My Ph.D. started in October 2022 at DTU Physics in the section of Neutrons and X-rays for Material Physics (NEXMAP). My project is focused on heating by magnetic nanoparticles. Heating of magnetic nanoparticles for instance has applications in localised cancer treatment and efficient heating of catalytic reactions by renewable energy sources. The heat inside the magnetic nanoparticles is induced by application of alternating magnetic fields.

Usually, the temperature of a sample heated by magnetic nanoparticles is measured by conventional thermometers, which only accesses the average temperature of the sample. In my Ph.D. project, we aim to measure the temperatures inside and outside the nanoparticles individually. These separated temperature measurements are important for understanding the physics behind the induction heating of magnetic nanoparticles and for improving the efficiency of heating by magnetic nanoparticles.

Currently, only one other research group has made efforts on measuring the internal particle temperatures. I find my work exhilarating due to the novelty of the research and owing to a missing consensus on whether large temperature gradients appear at the surface of magnetic nanoparticles. I sincerely hope my work will support future applications of magnetic nanoparticles.