Castro Lozano, Alicia

Alicia Castro started her research activities in 1981 at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), accomplishing her PhD thesis on solid state chemistry. After a long postdoctoral stay at the Centre d'Elaboration de Matériaux et d'Études Structurales of CNRS in Toulouse (France), she came back to Spain and obtained a Tenure Scientist position in 1991 at the Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (CSIC), successively promoting to Senior Researcher and Research Professor in 2003 and 2009, respectively. From 1995 she has continuously carried out her research activity at ICMM-CSIC, but for a one-year sabbatical at French CNRS (1996-1997). In 2012 she was appointed Vice President of CSIC, position that hold until 2016.

Most part of her research activities has been focused on the fields of Solid State Chemistry and Material Sciences, specifically on the study of the relationships among synthesis, processing, structure and properties of novel materials. Among the research lines she has leaded, it is worth standing out the chemical design, synthesis and study of ferroelectric and mutiferroic oxides with perovskite and layered perovskite type crystalline structures, such as Aurivillius type and morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) perovskite oxide systems. Some outstanding results are: (i) First time demonstration that Bi3+ in bismuth layered perovskites can be replaced with other p cations of different size and/or charge that have a stereochemically active electronic ns2 lone pair, additionally their ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were tailored with chemical composition; (ii) the development of mechanochemical activation and mechanosynthesis synthesis methods for the stabilization of high density nanostructured phases, which provided improved electrical and magnetic responses for different applications, (iii) The demonstration that combination of mechanosynthesis and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) allows functional nanostructured ceramics to be obtained.

Results of this research have given place to 169 articles indexed in Web of Science Core Collection that have received 3289 citations (H=33) up to 2021. She has been principal investigator of more than 20 research projects in Spain, France and USA.

She has supervised 7 PhD Thesis defended at UCM, Paul Sabatier Toulouse III , UAM and UIMP, and more than 15 Master Final projects in Spain and France.

Alicia Castro regularly plays as proposal reviewer for funding agencies of different countries (Spain, Romania, USA, Mexico, Chile), and as manuscript referee for a range of indexed scientific journals. She has also been member of PhD thesis panels in Spain, France and Morocco. Finally, she has repeatedly performed as representative or manager in scientific committees and institutions in Spain and abroad.