Congratulations, Dr. Dessislava Daskalova!
AMO GmbH warmly congratulates Dr. Dessislava Daskalova on the successful defense of her PhD thesis, “Engineered Surfaces to Enhance Light-Matter Interactions at the Liquid Interface,” at RWTH Aachen University. Conducted within the research group of Ulrich Plachetka at AMO GmbH, her work addressed a highly relevant field of research with significant potential for future technologies.
At the heart of her thesis was the question of how light can be utilized more efficiently through precisely engineered nanostructured surfaces. Light-matter interactions at liquid interfaces play a crucial role in a wide range of applications, including environmental technologies, sustainable energy production, and bioanalytics. Dr. Daskalova demonstrated how tailored surface designs can enhance these interactions, enabling new functionalities and opening up exciting opportunities for innovation.
Her research resulted in several notable achievements, including highly uniform SERS substrates for ultrasensitive biosensing, plasmonically enhanced TiO₂ photocatalysts for the efficient solar-driven removal of pollutants from wastewater, and metal-oxide heterostructures for photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation. The latter was developed in part within the framework of the EU-funded FreeHydroCells project and contributes to the advancement of future solar fuel technologies.
A PhD in science and engineering represents far more than a collection of publications. It is the culmination of years of curiosity, creativity, perseverance, and dedicated work in the laboratory. We are delighted to have accompanied Dessy throughout this journey and to have witnessed her growth into an outstanding scientist.
We also extend our thanks to our colleagues at RWTH Aachen University who served on the PhD committee and helped make this important milestone possible.
We wish Dr. Dessislava Daskalova every success in her future endeavors, exciting new opportunities, and all the best for the next chapter of her career.
