MaNEP e-Newsletter for members - Published monthly Issue Nr. 10 - June - July - August 2006 / page 2

MaNEP News
Arrivals / MaNEP welcomes two new members
Prof. Christian Bernhard, from the University of Fribourg, is a specialist in infra-red spectroscopy who is presently actively collaborating with the Swiss Light Source (SLS) at PSI.
Dr Elvezio Morenzoni and has built an importantSR facility		 at the PSI.

We wish them both a warm welcome in the network of MaNEP.

Watch out / Dr Céline Lichtensteiger awarded by Vacheron Constantin


A former PhD student in Prof. Jean-Marc Triscone's group (DPMC - UniGE), she wrote an excellent thesis on ferroelectrics, this spring. Dr Céline Lichtensteiger's work 		entitled Ferroelectricity at the Nanoscale : Study of Size Effects in Lead Titanate Thin Films has been acknowledged by the prestigious Vacheron Constantin Prize for physics. Céline (on the picture with Juan-Carlos Torres, the firm's CEO) received a beautiful watch during the ceremony that took place on Friday, June 23, at the firm's factory in Plan-Les-Ouates

(in Geneva).

Since 1948, the firm rewards students from the Science Faculty of Geneva by awarding the prize in turn in mathematics, astronomy and physics.

A great year for Céline, who was in a TSR TV show about nanotechnology on April 5, the same day she passed her thesis exam !

Technology Transfer / Call for magneto-caloric materials !
by Matthias Kuhn, KTT manager

A Swiss research institute has developed an original patent-protected magnetic refrigeration system and is looking for a material with high-performance room temperature magnetocaloric effect.

This material should show a MCE in the range of 10-15 		Kelvins at low magnetic fields (1-2 Tesla) and cost less than Gadolinium. Gadolinium is used in low magnetic field (1 to 2 Tesla), but its MCE effect is small at room temperature.

If there are relevant materials or know-how available within MaNEP, I would be keen to be informed. From there, we may initiate discussions with

the research institute and its industrial partners.

I have done some research about state-of-the art materials and welcomes sharing this information with you.

Here is [ the link ] to the technology / materials request.
Go to...
Cover 1
MaNEP news 2
Free Column 3
Publications 4
Reading tips 5
Calendar 6







Send your own MaNEP news to the editor, thank you !


And also....
MaNEP Summer School : ready to go !

About 80 participants will be at the 2nd MaNEP Summer School on low dimensional systems that will take place in Saas Fee, from September 11 to 16.

To relax from the courses they will enjoy a meal at the Mont-Allalin restaurant (at 3500m !) and a raclette on wednesday evening. Tennis courts and swimming pool are also available in the vicinity...

[ infos : contact Dr Michel Decroux ]