Research Area:
Spectroscopic Understanding of Catalysis

Prof. Miguel A. Bañares received his BA and PhD, both in Chemistry, from the University of Salamanca in 1988 and 1992 respectively. Prior to joining the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) as a Scientist in 1995, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lehigh University in 1992 and at the University of Notre Dame in 1993-1994. He is currently the Research Professor in the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry and the leader of the Catalytic Spectroscopy Laboratory at CSIC. In 2014-2015, he was the Deputy Vice President for Scientific Technical Fields of CSIC.

Prof. Bañares’ research stands on the use of real-time Raman spectroscopy during catalysis combining in situ spectroscopic characterization of catalyst structure with simultaneous activity measurement, so that both structure and performance are measured simultaneously. He coined the term "Operando" to identify this advanced in situ spectroscopy and this term is widely used in literature now.

Prof. Bañares is the Editor-in-Chief of Catalysis Today (since 2021) and the co-editor of the Springer Handbook of Advanced Catalyst Characterization. He is also the editorial board member of Catalysis Letters (since 2006) and Topics in Catalysis (since 2006). He was also the Chairman of the Management Committee of European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Action) in 2006-2011 and the Vice Chairman of Materials, Physical and Nanosciences COST Action TD1204 in 2012-2016. He was awarded the “Chaire d'excellence” by the École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Caen & Centre de Recherche in 2013, the “Otto Mønsted Visiting Professorship” by Technical University of Denmark in 2014, and the Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Caen Normandy in 2017.