Javier Garcia Martinez

Javier is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Director of the Molecular Nanotechnology Laboratory at the University of Alicante, Spain, where he develops new nanomaterials to make energy production more efficient and chemistry more sustainable.
His contributions to nanotechnology have unlocked the potential of heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of bulky molecules by introducing controlled intracrystalline mesopositivity. This technology is now widely used in academic laboratories and chemical companies around the world, saving hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 per year by reducing the amount of waste and of waste and coke that would otherwise be burned to produce green gas emissions in key industrial processes ranging from biomass conversion to catalytic cracking.
As well as being a university professor and world-renowned scientist, Javier is also an entrepreneur who has founded a company to commercialise his discoveries. While at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he founded Rive Technology, a company that develops nanostructured catalysts to reduce CO2 emissions. In 2019, Rive Technology was sold to Grace, a multinational company that is now commercialising his technology worldwide.
His contributions to catalysis, energy, and chemistry have been recognised with some of the most prestigious awards, including the Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success from the American Chemical Society. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and, in 2023, received the National Research Award from the King of Spain. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, and Honorary Professor at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. From 2022 to 2023, he was President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).