Ana Rey

I am currently Associate Professor (Profesor Contratado Doctor Prioritariamente Investigador-I3) at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Physical Chemistry of the University of Extremadura (UEX), with main research interests focused on advanced oxidation and electrochemical processes for wastewater and drinking water treatment, wastewater valorization and circular bioeconomy. My research trajectory can be outlined as follows:

2006-2010: Completed my Ph.D. at the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (ICP-CSIC), developing iron-activated carbon catalysts for water treatment. I had a research stay at the University of Aberdeen in 2007, supported by I3P-CSIC and FPU scholarships from MEC (Spanish Ministry of Education and Science). I earned my doctorate with international mention from the Autonomous University of Madrid-UAM in 2010.

 02/2010-07/2010: Early post-doc position at the Department of Chemical Engineering of UAM (IQ-UAM), focused on the use of carbonaceous materials for advanced wastewater treatments.

 2010-2022: Postdoctoral stage at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Physical Chemistry of UEX (D-Excellence Program, 2010-2013), with a research stay at the University of Porto in 2015 (Santander Universities Program), and consolidation of the research line in the development of catalysts for advanced oxidation processes based on ozone and/or radiation for wastewater and potabilization. I was the principal investigator (PI) for the potabilization line supported by the CTQ2015/JIN project (2017-2020).

 2022-2023: Postdoctoral specialization in electrochemical processes at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Coimbra under the Marie Curie H2020 program (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020).

01/2023-Nowadays: Return to the UEX with the Excellence Program “María Zambrano” and achievement of the I3 Research Excellence Certificate of the AEI (Spanish Research Agency) with the subsequent stabilization as an Associated Professor.

 My main scientific contributions include participation in 15 R&D projects (4 regional, 9 national, 2 international), highlighting the CTQ2015/JIN project as PI and the European MSCA project H2020-MSCA-IF-2020. Co-author of 45 publications, 42 in JCR journals (33 Q1), with over 2000 citations, indicating a significant impact on the scientific community (h-index 28, Scopus), 3 book chapters, and 1 patent. My research results have been presented at 66 specialized forums, mostly international, with 2 awards for best communication. My work has earned her two awards at UEX for my scientific trajectory: the X Juan Jesús Morales Award from the Faculty of Sciences in 2017 and the Excellence Award in the Young Researchers category in 2018. In addition, I obtained the Excellence Certificate of Research I3 of the AEI in December 2022.

My contributions to society involve participation in 5 contracts with companies dedicated to improving or implementing wastewater treatments. Additionally, I have actively engaged in outreach and diffusion activities such as UEX Open Days, Educational Fairs, Teaching Innovation Projects for scientific dissemination in rural areas, Science Breakfasts, Researchers' Nights, etc., emphasizing the importance of bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and society.

In terms of training and evaluation activities, I have co-supervised 3 Ph.D. theses, 1 BS dissertation, 3 Master's theses, and 10 Final Degree’s projects. All graduates are employed in positions related to their training. Notably, several students continued their Master's thesis under my supervision, and three Master's students are undertaking or have completed their Ph.D. All have made significant scientific contributions, with notable trajectory of Drs. A.M. Chávez, who initiated her postdoctoral career with a Margarita Salas fellowship at FEUP-Porto, now in the return year at UEX, and Dr. P. García-Muñoz, a National Prize recipient who completed hes Ph.D. at IQ-UAM and ICP-CSIC and is currently an Associated at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Furthermore, I have participated in 9 Thesis committees and 3 Master's thesis committees, regularly reviews scientific articles in various journals, and I am part of the expert panel in the CTM-TMA area of the AEI.