We are delighted to welcome one more postdoctoral researcher, in collaboration with Pr Giulio Ragazzon’s group, Dr. Pradyut Roy, from West Bengal, India. Pradyut joins us after completing his integrated MS-PhD degree at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Chemistry from Garbeta College, affiliated with Vidyasagar University. His PhD work focused on investigating energy and charge transfer dynamics in the multicomponent donor–acceptor assemblies composed of environmentally friendly semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). At ISIS, he will now delve into the vibrational strong coupling (VSC) and its impact on the properties of materials and molecules. Welcome Pradyut !

Our newest member, José Lopes Roque arrived one week ago in Strasbourg. He was born and raised in Leiria (Portugal). He holds both a bachelor and a master degree in chemistry from the University of Coimbra (Portugal), oldest University in Portugal (1290) and one of the oldest in Europe. In 2020, he started a PhD in chemistry at the same institution, under the supervision of Pr Rui Fausto. His work focused on chemical reactivity driven by quantum tunneling, in particular for reactive intermediates trapped in cryogenic noble-gas matrices. He spent one year at the Justus-Liebig Giessen University (Germany) in the group of Pr Schreiner, as part of his PhD, and defended in February 2025. Welcome José !

The team is really growing nowadays and our youngest member is now Hugo Le Doze, master 2 student in the specialty Physics of Quantum and Soft Condensed Matter (PhyQS). He will explore the secrets of stochastic thermodynamics and continue to set up an optical trap in vacuum, working in close relation with Antoine Tartar and Kaina Diniz. Welcome to him !

We have the pleasure to welcome a new postdoctoral researcher since two weeks, Malay Mahato. Malay is originated from Purulia, a district in West Bengal, India. He completed his PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in 2023. His research was then focusing on understanding the charge transfer dynamics in a quantum dot-based donor-acceptor system using transient absorption techniques. Subsequently he moved to Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore, in the group of Dr Anoop Thomas, for a first postdoctoral position where he worked on polaritonic chemistry.

We had a farewell dinner last monday to say good bye to Shahana Nizar, who was among us since more than 4 years. After a phD and a postdoc in the lab, she will start a second postdoc in March, in the group of Anna Painelli in Parma University. All the best Shahana !

Last week, our new postdoc Tamaghna Chowdury arrived just on time to enjoy the cold in Strasbourg. Tamaghna comes from Chittaranjan, a railway township in West Bengal, India. He completed his Bachelor of Science with Honors in Physics from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, in 2017. Subsequently, he completed his integrated Master’s and PhD in Physics at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, Maharashtra, in November 2024. His PhD thesis focused on the modulation of the optoelectronic properties of 2D materials through strain, twist, and dielectric engineering. He will be working half time here and half time with the group of Stéphane Berciaud in IPCMS.