The Seville researcher, Paula Navascués, has obtained one of the awards for the most relevant doctoral theses among the more than 700 theses defended during 2022 at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Dr. Navascués completed her thesis at the Institute of Materials Sciences of Seville (a joint center between the University of Seville and the CSIC) and received a Cum Laudem grade from an international court.
Under the title “Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas for More Sustainable Chemical Processes and Environmental Applications”, Dr. Navascués conducted a laboratory-scale experimental study on new equipment (non-thermal plasma reactors) that would promote a more sustainable chemical industry and help address various environmental challenges.
Under the supervision of researchers Agustin Rodríguez González-Elipe (CSIC) and Ana Gómez (Faculty of Physics, University of Seville), Navascués has studied during her doctoral thesis the application of plasma technology for the synthesis and decomposition reactions of ammonia, as well as for the elimination of greenhouse gases such as CO2 or methane. Thus, the doctoral thesis was framed within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically in objectives 7 (clean and accessible energy) and 13 (climate action).
The 29-year-old researcher has been working since 2022 as a postdoctoral researcher at the largest public research center in Switzerland (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa). Her current line of research continues with plasma technology as a central axis that, together with Materials Science, focuses on biomedical and environmental applications. Before beginning her period in Switzerland, the researcher completed a six-month research stay in Germany, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
“It is an honour for me to receive this award. I think it proves the quality of the research we do in Seville” declared the award winner. “The merit is not only mine, science is a team effort; thank you to all my colleagues at the Institute of Materials Science in Seville.”
The award, which is in its second edition this year, has been granted to a total of 20 CSIC researchers from all over the country, two of them from CSIC centres in Andalusia (specifically from the Institute of Materials Science in Seville and the Institute of Sustainable Agriculture). The award will be presented on 1 July at an institutional event to be held at the CSIC headquarters in Madrid
CSIC wants to recognise the research of research staff at the beginning of their professional careers and contribute to ensuring that this recognition helps them advance in their research and professional careers.
https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/135531/Navascues%20Garv%c3%adn%2c%20Paula%20tesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y