Group Leader

ICREA Research Professor María Escudero Escribano was born in Cáceres (Spain) in 1983. She graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Extremadura and obtained her PhD in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Madrid in 2011. She carried out her postdoctoral research at the Technical University of Denmark (2012-2015) and Stanford University (2015-2017). In 2017, María joined the University of Copenhagen as a Tenure-track Assistant Professor and Group Leader and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2021. She joined ICN2 as an ICREA Research Professor in September 2022.

The NanoElectrocatalysis and Sustainable Chemistry (NanoESC) Group, led by María, investigates tailored electrochemical interfaces and nanomaterials for renewable energy conversion and production of sustainable fuels and chemicals. In 2022, María was awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) with her project on atomic-scale tailored materials for electrochemical methane activation and production of valuable chemicals (ATOMISTIC).

María has published over 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals including Science, Nature Chemistry and Nature Materials and she is the co-inventor of three patents or patent applications. She is an Associate Editor of PRX Energy (American Physical Society) and a member of the Editorial Board of numerous peer-reviewed journals. She has received several prestigious awards at international and national levels in recognition of her groundbreaking research. These awards include the European Young Chemist Award (Gold Medal) 2016, the Princess of Girona Scientific Research Award 2018, the Electrochemical Society Energy Technology Division Young Investigator Award 2018, the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry Young Researchers Award 2019, the Clara Immerwahr Award 2019, and the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship 2021. Since 2022, she is a Member of the Young Academy of Spain.