MSc (with honors) and PhD (Cum Laude) from the University of Utrecht (Netherlands). In 2002 he moved to Spain as a NWO TALENT fellow with Javier de Mendoza, followed by another postdoc appointment at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) working with Joost Reek. He also held various scientific positions in the industry working as a project leader (Avantium) and senior research scientist (Hexion). In 2006, he returned to Spain as an ICREA Researcher and ICIQ Group Leader, and was promoted to ICREA Research Professor in 2011. He is member of several advisory borads (Current Organic Chemistry, Journal of CO₂ Utilization) and editorial boards (ChemSusChem, Molecules). Guest editorships for Catal. Sci. & Technol., ChemSusChem and Adv. Synth. Catal.; chairman of the CDCC conference in Portugal in 2016 & 2020, chair of the EUGSC-4 conference in 2019; Associate Editor for Organic Chemistry Frontiers. Citations >9900, h-index of around 56.

Research interests

The research of my group focuses on the valorization of small molecules (including CO₂) into value-added chemicals and materials. We design new and more sustainable catalytic methods for their conversion and use in organic synthesis. We use homogeneous catalysis approaches based on metal complexes and/or organocatalysts, and investigate important process features such as catalyst recycling, energy/material efficiencies and overall selectivity/reactivity profiles. In all these endeavors, we wish to solve challenging stereoselective and enantioselective transformations including those focusing on the preparation of compounds featuring challenging quaternary stereocenters.