Joana Rodrigues is a Researcher at the Physics Department (DFIS) of the University of Aveiro (UA) and at the Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication (i3N). She earned her PhD in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from UA in 2015, following an MSc (2010) and BSc (2008) in Physics from the same institution. In 2016, she joined Bosch Thermotechnology as an R&D Engineer, where she led initiatives focused on developing innovative technologies for water softening, sensing, and purification. She returned to i3N/UA in 2017 as a postdoctoral researcher to pursue a new research line centered on developing materials for sensing applications, while maintaining an active collaboration with Bosch in water treatment research. In 2018, she became the Principal Investigator (PI) of a research project funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) – PTDC/NAN-MAT/28755/2017 – titled “Nanostructured ZnO and ZnO/nanocarbon composites for biosensing applications.” This marked the beginning of her autonomous research in a highly competitive and multidisciplinary field. In 2022, she was awarded an Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEEC) grant from FCT for her project “Energy-efficient photocatalysis: ultraviolet long persistent luminescent phosphors as inner light for photocatalytic applications.” The project was ranked 1st in the Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology panel at the Assistant Researcher level, with a final score of 9.74/10. In 2023, she received additional competitive funding (~€50,000; project 2023.00054.RESTART) under the FCT RESTART program to expand work in the same research area. In December 2024, she was appointed to a permanent position as Assistant Researcher at i3N/UA. J. Rodrigues has developed extensive expertise across multidisciplinary areas, particularly in advanced spectroscopic techniques (UV-Vis-NIR, Raman, and photoluminescence spectroscopy). A central focus of her research is the optical characterization and exploitation of materials for applications in optoelectronics, photocatalysis, and sensing, combined with the growth and synthesis of functional materials. She notably developed and optimized a novel method—laser-assisted flow deposition—for growing oxide materials. Beyond her research, she has been actively involved in the supervision of PhD, MSc, and BSc students and plays a key role in the UV-Vis Spectroscopy Lab at i3N/UA, where she is responsible for user training and support. She also teaches undergraduate classes from the Eng. Physics Degree and currently serves as a board member of the Physics Department, and participates regularly in outreach and dissemination activities organized by both DFIS and i3N. She is engaged in several prolific national and international collaborations, particularly in optical materials characterization, leading to numerous high-impact publications. She has been invited to present her work at prestigious conferences, including EMRS, and has contributed to the organization of international scientific events. She has also served as Guest Editor for the journals Chemosensors and Applied Sciences (MDPI). To date, she has authored over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, along with 8 conference papers and 1 editorial, amassing over 1,714 citations and an h-index of 22 (SCOPUS, accessed 23/06/2025). She has contributed to 114 posters and 80 oral presentations, including 19 invited talks and 1 keynote lecture. Her work has been recognized with four best poster awards at international conferences. She has participated in 13 national and international research projects, involving extensive collaboration with both academic and industrial partners.