum chemistry calculations. She is currently a Researcher at the CQC, where her work focuses on producing and characterizing new chemical species (from molecules possessing different conformational structures) and the study of their selective chemistry and interaction with other molecules and solid matrix. She has also been a team member in many scientific projects.

 

Timur Nikitin obtained his MSc degree in Physics at the Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia in 2006. He obtained his PhD degree in Chemistry from the University of Helsinki (Finland) in 2013, where he studied optical and structural properties of different nanomaterials, including silicon nanocrystals embedded in silica, and carbon nanotubes, by Raman spectroscopy and other optical methods. After his PhD, he participated in the investigation of optical and pyroelectric properties of self-assembled diphenylalanine microtubes at the University of Aveiro, Portugal and at Ural Federal University, Russia. He is currently a researcher at the CQC, where he is responsible for Raman measurements. His scientific activities center on the application of FTIR spectroscopy to study matrix isolation of light-induced conformational changes of organic species, including modeling of IR spectra by quantum chemical calculations. He is also an expert in the field of Raman spectroscopy of various nanomaterials.

 

Anna Luiza was born in Cajazeiras, Brazil. She obtained her BSc degree in Industrial Chemistry at the Paraíba State University in Campina Grande in 2011. She finished her MSc studies in 2014 and obtained a PhD degree in Chemistry in 2018 at the Federal University of Paraíba. During the PhD studies, she also worked at the Federal University of São Carlos and at Embrapa Pecuaria Sudeste located in São Carlos, Brazil. She is experienced in the development and application of methods of chemical analysis using mass spectrometry (MS) as well as inductively coupled plasma MS (ICP-MS), near infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and in ICP atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) of different matrixes. As for data treatment, she is skilled in chemometrics. Presently, she is working at LMCB on the project QUANTUN “Quantum Mechanical Tunneling in Organic Chemistry: New Reactivity Paradigms and Avenues for Molecular Design”.


Bernardo Albuquerque Nogueira was born in Coimbra, in 1992. He lived in childhood in Braga, where he finished his pre-university studies, and also in Itu, Brazil, for 3 years. He then moved back to Coimbra, where he obtained the BSc in Medicinal Chemistry in 2013, the BSc in Chemistry in 2014 and the MSc in Chemistry in 2016, at the University of Coimbra. In 2017, he started his PhD studies, at the University of Coimbra and at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, where he stayed for one year as a Visiting PhD. Currently, his main scientific interests are related to polymorphism, which he studies from a structural, spectroscopic, computational, and thermodynamic point of view. He is also involved in astrochemistry, pharmaceutical control, and inorganic field studies, specially by Raman spectroscopy. Finally, he also dedicates part of his scientific work to educational activities and outreach projects.

 

José Roque graduated in Chemistry in 2017 and obtained his MSc degree in Chemistry in 2019 at the University of Coimbra. During his studies, he also received advanced training at Pau University (France, 2018) and Giessen University (Germany, 2019). He is currently conducting his PhD studies in Chemistry at the University of Coimbra, in collaboration with Justus-Liebig University Giessen, on the topic of quantum mechanical tunneling reactivity. His research activity is carried out mostly through matrix-isolation technique, combined with infrared spectroscopy, and through quantum-chemical computations. He has also been involved in studies on the topics of vibrationally-induced chemistry and photo-induced reactivity of heteroaromatic compounds. Throughout the years, he has been distinguished with awards on several occasions, both during his BSc and MSc studies, and through his scientific dissemination (oral and poster communications).

 

Gulce Ogruc Ildiz has a permanent position as Professor at the Physics Department Istanbul Kultur University (IKU, Turkey), and is researcher at the Chemistry Research Center at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). At IKU, she is the head of the Scientific Research Projects Unit and leader of the Molecular Spectroscopy Laboratory. Gulce Ogruc Ildiz obtained her PhD in Physics at the Istanbul Technical University and her postdoctoral training at the University of Coimbra. Her research interests center on applications of Raman spectroscopy, matrix-isolation spectroscopy, and theoretical and computational methods to organic chemistry, materials chemistry and biologically and biomedical relevant problems. She has been publishing regularly in high-impact scientific journals and acting as Guest Editor of several journals in the area of spectroscopy and materials sciences (e.g., Molecules, Spectrochimica Acta A, Journal of Molecular Structure, Frontiers in Materials).

