The external supervisory committee is composed of 3 distinct professors within the area.

Prof. JUAN MORANTE received his Ph. D. in Physics from the University of Barcelona in 1980. Since 1985 he is professor of Electronics, and director of the research group on Engineering and Electronic Materials. He has been dean and vice-dean of the Faculty of Physics of the UB, head of studies of the degree of Electronics Engineering, and director of the department of Electronics. His activities have been centred in electronic materials and devices specially emphasizing semiconductor materials technology transfer, electronic ceramics, metallic oxides, sensing materials and microsystems and integrated chemical sensors. He has authored or co-authored more than 500 works in international specialized journals, several patents and has directed more than 25 PhDs; he is a member of international committees and editorial teams of journals. 

Prof. FRANCESCO PRIOLO is a Professor of Semiconductor Physics at the University of Catania (Italy) and the Director of the Center of Materials & Technologies for Information, Communication and Solar Energy (MATIS) at CNR-IMM, Italy. He received his master’s degree in physics in 1985 and a PhD in physics of materials in 1989. In this period he performed research at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill (NJ) (1987-1988) and worked as a consultant for STMicroelectronics before joining the University of Catania, where he is currently Rector’s Delegate for International Relationships and a member of the Academic Senate. His main research interests include nanostructures and nanotechnologies in semiconductors. He is an author of over 300 papers in international journals, author of several reviews, author of one book, and editor of 10 books. He holds 3 patents and is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences (over 80 invited talks). He holds a Hirsch h-index of 41 and his publications count overall more than 8,000 citations. 

Prof. EHRENFRIED ZSCHECH is Division Director at Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing in Dresden, since 2009. His responsibilities include micro- and nanoanalysis as well as R&D in the field of test systems. His current research interests are in the areas nanomaterials and nanoanalysis, with the focus on thin film technology and nanotechnology. He has published 3 books and more than 170 papers in scientific journals in the areas of solid-state physics and materials science. He is honorary professor for nanomaterials at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus, Germany. E. Zschech was elected as President of the Federation of European Materials Societies (FEMS) for 2011/2012.