Introducing Stefano L. Oscurato, Artiom Skripka, Hyojung Kim and Jessica Wade to our Early Career Advisory Board

Meet our Early Career Advisory Board members who work on interfaces in electronic, photonic, and optoelectronic devices

We announced our inaugural Advisory Board for RSC Applied Interfaces in early September. In this series of blog posts, we will be shining a spotlight our new Early Career Advisory Board members and introducing them to you!

This week we are delighted to introduce Stefano L. Oscurato, Artiom Skripka, Hyojung Kim and Jessica Wade as members of our inaugural Early Career Advisory Board.

 

Photo of RSC Applied Interfaces Early Career Advisory Board member Stefano L. Oscurato.Stefano L. Oscurato, University of Naples Federico II

ORCID: 0000-0002-1814-8033

Stefano L. Oscurato is Associate Professor at the Physics department “Ettore Pancini”, University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy). He received his PhD in Physics from University of Naples in 2018. His successive postdoctoral research fellowships involved research periods in Italy and USA, working on the development of optical techniques to investigate structural and optical properties of polymeric and nanostructured materials. Prof. Oscurato received the ERC Starting Grant in 2024 and is currently leading the Holographic Lithography research group, which focuses on the development of holo-photolithographic techniques for all-optical fabrication and tuning of reconfigurable flat diffractive components and functional structured surfaces.

“I am honored to join the Early Career Advisory Board of RSC Applied Interfaces. With a strong research background in optical physics and nano/microstructuring techniques, I look forward to supporting the journal’s mission to advance cutting-edge developments at the intersection of optics, materials science, and interface engineering.”

 

 

 

 

Photo of RSC Applied Interfaces Early Career Advisory Board member Artiom Skripka.

Artiom Skripka, Oregon State University

ORCID: 0000-0003-4060-4290

Dr. Artiom Skripka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University. His research focuses on nonlinear emitters, including lanthanide-doped nanoparticles, for applications ranging from bioimaging and sensing to optical computing. Currently, Dr. Skripka is developing novel host materials for lanthanide dopants and studying the nontrivial energy exchange pathways between them. His previous efforts in this area have yielded methods for imprinting photon avalanches onto linear emitters and led to the discovery of intrinsic optical bistability in photon avalanching nanocrystals.

“I’m excited to serve on the Early Career Advisory Board for RSC Applied Interfaces, to promote the journal’s visibility, multidisciplinary reach, and academic impact.”

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of RSC Applied Interfaces Early Career Advisory Board member Hyojung Kim.Hyojung Kim, Sejong University

ORCID: 0009-0002-7120-2243

Dr Hyojung Kim received BSc and MSc degrees in Chemical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University. She earned her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in 2021 from Seoul National University under the supervision of Prof. Ho Won Jang, where her research focused on halide perovskite based resistive switching memories. Dr Kim began her independent career in 2023 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Semiconductor Systems Engineering at Sejong University. Her group studies materials interfaces for emerging non volatile memories, with emphasis on resistive switching devices (RRAM/memristors), in memory and neuromorphic computing, and lead free electronic materials. In particular, the group investigates the structural and chemical mechanisms governing ion migration and redox processes to improve switching uniformity and endurance, and to reduce variability.

“I look forward to bridging fundamental interfacial physics and chemistry with practical devices and to supporting an open, inclusive community around the journal.”

 

 

 

 

Photo of RSC Applied Interfaces Early Career Advisory Board member Jess Wade.Jessica Wade, Imperial College London

ORCID: 0000-0003-2866-3941

Dr Jess Wade is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London. Her research considers new materials for optoelectronic devices and quantum technologies, with a focus on chiral systems and the identification of strategies to control photon and electron spin. She is co-chair of the M4QN Materials Interest Group in Molecules for Quantum. She is a member of Imperial’s Centre for Quantum Engineering, Science and Technology Management Board, the SPIE Board of Directors and the UK Government’s Quantum Strategic Advisory Board. Outside of the lab, Jess is involved with several science communication and outreach initiatives. She is committed to improving diversity in science, both online and offline. She has written a series of children’s picture books on science with Walker.