 

Elisa M. Brás graduated in Chemistry in 2014 and obtained her MSc degree in Chemistry in 2017 at the University of Coimbra. She is currently studying for a PhD in Chemistry at the same Institution, under the supervision of Professor Rui Fausto. During her PhD studies, she has spent a year and 6 months working as a guest researcher at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the University of Göttingen (Germany). She has also participated in a bilateral project and carried out investigations at Justus-Liebig University Giessen (Germany) during a short-term stay. Her research interests focus on the generation and vibrational characterization of reactive species, in particular transient and persistent radicals, and small radical complexes, in both cryogenic matrices and pulsed supersonic slit-jet expansions. Throughout her studies, she was awarded with Caixa Geral de Depósitos Merit-based scholarships, a research grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (University of Algarve), and the Merit award for top 3 percent students (University of Coimbra).

 

Hajer Bouznif was born in Medenine, in 1997, where she finished her pre-university studies. She graduated in Physical Chemistry in 2019 and finished her master's in inorganic chemistry in 2021 at the University of Sfax, Tunisia. After that, she began working on her PhD in Chemistry at the same institution, in collaboration with the University of Coimbra, on the topic of synthesis and characterization of metal complexes in view of their potential applications such as sensors, imaging, photovoltaic devices, light-emitting diodes, and other optoelectronic devices. Throughout the years, she has been distinguished with awards on multiple occasions, both during her BSc and MSc studies, and through her scientific dissemination (oral and poster communications).

 

Gregory Iordache Ferreira was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 2001, lived there for 5 years. Then he moved to Tomar, Portugal, where he finished schooling. From 2019 he started doing a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Coimbra. Now he is working on the bachelor internship focused on the investigation of conformational space of the molecules and their photo-induced processes using matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy and quantum chemical electronic structure calculations.

 

 

 

Cecília Madeira was born in Coimbra, in 1996. She obtained the BSc in Chemistry in 2020, at the University of Coimbra. Presently, she attends an MSc in Chemistry, with specialization in Quality Control and Environment, at the same institution. She is working on her thesis project, whose objective is the synthesis and characterization of metallic complexes with potential application for sensors and optoelectronics. In her project, she is using Fourier Transform IR spectroscopy with Attenuated Total Reflectance, UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopies, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and Density-Functional Theory calculations.

 

 

Margareta do Carmo was born in Ira-ara, in the interior of East Timor, in 1991. She grew up in the municipality of Lautém, completing her primary and secondary education in the same municipality. She obtained her Licentiate degree in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics course, with specialization in Chemistry, in a Brazilian federal public university, the Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB), from 2012 to 2017. In 2022, she began her MSc degree in Chemistry, specializing in Quality Control and Environment at the University of Coimbra. Currently, under the guidance of Prof. Rui Fausto and Dra. Licínia Justino, her main research focus is on the synthesis and study of the structure and spectroscopic properties of transition metal complexes with alizarin derivatives for sensor applications.

 

Sofia Braz was born in the year 2000 in Coimbra. She graduated in Chemistry in 2021 and obtained an MSc degree in Advanced and Industrial Chemistry in 2023. She is working on an internship, under the orientation of Professor Rui Fausto, Dra. Licínia Justino and Dr. João Pina, on the investigation of metal complexes using infrared and UV-Vis spectroscopies and computational calculations.

 

 

 

Maria Carvalho was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2001. She graduated in Chemistry in 2021, at the University of Coimbra, and obtained an MSc in Advanced and Industrial Chemistry in 2023 at the same university. Her current research interests are the study of polymorphs and conformers of the molecule phenyl salicylate using matrix isolation, Raman spectroscopy, and computational calculations, under the supervision of Prof. Rui Fausto, Dr. Susy Lopes. For this study, she’s also using UV/Vis spectroscopy under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Serpa and emission and fluorescence spectroscopy under the supervision of Dr. João Pina.