Chemical engineer Juan Manuel Lema to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the UAB
On 18 May, the conference hall of the Rectorat building will host the investiture ceremony of Juan Manuel Lema, emeritus professor in Chemical Engineering from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), who will be presented with an honorary doctorate by the UAB. Dr Lema, a leading figure in the study of environmental engineering, was proposed for the award by the School of Engineering and is sponsored by professor Juan Antonio Baeza, director of the Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering. The event will take place at 12 noon. Registration is needed to attend the event, which will also be streamed live on the UAB's YouTube channel.
The UAB's newest honorary doctor is the director of CRETUS (Cross-disciplinary Research Center in Environmental Technologies) and president of the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences. He was the first director of the USC School of Engineering and president of the Conference of Directors and Deans of Chemical Engineering. Before joining USC, he had been a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at UAB, where he directed early research in the fields of environmental engineering and biological engineering.
His research interests have focused on the development of technology and processes focused on the treatment and recovery of wastewater residues and bioprocesses, based on the biorefinery concept. He is considered a leading international figure in anaerobic digestion research (characteristic of microorganisms that decompose biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen) and in the characterisation and treatment of micropollutants in wastewater.
Dr Lema has coordinated or participated in 48 research projects, directed 61 doctoral theses and is the author of more than 450 articles in international journals and book chapters, as well as some twenty patents. He led the COST action entitled "Conceiving Wastewater Treatment in 2020" (Water 2020), a European cooperation initiative in which 34 countries have participated. He has been the coordinator of the project and of the Spanish network Novedar_Consolider and the Galician network REGATA. He is on Stanford University's list of the most cited scientists (2%) worldwide.
Among other distinctions, Lema has received the European Prize A-IQS for Industrial Enzymes, the Babcock prize for technological innovation, and the García Cabrerizo Foundation prize for scientific innovation. He also holds honorary doctorates from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile, the Politecnico di Milano, and the Universidad de Valladolid. He is the only Spaniard recognised as a distinguished fellow by the International Water Association and is honorary president of the Conference of Directors and Deans of Chemical Engineering.
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