WHO WE ARE
Dr Teofilo Cobos
Nanosystems Advisory builds a GPU-accelerated defect-modelling engine for semiconductor materials combining machine-learning potentials with first-principles DFT to produce formation energies, charge-transition levels, and a structured defect database.
Nanosystems Advisory is a member of the NVIDIA Inception program, giving us access to GPU-accelerated compute, technical resources and a global network as we scale the defect-modelling engine to new materials.
Background
Teofilo holds a multidisciplinary academic background spanning chemistry, materials science, and physics: an MSci in Chemistry from Queen Mary University of London, an MRes in Molecular Modelling and Materials Science from UCL, and a PhD in Physics from UCL focused on molecular modelling of degradation processes in microelectronic and resistive-switching devices.
His research examined defect-driven mechanisms in materials including SiO₂ and Ta₂O₅, with applications spanning quantum computing and neuromorphic systems, the same defect physics that now underpins the engine.
The Engine
The core platform pairs GPU-accelerated machine-learning potentials with hybrid-functional DFT validation, engineered and maintained in-house with reproducible, version-controlled workflows, not outsourced or assembled from third-party tools.
It has been validated across five materials spanning nitride, oxide, arsenide, antimonide and phosphide chemistries, with every calculation feeding a growing, structured defect database that a device team, a fab, or an investor can query directly.
Zahra Sarwar
Head of Strategy
zahsarwa@nanosystemsadvisory.com
Leads commercial strategy, investor engagement, and go-to-market for the engine and database.
Jonathan Benites
Lead Systems Engineer
jonbenit@nanosystemsadvisory.com
Builds and maintains the compute pipeline and infrastructure across ARCHER2, Isambard-AI, and the MMM Hub.
Dr Teofilo Cobos
Founder & Lead Scientist
teocobos@nanosystemsadvisory.com
Builds and validates the defect-modelling engine end-to-end, from structure setup through to charge-transition-level analysis.
team
Built and operated by a working technical team
Applying atomistic modelling and simulation to real-world semiconductor and materials challenges, in collaboration with:
advisory board
Guiding our technical and commercial direction
Specialists across quantum materials, semiconductor process engineering, defect physics, and device design.
Quantum Materials Simulation Advisor
Microsoft
Semiconductor Process Engineering Advisor
Samsung
Specialist in materials simulation for quantum computing, spanning device design through to fabrication.
Specialist in advanced manufacturing processes, focusing on CMP and cleanroom fabrication for memory and logic chips.
research & industry experience
Collaborations across academia and industry
Applying atomistic modelling and simulation to real-world semiconductor and materials challenges, in collaboration with:
Synopsys
Nanolayers Research Computing
Applied Materials
IITB
UCL
Sandia National Labs, US DoE
M2D Solutions
compute infrastructure
Frontier-level compute, matched to the workload
Tier 1 · CPU
ARCHER2 (and successor)
The CPU-architecture workhorse for hybrid-functional, charged-defect DFT — the calculations behind our highest-stakes client claims.
Tier 1 · GPU
Isambard-AI
GPU-native compute for ML-accelerated defect screening and high-throughput triage.
Tier 2
MMM Hub (Young, and other Tier 2 systems)
Day-to-day project compute and methods development, reducing dependency on Tier 1 allocation timing.
publications
Device-reliability-focused theoretical studies
A mechanism of defect creation in amorphous Ta₂O₅
Defect study of amorphous Ta₂O₅ for neuromorphic ReRAM switching applications.
Atomistic Simulation of Defect Processes in the Reaction-Diffusion-Drift Model of NBTI
DFT simulation study of NBTI processes in amorphous silicon dioxide.
Difference in Structure and Electronic Properties of Oxygen Vacancies in α-Quartz and α-Cristobalite Phases of SiO₂
Comparative study of oxygen vacancies in two phases of crystalline silicon dioxide.
affiliations & leadership
Professional and scientific community
Teofilo is an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (since 2019) and a Member of the Institute of Physics (since 2021), and holds BCS certification in business analysis. He is also active on the Early Career Researchers Committee for the Thomas Young Centre, the UK's largest network for the simulation of materials and molecules.