“Interfaces are integral to the structure and function of thin films and devices. I’m excited to work with the RSC on this important journal, advocate for surface science, horizon scan for future areas of interest and champion early career researchers. Woohoo!” 

 

 

 

Please join us in welcoming our new Early Career Advisory Board members to the journal community! See our full line-up of Early Career Advisory Board members here.

Hear from our authors: Eswaraiah Varrla

RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.

In this post, we hear from Eswaraiah Varrla at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Sustainable high-yield h-BN nanosheet production by liquid exfoliation for thermal interface materials‘.

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Hear from our authors: Simon Kellner

RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.

In this post, we hear from Simon Kellner at Imperial College London, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Engineering macroporous carbon film supports for freestanding Fe–N–C cathodes at high current densities‘.

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Introducing Amit Kumar Mandal and Lucien Weiss to our Early Career Advisory Board

Meet our Early Career Advisory Board members who work on biointerfaces

We announced our inaugural Advisory Board for RSC Applied Interfaces in early September. In this series of blog posts, we will be shining a spotlight our new Early Career Advisory Board members and introducing them to you!

This week we are delighted to introduce Amit Kumar Mandal and Lucien Weiss as members of our inaugural Early Career Advisory Board.

 

Photo of RSC Applied Interfaces Early Career Advisory Board member Amit Kumar Mandal.

Amit Kumar Mandal, Raiganj University, India

ORCID: 0000-0001-9249-5052

Amit Kumar Mandal currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sericulture and as the Director of the Centre for Nanotechnology Science (CeNS) at Raiganj University. He earned his MSc and PhD from the University of North Bengal and previously held a faculty position at Vidyasagar University under the UGC-Innovative Programme. With over a decade of academic and research experience, he has published more than 80 SCI-indexed papers and holds three patents. His research interests include chemical biology, nano-omics, and molecular diagnostics targeting infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as a member of the Early Career Advisory Board of RSC Applied Interfaces. This opportunity allows me to actively contribute to the journal’s vision of advancing impactful research in applied interface science. I look forward to engaging with the scientific community and supporting the journal’s growth and development through collaboration and innovation.”

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of RSC Applied Interfaces Early Career Advisory Board member Lucien Weiss.

Lucien Weiss, Polytechnique Montréal

ORCID: 0000-0002-0971-7329

Lucien Weiss is an Associate Professor at Polytechnique Montréal. He obtained his BA in Chemistry from Harvard University in 2010, and his PhD in Physical Chemistry in 2017 from Stanford University, where he trained with W. E. Moerner. His postdoctoral research was performed in Yoav Shechtman’s Nano-bio-optics lab at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology supported by a Zuckerman STEM Fellowship. He began his independent career in the Department of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal in 2021. There, the Weiss Lab develops the instruments and methods needed to understand and engineer the behaviors of bio-material interactions over an extremely broad range of spatiotemporal scales: from single molecules to biological cell populations, and from microseconds to weeks.

“I’m excited to be participating in the RSC community and help identify opportunities to accelerate our understanding of the exciting chemistry and physics that occur at interfaces and how this knowledge can be deployed in solving the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

 

 

 

 

Please join us in welcoming our new Early Career Advisory Board members to the journal community! See our full line-up of Early Career Advisory Board members here.

Introducing our inaugural Early Career Advisory Board for RSC Applied Interfaces

We are delighted to introduce our inaugural Early Career Advisory Board for RSC Applied Interfaces! This international group of emerging leaders will help shape the future of our interdisciplinary journal, which focuses on applied interfacial and surface research.

Photos of the RSC Applied Interfaces Early Career Advisory Board members: María González Martínez, Jie Ju, Hyojung Kim, Hiang Kwee Lee, Julian Lorenz, Amit Kumar Mandal, Riccardo Marin, Matteo Monai, Linqin Mu, Stefano L. Oscurato, Ye-Tang Pan, Bruna Rego de Vasconcelos, Artiom Skripka, Chengbo Tian, Jessica Wade, Lucien Weiss, Bo Weng.

