Javier García-Martínez is a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Director of the Molecular Nanotechnology Laboratory of the University of Alicante (UA,) where he leads an international team working on the synthesis and application of nanostructured materials for the production of chemicals and energy.
Javier is the current President for 2022-2023 of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, IUPAC. Previously, he served as member of the Executive Committee and as Vice-President of the Division of Inorganic Chemistry.
Professor García-Martínez is the founder of the technology-based company Rive Technology, which markets the technology he developed during his Fulbright postdoctoral stay at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Since 2012, the catalysts that Rive Technology sells are used in several refineries, significantly increasing fuel production and the energy efficiency of the process. In 2019, W. R. GRACE acquired Rive Technology. In June 2014, Javier was awarded the King Jaime I Award in his category of New Technologies and in 2015 received the Emerging Researcher Award from the American Chemical Society. In the summer of 2017, he was recognized by the American Chemical Society with the Kathryn C. Hach Award as the best US entrepreneur in the chemical sector. Javier is a member of the Council of Emerging Technologies and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, of the Global Young Academy, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Since 2019, Javier has served as the Rafael del Pino Distinguished Professor in Alicante, Spain.