Plenary Speakers

Ion Errea, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain

Ion Errea is an Associate Professor at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), specializing in the theoretical study of complex properties in solid-state systems. He leads the Quantum Theory of Materials research group at the Materials Physics Center (CSIC-UPV/EHU). His work focuses on developing advanced computational methods to explore quantum and anharmonic effects in atomic vibrations, electron-phonon interactions, and their role in phenomena such superconductivity, thermoelectricity, and phase transitions in solids and nanostructures. He has devoted a large part of his career to the characterization and discovery of high-pressure hydrogen-based superconductors.

Sébastien Merkel, Université de Lille, France

S. Merkel is a professor at the Université de Lille, France, since 2010.

His research focuses on understanding the dynamics and formation of the deeper portions of the Earth and planets by performing in-situ high pressure / high temperature experiments to study microstructures in polycrystals, their mechanical behaviour, and phase transformations. He is currently the PI of the ERC HotCores project, which aims to reenact key events of the history of the Earth's inner core in the laboratory.

Anna Pakhomova, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, France

Anna Pakhomova is a mineral physicist and crystallographer specializing in experimental geoscience and planetary science. Her research primarily utilizes in situ high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction to determine the fate of minerals within the interiors of planetary bodies. She earned her Ph.D. in Earth Science from the University of Saint Petersburg in 2013. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut and working as a beamline scientist at the PETRA III synchrotron, she joined the ID27 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility as a scientist in 2021. In 2022, she obtained her Habilitation in Natural Sciences from the University of Bayreuth. Currently, Anna and her research group investigate the deep cycles of volatiles in the Earth and the mineralogy of the large icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn.