Mobility Projects for Experienced Researchers from the Diaspora

Researcher Mobility Project PN-IV-P2-2.2-MCD-2025-0480 (MCD 10/2025)

Between 16 and 22 November 2025, the National Institute of Materials Physics (NIMP/INCDFM) hosted Dr. Doru Constantin, CNRS Research Scientist at the Charles Sadron Institute, Strasbourg, France, within the framework of the researcher mobility project PN-IV-P2-2.2-MCD-2025-0480 (MCD 10/2025).

The main objective of the mobility project was to strengthen the collaboration between two research groups with highly complementary expertise. The Romanian team, represented by Dr. Mihaela Trandafir, Scientific Researcher III in Laboratory 80 – Catalytic Materials and Catalysis at NIMP, headed by Dr. Mihaela Florea, is internationally recognized for its research on the synthesis and catalytic performance of advanced materials. The French team, represented by Dr. Doru Constantin from the Charles Sadron Institute (CNRS), possesses internationally recognized expertise in the characterization of materials using advanced scattering techniques.

Beyond its significant contributions to fundamental research and its potential technological applications, the visit of Dr. Doru-Cosmin Constantin, Director of the Research Federation Materials and Nanosciences in the Grand Est, was particularly valuable for the training and professional development of early-career researchers. Dr. Constantin is an internationally recognized expert in the application of synchrotron radiation techniques to investigate the growth and self-assembly of inorganic nano-objects, as well as the interactions between components in complex colloidal systems. During his visit, researchers from NIMP, together with students from the Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, and the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, benefited from high-level scientific lectures and training activities.

As part of the visit, Dr. Constantin also delivered a scientific seminar that successfully bridged theoretical concepts with practical applications. The seminar included an in-depth discussion of the experimental results obtained through the ongoing collaboration between the Romanian and French research teams, illustrating how advanced scattering techniques can be applied to address current challenges in materials science.

Throughout his stay, Dr. Constantin shared his expertise with young researchers from the Măgurele Research Platform and other Romanian research institutions through training sessions and knowledge-transfer activities focused on the application of scattering techniques for advanced materials characterization. The mobility project also strengthened the long-term partnership between the two research groups and laid the groundwork for future joint proposals under bilateral and European research funding programmes.