COORDINATING ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES: JUAN ANTONIO MELERO (courses 2002/03 until 2007 / 08)

Knowledge area:

Chemical engineering.

Brief biography (approx. 100 words):

Ldo. DC. Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, 1993; Extraordinary Bachelor's Award; Dr. CC. Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid 1998; Extraordinary Doctorate Award.

University Professor in the area of ​​Chemical Engineering at the Rey Juan Carlos University. He has spent stays abroad for a total of 15 months at the University of California in Santa Barbara under the supervision of professors Brad F. Chmelka and Galen D. Stucky and at Cardiff University (Wales) collaborating with professors Adam Lee and Karen Wilson. His lines of research focus on the development of more sustainable processes and the recovery of waste within the framework of the Circular Economy. He is the author of some 180 articles in international scientific journals with a high impact index, 20 book chapters, 1 patent and 3 books and has been a researcher in more than 68 research projects financed with public and private funds. He has an H-index of 55 (September 2023; Scopus Database). He has supervised a total of 13 doctoral theses (and 5 in progress).

Challenges and achievements during the years he was coordinator, strengths and weaknesses of the degree during this stage:

The stage that I had to go through during the coordination of the Environmental Sciences degree at the URJC was to finish the implementation of the last courses of this degree. One of the challenges I faced was launching the ERASMUS and SENECA student exchange program looking for different centers (especially English-speaking ones, which were the most in demand by students). In this sense, I also had to launch the curricular internship program in companies and institutions and value the interest in the training of these students. There were also no web pages for the degrees and I had to launch this page that would allow fluid communication with the students and a projection towards the outside. A very important effort was also made to ensure that a large number of professionals were incorporated into the more specialized subjects of the final years to contribute their practical experience. In recent years, as coordinator, I was part of the Commission of Experts for the preparation of the White Paper for the Environmental Sciences degree as a result of the transformation of all university studies through the Bologna process.

One of the main strengths of the Environmental Sciences degree at the Rey Juan Carlos University and a differentiating element with other degrees offered by the Community of Madrid was to offer a more multidisciplinary approach, including in a balanced way the training of the future environmentalist both in the field of Environmental Management, Resource Management and Conservation and Environmental Technology. This degree was in great demand and even allowed two groups in its beginnings. Perhaps one of the weaknesses at that time was the lack of knowledge on the part of companies and institutions of the potential of these graduates to address environmental challenges with a holistic vision.

Personal opinion on the impact of the degree on society:

The degree in Environmental Sciences has a very significant impact on society, offering the labor market professionals with a holistic vision of environmental problems. The general training of professionals in Environmental Sciences allows them to be very versatile and capable of:

• Identify and address environmental problems by proposing the most appropriate solutions.
• The sustainable management of natural resources avoiding their overexploitation.
• Be active drivers in the education and awareness of society so that it adopts more sustainable practices.
• Develop environmental policies and regulations working in different institutions.