Montserrat Nafria graduated in physics (1989) and received the Ph.D. (1993) from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, where, currently, she is an Associate Professor at the Dept. of Electronic Engineering. Her major research interest is in the area of thin and ultra-thin gate oxides. In particular, she is engaged in the characterisation and modelling of the gate oxide failure (degradation and breakdown). At present, she is interested in the nanoscale electrical characterisation of the phenomena using scanning probe microscopies.