Blog

4th February 2026 · Events
4th February 2026 · Events

Stepping Into the Research World: Growing Through Three Conferences

by Huixin (Luna) Wu

This post reflects on my conference experiences in marine economics research and how attending IIFET, EAFE and ICES ASC helped shape my academic confidence, research direction and identity as an early-career researcher. I attended my very first conference before officially starting my PhD journey. At that time, I had almost no idea how academic conferences […]

30th January 2026 · General
Boyuan Yu featured image
30th January 2026 · General

My Journey Into Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials

by Boyuan Yu

This blog shares my journey into the world of low-dimensional nanomaterials, starting from a childhood fascination with nanotechnology. From studying MOFs as an undergraduate to researching nanoclusters in carbon nanotubes during my master’s studies, I gradually developed a strong interest in nanoscale materials. Now, as an AUFRANDE PhD student jointly supervised by Prof. Paolo Samorì and Prof. Liming Dai, I work on engineering MoS₂-based 2D hybrid materials for energy conversion and storage. After completing my first year in France, I will continue the next stage of my research in Australia.

11th December 2025 · General
11th December 2025 · General

Catching Atoms in Motion: First Beamtime Experience at ALBA Synchrotron

by Maryam Ikram

As a PhD student researching sodium-ion batteries, I’ve always been curious about how sodium ions move through the material during charging and discharging. This movement is key to understanding how the battery works. While I’ve been able to study this at a small scale in the lab, I wanted to see it on a larger, […]

21st November 2025 · Events
21st November 2025 · Events

Connecting with the AUFRANDE Community – Bordeaux 2025

by Hans Kieninger

During the annual event in Bordeaux, I had the chance to connect with the other AUFRANDE fellows.

29th October 2025 · General
29th October 2025 · General

Stepping Beyond Comfort: My First 10 Months as a AUFRANDE Doctoral Researcher in France

by Sravan Sangeeth Surendran

After 10 months of my PhD life in France, I would like to share my experiences so far.

27th October 2025 · Project news
27th October 2025 · Project news

Rooftop Photovoltaic Solar Panels: More Than Energy, They Shape Urban Climate

by Hamza Nisar

Cities are leading the clean energy transition, and rooftop photovoltaic solar panels are at the centre of this change… 

19th September 2025 · PhDlife
19th September 2025 · PhDlife

My Experience at La Nuit des Chercheur(e)s in Toulouse

by Felipe Quiroga-Suavita

Every year, researchers step out of their labs and meet the public on an evening of discovery, activities, and conversations.

12th September 2025 · General
Joy Zou and PI
12th September 2025 · General

Novel Method for the Analysis of Single Bio-Molecular Aggregation

by Yunqian Zou

Many diseases arise from abnormal molecular aggregation and uncontrolled biomolecular growth or division. Detecting these processes at their earliest stages is critical, as it opens the door to earlier diagnosis and personalised treatments before clinical symptoms appear.

19th August 2025 · General
19th August 2025 · General

The Power of Learning through Shared Ideas

by Bhavani Sunila

If you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas

1st August 2025 · PhDlife
1st August 2025 · PhDlife

From Zero to Lithium: My First Steps into the Solid-State Battery World

by Anshika Binjrajka

This post is a reflection on my first year as PhD student: the learning curve, the lab work, and everything in between.

1st July 2025 · PhDlife
1st July 2025 · PhDlife

Performing my first on-sky tests (in Hawaii at Keck Telescope)

by Rafael Salgueiro

As an adaptive optics (AO) researcher for ground-based telescopes, having the possibility to perform tests on-sky was a major accomplishment for me. These tests occurred in Hawaii in the Keck I telescope…

30th June 2025 · Science
30th June 2025 · Science

Rising Seas and What Isotopes have to do with it

by Franka Neumann

Earth, 20 000 years ago: the last glacial maximum. The air was about 5°C cooler than today, the sea level more than 100 meters lower. Creatures could walk from Siberia to Alaska across a land bridge…

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