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The Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) held the third edition of its Seminar for Young Materials Researchers (YOUMAT25) last week, a communication and networking event for PhD researchers in the field of Materials Science. This year, the event brought together nearly a hundred participants, and for the first time, doctoral students from other research centers and universities were allowed to attend, representing 28% of the total attendance.

The event, organized by researcher Eva M. Maya along with PhD students Julia Martínez, Thomas Pucher, and Raúl Artal, featured three early-career senior researchers who shared their scientific careers: Yilian Fernández in the Materials for Health section, Amparo Ruiz Carretero in Materials for a Sustainable World, and José Ángel Fernández in Materials for Digital Information.  

These three guests also selected the winners of the 2025 YOUMAT edition: Rosalía López (IMDEA), Lourdes del Álamo (UCM), and Alejandro Álvarez (ICMM) won the award for best oral presentation, while Pablo Vaquer (UAM) took home the prize for best flash talk, and Vanessa Sánchez (ICMM) won best poster.  

The meeting, which coincided with a nationwide blackout in Spain, had to be restructured on its second day to ensure all participants could have their moment: "Out of the 39 scheduled oral presentations, only two were missed," commented the lead researcher.  

YOUMAT  

The YOUMAT meeting aims to foster interaction between early-stage PhD researchers in Materials Science and those nearing the completion of their theses, as well as to create a space for these young researchers to discuss their work with more senior scientists. This year, in a new development, researchers from other institutions were invited to share their work, with positive results: "Nearly 30% of attendees came from outside our center, which shows that this event is now valued beyond the walls of our research institute," Maya celebrated. 

Tuesday, May 6, 2025 - 09:51