“What does happen differently with small things?”
Asked Feynman in a talk that would mark the birth of nanotechnology.
In our group, we meet this challenge by connecting novel exotic phenomena emerging at the nanoscale with the corresponding “jigglings and wigglings of atoms”. Remarkably, this quest’s interdisciplinary interest (biology, chemistry, physics, … ) allows tackling issues apparently unrelated as: deciphering a hidden physical code in DNA; up to uncovering the atomic origins of the phenomenon that controls earthquake dynamics i.e. static friction.In our group, we meet this challenge by connecting novel exotic phenomena emerging at the nanoscale with the corresponding “jigglings and wigglings of atoms”. Remarkably, this quest’s interdisciplinary interest (biology, chemistry, physics, … ) allows tackling issues apparently unrelated as: deciphering a hidden physical code in DNA; up to uncovering the atomic origins of the phenomenon that controls earthquake dynamics i.e. static friction.
Join us! We have several interesting Undergraduate and Master projects available. Also check out other Job Openings.Join us! We have several interesting Undergraduate and Master projects available. Also check out other Job Openings.
Latest publications
R. López, O. Mateos, P. M. Martínez, J. J. García-Esteban, A. Ibabe, N. Roca-Giménez, P. Segovia, E. G. Michel, E. J. H. Lee, J. G.Vilhena, J. C. Cuevas and N. Agraït. “Heat transfer in metallic nanometre-sized gaps”. Nat. Coms. 16, 7324 (2025).
P. D’Astolfo, J. G. Vilhena, S. Rothenbuhler, C. Drechsel, O. Gutiérrez, R. Häner, S. Decurtins, S. Liu, G. Prampolini, R. Pawlak and E. Meyer. “On-Surface Synthesis and Cryogenic Exfoliation of Sterically Frustrated Atropisomers”. ACS Nano 19 (14), 13805-13816 (2025).
S. C. Yelishala, Y. Zhu, P. M. Martínez, H. Chen, M. Habibi, G. Prampolini, J. C. Cuevas, W. Zhang, J. G. Vilhena and L. Cui. “Phonon interference in single-molecule junctions”. Nat. Mater. 24, 1258-1264 (2025).
Research Lines
“What does happen differently with small things?
… it might turn out to be advantages if you knew how to design for them.”, Richard Feynman
“We seek to discover and understand new exotic phenomena emerging at the nanoscale. Then, by relating it to specific atomic structure/dynamic properties we pave the road towards nanotechnology’s holy grail: atom-by-atom design of new functionalities emerging in nano-devices. This ambitious undertaking is met by pushing the limits of all-atom simulations in an interdisciplinary research (from biology, chemistry up to physics), often in a synergistic liaison with world-leading experimental and theoretical groups.
Core Research
Nanoscale Heat Transport
Unveiling the atomic details of an exotic form of heat transport
Nano-tribology
From designing energy dissipation in single molecules up to unveiling the origins of static friction.
Thermo-Mechanics
From thermophoresis to novel microscopy techniques.
Method Development
Pushing the limits of all-atom simulations.
Other Research Lines
Molecular
Self-Assembly
Controlling their structure and dynamics (DNA assembly to Liquid-Crystals).
Mechanics of Biomolecules
From atomic workings of nucleic-acids up to protein’s nanomechanical maps
Biomolecular Electronics
Engineering Charge-Transport in Bioelectronic Devices
Proteins at Interfaces
Atomically detailed insights into their structure, dynamics and bio-activity.
Electronic Structure
From DFT foundations to excitonic effects in Nanowires.
Meet our people
Delve into our work and interests by exploring the profiles below. If interested, please reach out – we’re always eager for discussions and collaborations.
Alessandro Perluzzo
JAE student
