APPLAuSE

Bernardo Barbosa
Bernardo was born in Lisbon in 1999, the same city where he obtained his Master's in 2022, in IST, with a thesis focused on the production of electron-positron pairs via Strong Field QED processes using two-colored laser pulses. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Physics at the Group of Lasers and Plasmas under the supervision of Dr. Marija Vranic, where he studies how using different laser configurations and how spatiotemporal control of the pulses may lead to observable macroscopic features in electron-positron pair creation and to achieve a high degree of spin polarization of the produced pairs.

Filipe Cruz
Filipe was born in 1998, in Leiria, Portugal. He graduated in Physics Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, and for his Master's thesis, he studied laser-driven, ion-scale magnetospheres in laboratory plasmas through the performance of multiple collisionless particle-in-cell simulations. For his PhD, he is working under the supervision of Prof. Luís Oliveira e Silva to study broadband lasers as a way to mitigate the parametric instabilities that form in laser-plasma interactions.

Rafael Russo Almeida
Rafael was born in Viseu in 2000. He obtained his MSc degree in Engineering Physics in 2023, during which he developed a new laser injection tool for particle-in-cell codes that allows for the simulation of completely accurate and complex electromagnetic pulses. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in Laser and Plasma Physics under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Vieira. His work focuses on the creation, manipulation and diagnostic of structured light and the study of its interaction with plasmas, trying to enhance acceleration and radiation emission processes. Apart from that, analog photography and teaching are two things that bring him joy.

Théo Abounnasr Martins
Théo grew up near Toulouse in France, where his physics journey began. Graduating from Université Paris-Cité (ex Paris-VII) in fundamental physics, he undertook several internships to gain experience with large-scale detection experiments within the Virgo collaboration and at CERN. His interest then turned to cosmic-ray physics, prompting him to pursue further training in High Energy Astrophysics in Japan, where he obtained a MSc. from the University of Tokyo. His thesis focused on the Kinetic theory of the ion-beam instability in the context of relativistic shocks. Now, he is starting a new chapter at IPFN, where he will be studying plasma instabilities beyond the Standard Model alongside H. Terças. He is particularly interested in integrating principles from special relativity and field theory into the study of plasma turbulence.