Theses 2026

Oriol Cabanas Tirapu
Irving Brian Becerril Castro
Paula Martínez Cánovas
Óscar Sabuz Vidal
Raúl Sáez Rodríguez
Adrià Plazas Vidal
Zhonghuan Zhang
Mohammadali Zoljalali
Ali Naseri
Enric Palau Forte
Antonio Forente
Mouna Ichrak Khenissa
Denisse Rivas Navia

ORIOL CABANAS TIRAPU
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Marta Sales and Dr. Roger Guimerà
TITLE OF THESIS: “EXTENSIONS AND APPLICATIONS OF BAYESIAN SYMBOLIC REGRESSION”
DEPARTMENT: DEQ
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Marta Ibañes Miguez [President] (Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona)
– Dr. Sergio Gómez Jiménez [Secretary] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Esteban Moro Egido [Vocal] (Northeastern University, USA)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Thursday 8 January 2026
TIME: 16.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ, and Microsoft Teams
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

IRVING BRIAN BECERRIL CASTRO
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Ramón Á. Álvarez
TITLE OF THESIS: “DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE AND HIGHLY CONTROLLED PLASMONIC MATERIALS”
DEPARTMENT: DQFI
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Miguel Ángel Correa Duarte [President] (Universidad de Vigo, Vigo)
– Dr. Xing Yi Ling [Secretary] (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
– Dr. Eduard Llobet Valero [Vocal] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Friday 16 January 2026
TIME: 15.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala d’Actes, N5

PAULA MARTÍNEZ CÁNOVAS
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Joan Rosell and Dr. Francesc Medina
TITLE OF THESIS: “ELECTROSPUN LIGNIN-BASED NANOFIBERS AS SUSTAINABLE STRUCTURES FOR ENERGY STORAGE AND PHOTOCATALYTIC APPLICATIONS”
DEPARTMENT: DEQ
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Francesco di Natale [President] (University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy)
– Dr. Alex Fragoso Sierra [Secretary] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Sandra Martínez Crespiera [Vocal] (Leitat Technological Center, Terrassa)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Friday 27 February 2026
TIME: 11.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

ÓSCAR SABUZ VIDAL
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Vikas Kumar, Dr. Jordi Blanco and Dr. Deepika
TITLE OF THESIS: “CROSSTALK BETWEEN CHEMICAL-MICROBIOTA-IMMUNOTOXICITY USING IN VITRO MODELS”
DEPARTMENT: DEQ
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Antonio Hernández Jerez [President] (Universidad de Granada, Granada)
– Dr. Maria Teresa Colomina Fosch [Secretary] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Philip Marx-Stoelting [Vocal] (German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Germany)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Friday 17 April 2026
TIME: 11.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

RAÚL SÁEZ RODRÍGUEZ
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Dieter Boer and Dr. Manel Vallès
TITLE OF THESIS: “DATA-DRIVEN FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING RESIDENTIAL ROOFTOP PHOTOVOLTAICS IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION”
DEPARTMENT: DEM
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Assed Naked Haddad [President] (Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro, Brasil)
– Dr. Carla Isabel Montagud Montalvá [Secretary] (Universitat Politècnica de València, València)
– Dr. Ana Lázaro Fernández [Vocal] (Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Monday 25 May 2026
TIME: 12.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

ADRIÀ PLAZAS VIDAL
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Marta Sales, Dr. Roger Guimerà and Dr. Solange Chavel
TITLE OF THESIS: “ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC FUNDING ON RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS”
DEPARTMENT: DEQ
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Albert Díaz Guilera [President] (Unversitat de Barcelona, Barcelona)
– Dr. José Manuel Galán Ordax [Secretary] (Universidad de Burgos, Burgos)
– Dr. Cornelia Lawson [Vocal] (University of Manchester, UK)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Thursday 28 May 2026
TIME: 11.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ
*INDUSTRIAL MENTION

ZHONGHUAN ZHANG
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Xavier Mateos
TITLE OF THESIS: “INFRARED WAVEGUIDE LASERS IN GARNET CRYSTALS FABRICATED BY DIRECT LASER WRITING”
DEPARTMENT: DQFI
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Rosa Maria Solé Cartañà [President] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Victor Llamas Martínez [Secretary] (Eurecat, Tarragona)
– Dr. Yongguang Zhao [Vocal] (Shandong University, China)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Friday 29 May 2026
TIME: 12.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Seminari QFI, Chemistry Faculty
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

