CRETUS STAFF

Sara González García

Associate Professor 
Department: Chemical Engineering
Centre: Higher Technical Engineering School (USC)
Research Group: Environmental Biotechnology (BIOGROUP)
Phone: +34 881 816806
Email: sara.gonzalez@usc.es
Web: Sara Gonzalez | Group of Environmental Biotechnology (usc.es)

   
   

I hold a degree in Chemical Engineering (University of Santiago de Compostela – USC, 2005) and a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering (USC, 2009). I received the Extraordinary Bachelor’s Award in Chemical Engineering and the Extraordinary Doctorate Award in Chemical and Environmental Engineering.

My main lines of research include the circular economy, the study of environmental footprints, and sustainability analysis using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in industrial, agri-food, urban, and forestry systems. This has allowed me to propose circularity strategies and design biorefineries in these sectors, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
For my contributions to the identification and quantification of environmental burdens derived from wood-based industrial processes, as well as to the resolution of problems related to the sustainable development of industrial sectors linked to this raw material, I was awarded the “Agustín de Betancourt y Molina” Medal in 2016 by the Royal Spanish Academy of Engineering to young researchers. I am also a member of the BBVA Foundation Leonardo Network, having received a grant in 2015 in the area of ​​Biology, Environmental Sciences, and Earth Sciences.

I have participated in 35 competitive projects (14 European, 9 national, 11 regional, and 1 BBVA) and 17 contracts with companies. In total, as principal investigator, I have obtained funding of €1,887,011.99 in the period 2015-2024. My research activity has resulted in 177 SCI publications, of which 164 are Q1, 11 are Q2, and 2 are Q3. 12 book chapters; 5 publications in non-indexed journals; and over 170 contributions to international conferences.

I have co-supervised 6 doctoral theses at the USC and 1 doctoral thesis at SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), all of them with the highest grades; 37 Master’s theses and 31 Bachelor’s theses in the Chemical Engineering Degree.

I have been part of the Coordination of the Spanish LCA Network (esLCA) since June 21, 2018. I am a member of the Sustainable Biorefineries Network (RED2022-134457-T), and manager of the State Research Agency for the evaluation of the “Sensitive Damage to the Environment” principle – DNSH principle in the Calls of the Division of Coordination, Evaluation, and Scientific and Technical Monitoring since March 2022.