Natalia Gutierrez graduated from her bachelor in the Physics Engineering program in 2016 at the EAFIT University in Medellin Colombia; later in 2019, she received her M.Sc. degree in Applied Physics in the same university. Her studies had an emphasis on Scientific Instrumentation. Her Master Thesis consisted of the design, simulation and implementation of a Liquid Nitrogen cold finger cryostat for Mössbauer Spectroscopy. Besides that work, Natalia also participated in other projects including implementation of a photosensitive material for Holographic register and Synthesis, functionalization and application of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on plants, among others.

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Currently, Natalia is conducting her PhD studies in the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). She is, also, enrolled as the early-stage researcher 8 (ESR8) of the MONPLAS project. In this project, Natalia is going to work on the implementation of a device able to detect Microplastics through the SPR technique. For this purpose, she will integrate different studies in the simulation and optimization of a free form lens, implementation of a microfluidics Lab on a Chip, and surface functionalization protocols.