Mª Mercedes Pastor Blas has been a professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Alicante (UA) since 2009. She has been awarded 4 six-year research periods and 1 knowledge transfer and innovation period.

She has a degree in Chemistry(1990) and a PhD in Chemistry (Materials Science) (1995). She began her research at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Alicante in 1990, where she completed her PhD thanks to the achievement of a PETRI and a FPI fellowships. She has been associate professor (1995-1996), faculty assistant professor (1996-2001), university professor (2001-2009), and since 2009 she has been a full professor.

She has carried out several pre and postdoctoral stays in foreign research centers:

· Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, Collège de France, CNRS, Paris (1994)

· Center for Adhesives and Sealant Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA (1994-1997)

· School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK (1998)

· College of Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Cincinnati, USA (1999-2000).

Her research focuses on the area of ¿¿materials, mainly on the synthesis and characterization of polymeric materials, hybrid polymer/ceramic materials and carbonaceous materials, as well as on the low-pressure plasma treatment of materials for applications in catalysis, environmental and energy.

She has advised several doctoral and master theses and has written more than 80 articles indexed in the JCR. She is the co-inventor of 2 patents on polymer surface treatments with UV radiation, which are in commercial exploitation. She has written 4 teaching books, 3 scientific dissemination book chapters, 1 scientific dissemination audio chapter, 2 research books and 6 research book chapters.

She participates in the organization of several activities of dissemination and university extension at the University of Alicante such as the course "Popularization of Science in the 21st century" and "El Pati de la Ciència".