Joao Cunha is a Staff Member at the Hanay Research Group (previously named Integrated Micro and Nanotechnologies group).

He obtained his MSc degree in Engineering Physics from Instituto Superior Tecnico in Portugal, with master’s thesis work conducted at Thales Research and Technology in France. He then joined the European Space Agency (ESA) between 2014 and 2017, participating in research projects employing nanotechnology to design future spacecraft systems. He obtained his PhD in Materials Physics and Chemistry at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2021 for his work on optical-to-thermal energy conversion and nanoscale photo-induced temperature profiles in plasmonic nanostructures. He received several prestigious awards, such as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023-2025) and a Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting invitation for the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting on Physics in 2024. He is a member of Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America). He has authored/co-authored 25+ peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals, contributed actively to 10+ recognised international conferences, and is co-inventor of a granted patent and of a provisional patent application.