CERN Alumni Barcelona Group - Meet the group managers
Welcome to the vibrant world of the CERN Alumni Barcelona group!
We're thrilled to introduce you to our dedicated team of group managers who work to cultivate a sense of connection between CERN alumni in Barcelona.
As part of the larger CERN Alumni network, the purpose of the group is to connect like-minded individuals who share a deep-rooted interest in all things CERN. Whether you're seeking to forge new connections, exchange groundbreaking ideas, or simply reminisce about your time at CERN, the CERN Alumni Network and its groups serve as the perfect place for alumni to stay in touch, share valuable information, and swap awe-inspiring experiences.
With 33 groups available on our platform, including regional, interest-based, collaborations, and student-focused groups, there's bound to be a space that resonates with your unique interests.
Meet CERN Alumni Barcelona Group Managers
Chiara Carrano
I am Chiara, I was born in Milan (Italy), and since I was in my twenties I have been studying and working abroad in countries such as the USA, Spain, Italy, France, and Switzerland. Among languages, my studies are in international business administration and project management, team leadership, and Knowledge Management. My work experience stretches from corporate environments including the leading of worldwide social media teams to scientific international organizations projects.
In 2011 I was selected to join CERN as Administrative Student Programme to support the CERN Summer Student Programme management. This included assistance to the Admin & HR departments, project management, and event organizations such as the NASA event ‘Return from space: from the International Space Station to CERN’ and being one of the organizers of the first TEDxCERN event ‘Multiplying Dimensions’ At the moment, I am collaborating with Fusion for Energy as a project manager support engineer, assisting the engineering operations activities and administration of the technical team working for ITER which is the world’s largest fusion experiment.
I am hungry for constant learning and development and passionate about making things happen by turning thoughts into action. I am passionate about projects with positive synergies, and I like to make sure brilliant ideas meet business requirements to be successful, by investing in people management. I love travelling, cooking (and moreover, eating), playing the drums and when I am free I try to help the community by volunteering at dog pounds and residences for people with special needs. I am currently a member of the Professional Women's Network Barcelona and Woman in Fusion and I am happy to support gender-balanced leadership in business, especially in the scientific and technological fields.
What makes CERN succeed is its values based on diversity, with the ability to bring people together from different countries and different, and not necessarily scientific, backgrounds to push the frontiers of science and technology, for the benefit of us all, in favour of human knowledge. By promoting the activities of the CERN Alumni Barcelona network, I would like to encourage the continuous spread of scientific information and make it available and understandable to different audiences with different perspectives and backgrounds.
Jorge Sanchez Quesada
I was born in Alicante (Spain). I graduated in Telecommunications Engineering specializing in
Radio-Frequency (RF), Electronics and Signal Processing. I started collaborating in research activities in microwave photonic band-gap structures at the high-frequency electronics laboratory. In 2006 I was admitted to the CERN Technical Student Program in the then AB/RF/FB department, assisting for a year in the development of the digital low-level RF controller designed in collaboration with Brookhaven (BNL). The following year I was admitted to the Fellowship Program in the AB/RF/FB department, working in digital feedback systems and FPGAs for the LHC low-level RF systems. I also participated in the LHC commissioning in 2008 and 2009.
After my fellowship at CERN, I moved to the Austrian Hadrontherapy company MedAustron, where I joined the team in charge of designing the RF systems for the synchrotron, also participating in the commissioning of the machine. In 2012 I returned to CERN with a limited-term staff contract in the BE/RF/FB department, where I continued my work in FPGA digital signal processing, also working in the design of low noise amplifiers for beam instrumentation and magnetic beam current pick-ups for an antimatter machine (ELENA ring). During my work at CERN, I was also involved in the design of digital controllers for motor and power conversion, culminating in the creation of a company that I co-founded in 2017 (ADVANTICS SARL) that specializes in power electronic systems.
In 2018 I moved to Barcelona and started working as a freelance consultant for clients in different industries (automotive, scientific, industrial equipment). In 2019 I founded my second company (ALTAM SYSTEMS SL), which specializes in digital RF controllers and instruments.
Valentina Zambrano
Born in Rome (Italy), I have studied Physics at La Sapienza University, graduating in 2006 with the highest grade. Both my Bachelor and Master Thesis were about astroparticles on the CERN-ISS astroparticle experiment AMS-02. After graduating, I received funds for studying a one-year Post-Master at Tor Vergata University of Rome, in collaboration with the INFN (Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics), on Physical and Technological Basis of Hadrontherapy and Precision Radiotherapy, which I completed in 2007. Thanks to an INFN two-year grant, I moved to CERN in 2007 as Project Associate, working at the Hardware Commissioning Group for the LHC setup. I also joined the ATLAS experiment, working on Monte Carlo data generation and analysis.
In 2009 I started a PhD after obtaining a Marie Curie Fellowship. I joined the CERN PARTNER (PARticle Training Network for European Radiotherapy) group while I was employed at the Austrian Hadrontherapy Centre MedAustron. In 2013 I received a PhD at the Medical University of Vienna, with a Thesis on the computation and semi-automatic correction of the dose delivered to patients undergoing radiation therapy treatment at Vienna General Hospital.
I moved to Spain in 2013 and since then I have been employed at different enterprises and organizations as a software developer. Moreover, I have worked as Assistant Professor at the University of Zaragoza and collaborated in several international projects. I am a Professor at the International University of La Rioja and a senior staff researcher at the Aragon Institute of Technology since 2017, where I mainly focus on data analysis and libraries development for Reduced Order Modelling techniques based on Tensor Rank Decomposition.
I am intellectually restless and I am also passionate about science dissemination. Thanks to the activities promoted by the CERN Alumni Barcelona network I would like to encourage scientific research and brainstorming in Spain.
We are thrilled to announce the highly anticipated launch of the CERN Alumni Barcelona group on 24 May!
To celebrate this occasion, our group managers have organized a spectacular kick-off event that will set the stage for a thriving community of CERN alumni in Barcelona.
Join us on this special day as we come together to connect, network, and ignite the spirit of scientific exploration and collaboration.