Dra. Lucía Palomino Ruiz

Dr. Lucia Palomino Ruiz is a researcher with a decade of experience in highly interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, and Nanoscience. Her work has primarily focused on single-molecule charge transport, using the STM break-junction technique to measure conductance, current–voltage characteristics, and thermopower in a wide range of molecular systems, including nanographenes, metal complexes, polyynes and macrocycles.

She has strong expertise in designing experimental strategies for complex molecular systems, from sample preparation and measurement optimization to advanced data analysis.

She obtained her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Granada in 2021, under the supervision of Dr. A. G. Campaña, Dr. A. Millán, and Dr. M. T. González, with a project combining organic synthesis and electron-transport experiments. In 2022, she was awarded a Margarita Salas postdoctoral fellowship, obtaining a two-year position as teaching and research staff in the Department of Organic Chemistry at the University of Granada.

This grant allowed her to undertake a one-year research stay as a Visiting Researcher at the nanotech@surfaces laboratory in Zurich (Switzerland), led by Prof. R. Fasel. There, she received training in low-temperature UHV STM/STS and AFM systems for the structural and electronic characterization of nanostructures, and also participated in transferring these materials onto technologically relevant substrates for device integration.

Since 2025, Lucia has been a member of the Molecular Electronics Laboratory at IMDEA Nanoscience, headed by Dr. E. Leary.The group focuses on high-conductance molecular junctions, the role of aromaticity and antiaromaticity in electron transport, and transport in complex systems.