Biography

I graduated in Chemistry at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, 2002) and got a PhD in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (UAB, 2007) under the supervision of Prof. M. Sodupe and Dr. L. Rodríguez-Santiago, receiving the Outstanding PhD Award (UAB Theoretical and Computational Chemistry doctorate program) and the European Doctor Mention. I developed a post-doctoral work in the group of Prof. P. Ugliengo (Univ.Turin, 2007-2009), and in 2010 I returned to UAB chaining different competitive prestigious contracts. I am currently a permanent Aggregate Professor in UAB. I have been Invited Professor at Univ. Cergy-Pontoise (1 month, 2016) and at Univ. Grenoble Alpes (3 months, 2017).
The focus of my research has always been on modeling chemical processes with accurate quantum chemical simulations using molecular and periodic approaches. Throughout my thesis, I studied the interaction of transition metals with biomolecules, in the context of peptide sequencing by mass spectrometry, where I acquired a very good knowledge of different quantum chemical methods for the treatment of open-shell systems and deep experience in the simulation of chemical reactivity. In my postdoc, I investigated processes occurring at the biomolecule/biomaterial interfaces, gaining large experience in the computational modelling and electronic structure treatment of extended complex surfaces and their adsorptive and chemical reactivity properties. When I rejoined UAB, my expertise was on the modelling of complex surfaces and chemical reactivity, which I applied and exploit to develop my own research dedicated to the unexplored field of Astrochemistry, especially in the formation of interstellar species on the grain surfaces.
Related to this field, from 2013, I’ve been successful in getting funds from different national and international agencies, culminating with an ERC Consolidator Grant (QUANTUMGRAIN: Quantum Chemistry on Interstellar Grains, 2019), the first ERC grant in my department.
With my work, I am contributing to revolutionize the field of Astrochemistry by introducing a new conception of the grain surface chemistry. My simulations are pioneering in Astrochemistry as they provide unprecedented information at an atomic scale of the physico-chemical processes involved in interstellar surface reactions, this way disentangling the actual roles played by the grains, and hence solving long-standing problems in this field. Moreover, data provided by the simulations are used to open new, more reliable interpretations of the astronomical observations, thereby improving (and even reformulating) models that explain the chemical composition of the Universe. Therefore, I have put Computational Chemistry at the forefront of Astrochemistry, demonstrating that it is central and essential to understand interstellar chemistry. Because of that, I was awarded by the ERC Grant to exploit this fundamental research to fully unveil the chemistry on interstellar grains.
Since 2004, I coauthored >140 international peer-reviewed publications (130 regular articles, 8 reviews and 3 book chapters), with an h-index=35 and >4,000 times cited (Scopus source) and given >55 invited talks (see below). I supervised 4 PhD thesis and 4 postdoctoral researchers, all of them currently holding academic research and industrial careers. I am currently supervising 7 PhD students and 2 postdoctoral researchers. My research task is well recognized internationally, holding several international collaborations. I received the RSEQ 2022 Youth Researcher Award (“Group Leader” modality).
I regularly write popular science articles (e.g., UAB Divulga and DIVULCAT) and give lectures in associations and secondary schools on Astrochemistry and Origin of Life related subjects (see https://www.quantumgrain.eu/outreach for more details).