ICFO SAB member, Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, is a renowned physicist and materials scientist whose work on semiconductor nanowires and nanostructures has advanced understanding of light–matter interaction and enabled applications in optoelectronics and solar energy conversion. Originally from Barcelona, her career spans continents with a PhD from France, a postdoc (and start-up) at Caltech, and a Habilitation in experimental physics in Munich.
She joined École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 2008 and in 2025 became the first woman to lead a Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. She inspires through scientific excellent and ambition, as well as active support of young scientists, especially women pursuing technical careers.