[Seminar] Magnetic Omniconversion and the Art of Source-Independent Field Shaping

Dr JAUME CUNILL-SUBIRANAS, Physics Department, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract:

Magnetic fields are powerful tools across science and technology, yet their spatial structure is usually constrained by the geometry and location of the sources that generate them. Magnetic omniconversion provides a framework for passively transforming the field produced by arbitrary external sources into any prescribed physical magnetostatic field within a finite source-free region.

Using suitably designed passive and linear magnetic media, this approach enables sourceindependent field shaping beyond the limitations of conventional source design. This seminar will present the main theoretical principles behind magnetic omniconversion, illustrated through analytical and numerical examples, together with a proof-of-concept experimental realization. It will also place this framework in the broader context of magnetic field manipulation, including zero-permeability media, superconducting confinement, and tailored magnetic landscapes for levitated superconductors.

Together, these ideas point toward a versatile toolbox for magnetostatic field engineering, with potential applications in magnetic shielding, targeted field delivery, imaging, fusion magnets, accelerator technology, and quantum devices.

Biography:

Dr Jaume Cunill-Subiranas is a PhD researcher in Physics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), where he works in the SiMMaS group. His research focuses on the theoretical modelling of magnetic systems involving superconductors, ferromagnets, and magnetostatic metamaterials. Combining analytical calculations and numerical simulations, complemented by proof-of-concept experiments, he studies magnetic field control, extreme-permeability media, and superconducting levitation systems with applications in quantum magnetomechanics. He holds degrees in Physics and Chemistry from UAB and has carried out a research stay at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Alongside teaching electromagnetism, he has presented his work at international conferences on applied superconductivity, magnetism, magnetic technologies, and micromechanical systems, and has collaborated with research groups across Austria, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium, among others.