MOHAMMADALI ZOLJALALI
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Xavier Mateos, Dr. Francesc Díaz and Dr. Richard Ahorsu
TITLE OF THESIS: “GEOMETRY-DRIVEN FLOW RECTIFICATION IN MICROFLUIDIC MEMBRANELESS ELECTROLYZERS FOR HYDROGEN PRODUCTION: EXPERIMENTAL, NUMERICAL, AND AI-ASSISTED INVESTIGATION”
DEPARTMENT: DQFI
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Sara Abalde Cela [President] (International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Portugal)
– Dr. Victor Llamas Martínez [Secretary] (Eurecat, Tarragona)
– Dr. Koorosh Kazemi [Vocal] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Monday, 8 June 2026
TIME: 12.30h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, Chemistry Faculty
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

ALI NASERI
SUPERVISORS: Prof. Josep Bonet and Dr. Clara Salueña
TITLE OF THESIS: “STATE-DEPENDENT DISSIPATION IN GENERALIZED DISSIPATIVE PARTICLE DYNAMICS”
DEPARTMENT: DEQ
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Ignacio Pagonabarraga [President] (Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona)
– Dr. Allan Donald Mackie Walker [Secretary] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Nunzia Lauriello [Vocal] (Politecnico di Torino, Italy)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
TIME: 15.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

ENRIC PALAU FORTE
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Francesc Medina
TITLE OF THESIS: “DESIGN AND VALIDATION OF VALVES FOR HIGH PRESSURE HYDROGEN SERVICE”
DEPARTMENT: DEQ
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Noemí Ruiz Munzón [President] (Escola Univeristària Salesiana de Sarrià, Barcelona)
– Dr. Margarita Jiménez Tototzintle [Secretary] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Albert Gibert Bosch [Vocal] (IQS School of Engineering, Barcelona)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Friday, 19 June 2026
TIME: 11.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Redfluid, Terrassa
*INDUSTRIAL MENTION

ANTONIO FORENTE
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Xavier Mateos, Dr. Luca Guerrini and Dr. Nicolás Pazos
TITLE OF THESIS: “DESIGN OF PLASMONIC NANOSENSORS FOR DETECTING ANALYTES OF ENVIRONMENTAL INTEREST”
DEPARTMENT: DQFI
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Tommaso Salzillo [President] (Univesty of Bologna, Italy)
– Dr. Yoel Negrín Montecelo [Secretary] (King’s College London, UK)
– Dr. Judit Morlà Folch [Vocal] (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Friday, 19 June 2026
TIME: 11.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, Chemistry Faculty
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION

MOUNA ICHRAK KHENISSA
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Pascal Blondeau and Dr. Abdelhakim Benchettara
TITLE OF THESIS: “ELABORATION OF ELECTROCATALYTIC INTERFACES BY ELECTROCHEMICAL MEANS. APPLICATIONS”
DEPARTMENT: DQAQO
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Yazid Foudil-Cherif [President] (University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algiers)
– Dr. Alex Fragoso Sierra [Secretary] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Farida Kerkouche-Kellou [Vocal] (University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algiers)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Thursday, 9 July 2026
TIME: 10.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algiers
*COTUTELLE

DENISSE RIVAS NAVIA
SUPERVISORS: Dr. Christophe Bengoa
TITLE OF THESIS: “DESIGN, SYNTHESIS AND APPLICATION OF IONIC LIQUIDS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM INSECT AND MICROALGAE”
DEPARTMENT: DEQ
NAMES AND AFFILIATIONS OF MEMBERS PhD COMMITTEE: – Dr. Ana Mª Soto Campos [President] (Univesty Santiago de Compostela, Spain)
– Dr. Esther Torrens Serrahima [Secretary] (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona)
– Dr. Jean-Pierre Mbakidi [Vocal] (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France)
DATE OF DEFENSE: Friday, 10 July 2026
TIME: 11.00h
ROOM OF DEFENSE: Sala de Graus, ETSEQ
*INTERNATIONAL MENTION