Monica Morales-Masis

Monica Morales-Masis is Associate Professor at the University of Twente, Netherlands, leading the M3 Lab within the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology. She joined the university in 2018 after serving as team leader of the transparent conductive oxide group at EPFL's Photovoltaics Laboratory from 2013-2018, following her 2012 Physics PhD from Leiden University.

Her research pioneers novel thin-film materials with tailored optoelectronic properties, focusing on three interconnected domains: vapor-deposited halide perovskites for solar cells using solvent-free pulsed laser techniques, transparent conducting oxides that overcome the transparency-conductivity trade-off, and p-type transparent conductor discovery to address the critical scarcity of hole-conducting transparent materials. This work directly enables next-generation solar cells, LEDs, and transparent electronics.

Recent publications (2020-2023) reveal strong thematic continuity in perovskite deposition science, TCO microstructure-property relationships, and sulfur-doped copper iodide systems. Key trends include solvent-free processing advancements, damage mitigation during electrode deposition, and valence band engineering for p-type materials—collectively advancing efficiency and stability in optoelectronic devices.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• ERC Starting Grant (2019) for CREATE project
• NWO Start-Up Grant (2019) for BRIDGE project

She actively mentors five PhD candidates and two master students while securing diverse funding including ERC, NWO, SOLAR ERA NET, and CETPartnership grants. Her leadership extends to the Young Academy of Europe and extensive outreach promoting STEM diversity in Latin America, including TEDx presentations and student mentorship initiatives.

The M3 Lab operates at the materials-device interface within UT's Inorganic Materials Science group, maintaining strong industry ties (e.g., Coherent Inc. collaborations) and international partnerships. Current projects emphasize scalable manufacturing techniques and novel material compositions to bridge fundamental science with commercial photovoltaic applications.