Please join us in welcoming our new Advisory Board members:

We are excited to welcome our new Early Career Advisory Board members to our journal community and look forward to working with them as we shape and grow our journal.

Keep an eye on our journal blog page where we will be introducing our new members and discussing their current research interests.

Hear from our authors: Stefano L. Oscurato and I Komang Januariyasa

Stefano Oscurato and Komang Januariyasa have developed a groundbreaking technique that uses holographically structured light to mold three-dimensional azopolymer microstructures with unprecedented precision. Their work could impact everything from microrobotics to advanced optical devices.

Read ‘Molding three-dimensional azopolymer microstructures with holographically structured light’ in RSC Applied Interfaces, and learn more about this work in the interview below.

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Hear from our author: Swapnil Das

RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.

In this post, we hear from Swapnil Das at New Jersey Institute of Technology, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Interaction of vapor-phase and liquid organophosphonates with inorganic surfaces‘.

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Congratulations to the Winners of the TriboUK 2025 Poster Prizes

The TriboUK 2025 Conference took place at the University of Birmingham on 18–19 June 2025.

RSC Applied Interfaces, Materials Advances and Soft Matter were pleased to sponsor the Best Poster Awards and a Best Talk prize at TriboUK 2025. The awards recognised outstanding early-career research, and we extend our warmest congratulations to all the winners!  

Learn more about our poster prize awardees below: 

Muhammad Aulia Rahman (Imperial College London)

Poster title: “Molecular Insights into Stress-Driven Ammonia Production via Mechanocatalysis”.

Muhammad Aulia Rahman is a PhD student in the Tribology Group at Imperial College London, supervised by Prof. Daniele Dini and Dr. James Ewen. His research focuses on molecular modelling of mechanocatalysis in energy systems, exploring how mechanical force influence catalytic processes at the nanoscale. He earned his MSc in Advanced Mechanical engineering from Imperial College London in 2021 and BEng from Gadjah Mada University in 2019. Prior to his PhD, he has also worked as a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia, where he taught and conducted studies in multiscale heat and thermal transport. His research interests include tribology, molecular simulation, and sustainable energy technologies.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aulia-rahmanm/

 

 

 

 

Qianrong Liu (University of Birmingham)

Poster title: “A study of maximum spreading ratio at zero impact velocity of mixed oils with Bayesian Optimisation”.

Qianrong Liu is a PhD student at the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham. She holds an MEng degree from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Xi’an University of Science and Technology, where she also conducted research on fluorescent nanoparticles and microfluidics at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She later earned an MSc in Operational Research and Applied Statistics with Distinction from Cardiff University. Her current doctoral research focuses on applying Bayesian optimisation to the development of complex formulated products, integrating formulation science, surface analysis, microfluidics, automation, and both single- and multi-objective Bayesian optimisation.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qianrong-liu-46291930a/

 

 

 

Nicola Yau (University of Hull Graduate)

Poster title: “Tribological Testing of Menstrual Pads under Realistic Moisture Conditions”

Nicola Yau is a Biomedical Engineering student who has just completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Hull. She’s passionate about applying engineering to real-world challenges in women’s health, with a focus on comfort, inclusivity, and material science. Inspired by the everyday experiences often overlooked in design, she’s on a mission to make research more human, more inclusive – and just a little bit more sparkly ✨.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolayau-eng/

 

 

Best talk prize was awarded to:

Mrunmayee Joshi (PhD student at the University of Birmingham)

 

Congratulations to all the winners and to those who participated in this successful TriboUK 2025 event!

Meet our authors: Marcella Salvatore, Francesco Reda, Fabio Borbone and Stefano Luigi Oscurato

RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.

In this post, we hear from Marcella Salvatore, Francesco Reda, Fabio Borbone and Stefano Luigi Oscurato at University of Naples Federico II, as they discuss their recently published communication article entitled ‘Multilevel azopolymer patterning from digital holographic lithography‘.

