João Afonso Mendes is a PhD student at NOVA. His research is primarily focused on synthesising nanomaterials and their applications in sustainable paper-based electronic devices, as well as in Li-ion batteries to enhance storage capacity and improve battery performance (faster charging, higher power density). He is involved with the SMART-E project, which aims to create multi-sensing electrodes for battery monitoring and was recently a visiting researcher at The University of Texas at Austin.