User:Carmenbiomedica/Rosa María Menéndez López

Rosa María Menéndez López (Corollos, Cudillero, Asturias, (February 12, 1956) is a spanish scientist. She became the first female president of the ,Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) from november of 2017 to june of 2022.

Biography
Despite planning to be a teacher, Menéndez López graduated in Organic chemistry at the University of Oviedo in 1980. Afterwards, she obteined her doctorte at the same university in 1986. Her thesis read ''Characterization of the liquids of carbon. Techniques of fractioning and characterization of the fractions''. She started working at the CSIC, at the National Institute of Carbon (today National Institute of Science and Technology of Carbon, INCAR) of Oviedo. In the 90's se created the group of Material Compounds of said Institute, which belongs to the department of Materials Chemistry. On may of 2003 she was internally promoted to Professor of the National Research Council.

Throughout her professional career, she has partnered with many industries in the electric, aeronautic, carbochemical and petrochemical sectors. She presided the European Carbon Association (ECA), as well as being present at several investigation centers, like the Northern Carbon Research Laboratories of Newcastle University, in Newcastle upon Tyne, in UK; Clemson University in South Carolina, in USA ; at the Imperial College of London or the University of Nottingham.

Her work as investigator is related to carbon materials and their application on filds such as enerrgy, aeronautics, enviroment and health. She has taken care of optimizing the processes of the converssion of carbon and revaluing its derivates, as well as petroleum derivates through their utilization as precursors of carbon materials, starting a line of investigation about graphene and its applications, like energy storage, nuclear fusion reactors and  biomedicine. She has participated in more than thirty regional, national and european investigation projects, as lead scientist for about twenty of them and coordinating five of the european ones. In the current day, she is the lead researcher in a project whose objective is to disign and develop graphene-based electrochemical sensors for the detection of water pollutants. She has published more thjan 220 articles on international jurnals with high impact factor, several book chapters, two divulgation books, and she has directed 24 doctoral thesis. She has nine patents, too.

Since 2003 until 2008 she directed INCAR and between 2008 and 2009 she was Vicepresident of Scientific and Technical Research at CSIC. She was a memeber of the Rector Council at the Spanish Investigation Agency and at CNEAI, as well as part of the Advasory Scientific Cometee from the  Principado de Asturias. She actively participated in the coordination and evaluation of national (materials and energy) and european investigation programmes (Marco and Iron and Caarbon Programmes - old CECA, currently RFCS)

On November 17, 2017, the spanish goverment named Rosa María Menéndez president of the National Research Council (CSIC), as proposed by the Ministry of economy, replacing Emilio Lora-Tamayo. Tis way, Menéndez became the first woman to direct the highest public investigation entity in Spain, with a workforce of 13.000 researchers of which 35% were women. She quit in une of 2022, being replaced by another woman, María Eloísa del Pino Matute.

The first of june of 2018 she was named Vicepresident of Science Europe, a non-profit organization based in Brusels which groups the most important european financing agencies of innovation and research, 43 organizations in total. iIts main objective is to represent the scientific community before the European Union. She quitted in 2022.

She is one of the promoters of the Margarita Salas Foundation, for the defense and advancement of women in science.

Awards and Recognitions

 * 1996 "Shunk Carbon Award", granted by the German company Shunk to young researchers, for their contribution to the development of carbon materials science.
 * 2007 "Vital Álvarez Buylla Award", granted by UNESCO and the City Council of Mieres, for contribution to the development and dissemination of science.
 * 2009 "DuPont Science Award".
 * 2009 "Award from the Association of Communication of the Principality of Asturias to Individuals".
 * 2016 "Spanish Materials Association Award", for her scientific career.
 * 2016 "Expert Talent Award" granted by Human Age and Cinco Días.
 * 2016 "Innova Award" granted by the Diario de León.
 * 2017 "Golden Apple" from the Asturian Center of Madrid.
 * 2018 "Amuravela de Oro Award", awarded by the Association of Friends of Cudillero.
 * 2018 Inclusion in the "Periodic Table of Women Scientists" from around the world, to commemorate the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, celebrating in 2019 the 150th anniversary of Mendeleev's publication.
 * 2018 "Chemical Excellence Award", granted by Antonio Macho, President of the General Council of Chemical Colleges of Spain.
 * 2018 "Asturian of the Month (December)" awarded by the newspaper La Nueva España.
 * 2018 "Statutory Gold Master" award from the Royal Forum of Senior Management.
 * 2019 "Favorite Daughter of Cudillero".
 * 2019 "Medal of Honor from the Spanish Environmental Club".
 * 2019 "Medalla de Plata de Asturias" awarded by the Government of the Principality of Asturias.
 * 2020 "Award from the newspaper El Comercio in the Science section".
 * 2021 "AIQBE Award for the Promotion and Development of Science and Technology".
 * 2021 The City Council of Colmenar Viejo dedicated a street in the Cerca Tejera neighborhood to her.
 * 2020 "AIQBE Award for the Promotion and Development of Science and Technology".
 * 2021 "Award for Professional Career" from the Merck Health Foundation.
 * 2021 "Clara Campoamor Award" from the Madrid City Council.
 * 2022 "Mining and Minerals Hall Award" for her professional career.
 * 2023 The City Council of Oviedo dedicated a street in the Teatinos neighborhood to her.
 * 2023 Named "Numerary Academic of the Asturian Academy of Science and Engineering (AACI)".
 * 2023 First prize from the jury of the "III Zaballos Foundation Awards".
 * 2015, 2018, and 2021 "Top 100 Women Leaders" in the Academic and Researcher category.