Nelson Rivas, new PhD researcher at the Nanotrib

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Nelson Elías Rivas Chacón will join the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) as a PhD researcher at the Nanotrib group next October. Now, he is taking his master degree and starting his work at the ICMM as a master student. 

Where do you come from?

I am originally from Venezuela, but in 2018 we moved to Tenerife just before my last two years of high school. There, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Universidad de La Laguna. My passion for theoretical condensed matter physics led me to pursue a master’s degree in Nanophysics and Advanced Materials at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, which I am currently undertaking.

What have you worked on so far?

Throughout my bachelor’s and master’s studies, I have specialized in theoretical condensed matter physics. This year, I was fortunate to receive a JAE Intro ICU fellowship at the ICMM, where I am currently working. My research focuses on developing analytical expressions for effective Hamiltonians of hole spin qubits in semiconductors using Kohn-Luttinger Hamiltonians and perturbation theory. This is my first real immersion in the world of research, and it has been a truly remarkable experience so far.

What will you work on? With whom?

My PhD thesis will focus on understanding and controlling heat transport at the nanoscale from a theoretical point of view. We are interested in studying the wave-like nature of phonons and its relation with the regimes of ballistic and diffusive heat transport. My work will be supervised by Dr. Guilherme Vilhena and we will be working in close collaboration with several experimental groups whose expertise will allow us to validate our theoretical results.

Why did you choose ICMM?

ICMM has not only proven to be a top-tier institution with state-of-the-art computational facilities and a dynamic international network but also fosters an exceptional environment that supports both my professional and personal growth—as well as that of anyone who joins.

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

⁠I am a very simple person. I love cinema, books and playing soccer. There is not better plan for me than going to the movies or wandering around a library: I always end up buying another book as if I didn’t have 3 others waiting to be read. I want my time in the institute to be full of joy and knowledge. I want to meet people who are willing to have a laugh during launch-time and to make meaningful connections, people who are happy doing what they do because they enjoy physics as much as I do.