WSEPCM-2024

Marcelo Antunesobtained a degree in Chemical Engineering in 2005 (Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon) and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in 2010 (Technical University of Catalonia, UPC – Special Doctoral Award). Since 2015 he works as tenure-track 2 lecturerand develops his research in the Department ofMaterials Science and Engineering of the UPC. He is also member of the “Polyfunctional Polymeric Materials” (POLY2) research group, coordinating the research line in “Multifunctional polymer-based composite foams”. He has more than 65publications in recognized impact factor magazines, such as Progress in Polymer Science (first journal in the field of Polymer Science), Progress in Materials Science, Polymer or Carbon; thirteen book chapters in international editorials, such as Springer or CRC Press;six applied patents, four of them with their application field extended to EU countries and countries from South America and Asia; and has participated in more than 60 conferences. Likewise, he has co-directed PhD theses in the field of Materials Science and Engineering and has participated and participates in R+D public financing research projects (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) in the field of the technology of polymer foams and multifunctional (nano)composites, and in R+D projects with plastics sector companies. He has also co-edited the Special Issues “Polymeric Foams”, “Polymeric Foams II” and “Polymeric Foams III” in the journal Polymers (MDPI) and is currently member of the “Reviewer Board” of this journal, and has also co-edited the Topical Collections “Application of Graphene-Based Materials, 1st and 2ndvolumes”. His researchis mainly focused on the preparation andcharacterization of multifunctional polymeric (nano)composite foams,namelyin the development of new multifunctional foams based on thermoplastics combined with different types of nanosized reinforcements, especially carbon-based such as graphene-based materials and/or carbon nanotubes, to be used as lightweight components in sectors like construction, packaging, electronics, automotive or aerospace. Particular relevance has been given to the process-structure-properties relationships of these novel foams, focusing on the optimization of the variables involved in foaming using different foaming processes, the cellular structure and microstructure of the developed (nano)composite foams, and their added functionalities, such as improved mechanical performance, fire behaviour or thermal/electrical conductivities, or enhanced EMI shielding efficiency.