Starting from the 4th of November 2020, Sawaco Nakamae has become the new Coordinator of the Joint Programme AMPEA (Advanced Materials and Processes for Energy Applications), following her election during the last Joint Programme Steering Committee Meeting. Dr. Nakamae has taken the place of Dr. Frédéric Chandezon, who has coordinated the Joint Programme for eight years. 

Besides being the Coordinator of JP AMPEA from March 2013 until November 2020, Frédéric Chandezon has been involved in several projects. Amongst these, he has been in charge of the governance work package of the SUNRISE (Solar Energy for a Circular Economy) project and he is currently the Deputy Coordinator of SUNERGY (Fossil-Free Fuels & Chemicals), a large initiative which results from the merging of the SUNRISE and ENERGY-X projects. Furthermore, from 2013 until 2020, Dr. Chandezon headed the SyMMES (Molecular Systems and Nanomaterials for Energy and Health) laboratory, which develops basic research on themes related to low carbon energy. Since 2019 he leads the DIESE Department (Department for Interfaces for Health, Energy and Environment) of CEA (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives). 

For the past eight years, Frédéric Chandezon has been leading and coordinating the activities and initiatives of EERA JP AMPEA and has now left his role to Sawaco Nakamae. “I am very happy to see that the new Joint Programme Coordinator, Dr. Sawaco Nakamae, is particularly enthusiastic of her new role and I am confident she will do a great job. I wish her to benefit and enjoy it as much as I did” expressed Chandezon. 

Sawaco Nakamae has been covering the role of JP AMPEA Coordinator since the beginning of November. Through this role, she aims to “give back to the EERA and AMPEA communities” that have helped her shape her professional career. “I have directly benefitted from the power of collective effort in building a basic research infrastructure. As a Coordinator, I intend to dedicate my energy to the capacity building actions of the JP by fostering interdisciplinary research and innovation opportunities in line with the EERA mission to catalyze European energy research for a climate-neutral society” Nakamae stated. 

Sawaco Nakamae currently works as a researcher at CEA. She holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Florida State University. During her career, she has worked in a wide spectrum of subjects in condensed matter physics, from high-Tc superconductors, giant magneto-resistive materials, to biomolecules and magnetic nanoparticles. In recent years, she has focused on thermoelectric effects in complex liquids and supermagnetism of interacting nanoparticles. During her professional career, she has coordinated several regional, national, and European research projects, including FET-Proactive project MAGENTA (MAGnetic Nanoparticle based liquid ENergy materials for Thermoelectric device Applications) aiming at developing brand new thermoelectric materials based on ionic ferrofluids.