Professor Mônica Alonso Cotta obtained her B.Sc. and PhD in Physics from University of Campinas, Brazil and was a postdoctoral fellow at AT&T Bell Laboratories, USA. She is a full professor and currently Director of the Institute of Physics “Gleb Wataghin” at the University of Campinas, Brazil, where she also heads research at the Nano and Biosystems Laboratory.

She is the author of over 140 articles published in scientific journals and works as associate editor for ACS Applied Nano Materials.

Her research interests include semiconductor nanomaterials, from synthesis to biosensor fabrication, and applications of optical, electronic and scanning microscopy in the investigation of biomaterials and biological systems. She was a member of the Brazilian Physical Society Gender Relations Committee, ombudsperson for the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory and served two terms as scientific director for the Brazilian Materials Research Society, before assuming the role of president in 2020.