 

Discover the full article here

 

Multilevel azopolymer patterning from digital holographic lithography

Marcella Salvatore, Francesco Reda, Fabio Borbone and Stefano Luigi Oscurato

RSC Appl. Interfaces, 2025,2, 56-60. DOI: 10.1039/D4LF00358F

 

 

 

 

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Hear from our authors: Amaury Baret

RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.

In this post, we hear from Amaury Baret at University of Liège, Belgium, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Low-emissivity fine-tuning of efficient VO2-based thermochromic stacks with silver nanowire networks’.

 

Discover the full article here

Low-emissivity fine-tuning of efficient VO2-based thermochromic stacks with silver nanowire networks

Amaury Baret, Ambreen Khan, Aline Rougier, Daniel Bellet and Ngoc Duy Nguyen

RSC Appl. Interfaces, 2025, 2, 94-103. DOI: 10.1039/D4LF00234B

 

Meet the author

I am a PhD researcher in physics at the University of Liège (ULiège), working under the supervision of Prof. Nguyen, head of the SPIN (Solid State Physics, Interfaces and Nanostructrures) research group. Our research focuses on the physics of materials for energy applications. This highlighted work has been performed within the framework of the INSTEAD project. This collaborative effort is funded by the European M.ERA-NET program and brings together with ULiège a consortium of four partners contributing with their expertise to the development of new materials for smart windows : LMGP Grenoble INP, Université de Grenoble Alpes (Prof. D. Bellet); ICMCB, Université de Bordeaux, (Dr. A. Rougier); Middle East Technical University in Turkey, (Prof. H. Emrah Ünalan).

 

About the INSTEAD Project

The INSTEAD project aims to develop innovative coatings with advanced functionalities, particularly through the use of heterostructures that combine different materials, including chromogenic compounds. These materials have the potential to dynamically regulate their properties in response to environmental changes, making them highly promising for energy-efficient applications such as smart windows. Additionally, this project explores the incorporation of silver nanowire networks into these complex material stacks, utilizing them as transparent electrodes for electrochromic materials. In the discussed paper, we also investigate their potential as low-emissivity coatings for thermochromic stacks, highlighting their multifunctional role in enhancing the performance of thermochromic stacks for window panes. Our work within this project is part of a broader, coordinated effort to understand and optimize these materials through theoretical and experimental approaches.

 

What Excites Me About This Research

Working in the field of energy materials is incredibly rewarding, as it allows me to contribute—however modestly—to addressing pressing global challenges. I find great satisfaction in working on abstract physical concepts that have tangible real-world applications. From a scientific perspective, one of the most exciting aspects of this work is the ability to explore complex physical interactions within heterostructure coatings, shaped by both material composition and morphological features. One of the central challenges in our field lies in reconciling two typically opposing properties: electrical conductivity and optical transparency. This trade-off is clearly illustrated by the contrasting behavior of metals, which are excellent conductors but optically opaque, and dielectrics, which are often transparent but insulating. Our research leverages computational modeling to gain deeper insights into these interactions, providing a cost-effective means of understanding their behavior at a fundamental level and paving the way for material-efficient application designs. The coupling of multiple physical phenomena within these materials also opens up fascinating discussions and challenges, making the research both stimulating and impactful.

 

The Challenges We Face

One of the most challenging aspects of this work lies in interpreting and comparing simulation results with experimental data and existing literature. Ensuring that our models accurately capture the intricate behaviors of these materials requires a careful balance of theoretical insight and empirical validation. Overcoming these challenges is an integral part of the scientist’s work, pushing us to refine our approaches and deepen our understanding of the physical mechanisms at play. Of course, these challenges are not just obstacles but the very essence of scientific research—they fuel our curiosity, drive our passion, and push us to expand, even marginally, the boundaries of human knowledge.

 

What’s Next?

As part of my ongoing PhD research, I will continue exploring additional physical mechanisms within these materials, with a particular focus on their thermal emissivity properties, a subset of phenomena related to the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiations. This aligns with the perspectives outlined in our recent publication, where we discuss strategies for optimizing the balance between optical transparency and electrical conductivity. After completing my PhD, I intend to continue conducting research and will therefore be looking for postdoctoral opportunities to further develop my expertise in this area.