Arya García Esteban joins our new AI lab as postdoctoral researcher

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From 1st September, Arya García Esteban has joined the ICMM-CSIC to take part of the AI lab as postdoctoral researcher. Lover of videogames, manga and anime, she aims through her work to make AI techniques more widespread, so they can be useful to other researchers in the institute.

Where do you come from?

I'm from Aranjuez, although I now live in Madrid proper to be closer to the workplace. Before coming to ICMM, I did my PhD studies at UAM, at Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada.

What have you worked on so far?

My PhD thesis was focused on the application of AI techniques to radiative heat transfer problems. I've worked on the radiative heat transfer between multilayered metamaterials, thermal emission of nanoparticles, Passive Radiative Cooling... Applying techniques from basic Neural Networks to more advanced methods like Deep Reinforcement Learning to modelling, optimization and inverse design objectives.

What will you work on? With whom?

As mentioned, I'm joining the AI lab. We intend to apply AI techniques to many different problems that are being researched in the institute, showing the usefulness and many possibilities of these techniques, and consider collaborations with many different research groups. As a postdoc, of course, I will have my own projects too. I will be working with Eduardo Hernández Chambers.

Why ICMM?

ICMM is a big research centre, with many different and highly interesting research topics, and given the push that the direction of the institute is giving to the AI lab as a cross platform for the institute, it seemed like the perfect oportunity to continue my AI and physics research as a postdoc. I am really looking forward to all the interesting research that could open in the future, and collaborating with as many people as possible.

And a personal touch: any hobbies? What would you like to contribute to the institute?

I love videogames, mainly indie games, Nintendo games and Pokemon in general (I must have around 25 Pokemon plushes). I also like manga and animated series, cosplay, reading and I'm an online author with a few thousand readers. Mostly an indoors person, as you can tell. I hope through my work to make AI techniques more widespread, and the knowledge of their use and applications more common, so they can be useful to many more research groups in the institute.