Prof Mercedes Maroto-Valer (FRSE, FIChemE, FRSC, FRSA) is Assistant Deputy Principal (Research & Innovation) and Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) at Heriot-Wat University.
Mercedes has held academic appointments at the University of Kentucky (1997-1998), Pennsylvania State University (1998-2004), University of Nottingham (2005-2012) and Heriot-Watt University (2012-now). Mercedes obtained her PhD in 1997 at the University of Strathclyde (Scotland). Following a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Applied Energy Research (CAER) at the University of Kentucky in US, she moved to the Pennsylvania State University in US, where she worked as Research Fellow and from 2001 as Assistant Professor and became Program Coordinator for Sustainable Energy. She joined the University of Nottingham as Reader in 2005 and within 3 years she was promoted to Professor in Energy Technologies. During her time at Nottingham she was the Head of the Energy and Sustainability Research Division at the Faculty of Engineering. She joined Heriot-Watt University in 2012 as the first Robert Buchan Chair in Sustainable Engineering and she has been Director of the cross-university Energy Academy and Head of the Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering.
She is Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) comprising over 50 researchers and an active research portfolio of >£17m. RCCS is a world leading engineering centre delivering innovation for the wider deployment of low-carbon energy systems required for meeting carbon targets, including carbon capture, conversion, transport and storage; emissions control, low carbon fuels and process/systems integration. She has over 475 publications, including editor of 4 books and 25% of her publications are in top 10% most cited worldwide. She holds leading positions in professional societies and editorial boards and currently serves as President Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division - Royal Society Chemistry (RSC), Editor-in-Chief Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, Member of the British Geological Survey (BGS) Advisory Committee, Board Member of the Energy Technologies Partnership (ETP), Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Frontiers of Engineering Steering Group, Member Communities Board-Royal Society Chemistry (RSC), and Institute Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Energy Centre - The Leadership Forum. She has received numerous international prizes and awards, including 2019 Honorary Doctorate by Technical University Delft, 2018 SRUK/CERU Merit Award (Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK), 2013 Hong-Kong University Mong Distinguished Fellowship, 2011 RSC Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division Early Career Award, 2009 Philip Leverhulme Prize, 2005 US Department of Energy Award for Innovative Development, 1997 Ritchie Prize, 1996 Glenn Award- Fuel Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society and the 1993 ICI Chemical & Polymers Group Andersonian Centenary Prize. Her research portfolio has included as PI/CI projects worth ~ £35m, and has recently been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Award.
In her role as Assistant Deputy Principal (Research and Innovation), her key strategic responsibilities include leading the development of university wide initiatives to support global research activities, as well as development of strategic partnerships to support innovation. She also contributes to the development and successful delivery and implementation of the University’s Research and Innovation strategy.