Faster phones, thanks to SPINTRONICS ft. Sofia Ferreira Teixeira

In Other Words

Her first undergrad internship/thesis simulating thermoelectric devices for cars, pushed by her supervisor to publish it despite thinking ’this is just undergrad work’; it was rejected, then published, and still gets cited, teaching her never to underestimate herself.

Key Takeaways

Postdoc at CIC nanoGUNE (Basque Country) working on spintronics, controlling the spin of electrons with charge current to make faster, more energy-efficient devices (electronics already use ~4% of world energy).
Moore’s-law scaling is hitting size and speed limits; spintronics is one route past them.
Career followed curiosity: thermoelectrics → topological insulators (2016 Nobel) → magnetic materials → spintronics, staying with the same trusted supervisor from internship through PhD.
Non-research loves: the internationality and teamwork, the travel/‘selling’ of results, and the ‘adrenaline for the mind’ when the last puzzle piece fits.
Three wishes: more diverse people and more empathy, moving past ‘publish or perish’ and pure bibliometrics, and better access (beyond money) to facilities and instruments.