TIME OUT - PIETRO GAMBARDELLA

Researcher at the Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) and Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN), Pietro Gambardella is the winner of the 2007 ESRF Young Scientist Award. He comes very regularly to the ESRF. In fact, he claims, with a smile on his face, to be “addicted” to the institute. The facility provides him with a unique platform for experiments in his field. At 34, Pietro Gambardella, a group leader in the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology, has just received the 2007 Young Scientist Award, given by the ESRF Users’ Association.

- How does it feel to receive this prize?
Elated. It is very nice to be recognized by an institution to which I owe a lot in terms of the experimental opportunities it offers, regardless of one’s age or status.

- The scientist Carlo Carbone presented your candidature. What is your working relationship?
Carbone is the person who introduced me to the use of synchrotron radiation and the field of magnetism. In this sense he was really a mentor and should share part of the prize. We have been collaborating for many years now.

- How important is the use of synchrotron radiation in your research?
I consider it fundamental. In the field of nanomagnetism there is no other technique that is able to provide such a wealth of information on the magnetic and electronic properties of matter with inherent elemental sensitivity. This is very important for the study of complex, heterogeneous materials.

- What beamlines are you currently using?
Mainly ID08, but I have also measured on ID12. In both places I have found a very stimulating and collaborative environment. Most of our experiments would not have been possible without extensive preparation and support from the ESRF staff.

- Do you carry out research in any other synchrotron sources?
I do measurements also at the SLS, BESSY, and ELETTRA. However, the stability of the photon beam provided by the two beamlines mentioned above as well as the performances of the end-stations available to users make the ESRF a unique place.

- You work in a nanotechnology institute. How fast is nanotechnology advancing and what will it allow us to do in the future?
I think that nanotechnology and nanoscience are too broad definitions for a lot of modern research in physics and chemistry. What really distinguishes nanoscience from, say, traditional condensed matter physics is the ability to observe and manipulate matter, in particular individual objects, to a scale that approaches atomic dimensions. From a technological point of view, that means that we might be able to link, and therefore exploit, quantum effects to the macroscopic world. How fast are we going? Certainly fast, in terms of research. In certain fields technology follows rapidly, like in magnetic recording, while in others, such as quantum computation, it goes understandably slower.

- What do you think of the upgrade programme in preparation at the ESRF?
The ESRF is clearly determined to upgrade the facility and intercept the demand for ever more complex experiments against an increasing number of synchrotron sources Europe wide. Besides the different strategic decisions, the keys of the ESRF success are the quality of the x-ray source and detectors as well as the end-stations and facilities available to control the sample environment. Being able to characterise, handle, and even fabricate nanostructured samples directly on site with methods complementary to x-rays is also a great asset for the users’ community.