Lourdes Vega is Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director and Founder of the Research and Innovation Centre for CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH Centre) at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). D. in Physics from the University of Seville in collaboration with the University of Southern California, she has developed her professional activity between academia and industry, in the United States, Spain and UAE.

With more than 220 publications and 5 patents in operation, she is internationally recognised for her contributions in clean energy and sustainable products, focusing on CO2 capture and utilisation, hydrogen production and utilisation, sustainable cooling systems and water treatment. She is listed in the top 2% of the world’s most cited scientists in Chemical Engineering in 2021. Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Molecular Liquids.

She has received numerous awards for her work on translating fundamental science into sustainable industrial applications, including the 2013 BBVA Foundation and Spanish Royal Society of Physics Award in Physics, Innovation and Technology, and the prestigious Mohammed Bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction, received in 2020.

Among other activities and awards, she is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), member of the technical team of Mission Innovation “Clean Hydrogen” (representing the UAE), member of the Emirates Council of Scientists, the Gadea Science Foundation of Spain, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academy of Sciences in the UAE, the Academy of Mathematics, Physical Chemistry and Natural Sciences of Granada, and President and Founder of the Association of Spanish Scientists and Researchers in the UAE. She is an independent director of the Boards of Directors of Ercros and Canal de Isabel II, as well as of several international research organisations.