Georgia Papadakis

Prof. Georgia Papadakis is a Professor at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), leading the Thermal Photonics group. Her research focuses on tailoring light-matter interactions at subwavelength scales to control thermal radiation and radiative heat transfer, with applications in energy, optoelectronics, and thermal management. She explores natural and engineered materials, including metamaterials and van der Waals systems, to enhance energy conversion efficiency and thermal regulation. Prof. Papadakis has held prestigious postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University, the Marie-Curie Institute, and la Caixa Foundation, and actively mentors early-career researchers through external fellowship programs.

Her group’s research interests include polaritonic materials, actively tunable thermal emission, and spectroscopy of infrared nanostructures. Key collaborations include work with Prineha Narang at Harvard University. Recent achievements include breakthroughs in nonreciprocal thermal emission and subwavelength phase control in the mid-infrared range. The group offers opportunities for Master’s, Ph.D., and postdoctoral researchers.

• Education & Career Highlights:
• Tomkat Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University (USA)
• Marie-Curie European Postdoctoral Fellowship (UK)
• la Caixa Junior Leader Postdoctoral Fellowship (Spain)

Her work bridges theoretical and experimental approaches, emphasizing sustainable energy solutions through advanced photonics. Current projects explore thermodynamic limits in heat-to-electricity conversion and dynamic modulation of thermal emission using phase-change materials.