Currently, I serve as Vice-Rector for Community Engagement and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Girona (UdG), a member of the Institute of the Environment, of which I was Director between 2022 and 2025, and Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (LEQUiA), a research group at the University of Girona. From 2009 to 2021, I also held the positions of Senior Researcher and Director of the Technologies and Assessment Area at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), a distinguished scientific institution within the Network of Research Centres of the Catalan Government.
With five recognized research periods and one knowledge transfer period, my publication record includes 162 documents, according to Scopus Author ID 6602289317 (as of 21/01/2024), with an h-index of 44 and 5,618 citations. I am currently supervising two PhD students, having previously supervised 21 doctoral theses. My involvement extends to more than 70 national and European public/private research and technology transfer projects. I am the inventor of two patents: the first on aeration control in membrane bioreactors (MBRs), currently commercialized with GS INIMA, and the second on an osmotic MBR system integrating forward osmosis with submerged UF/MF. As an entrepreneur, I participated in the founding of two spin-offs: SISLtech in 2003, focused on advanced control for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which now operates globally as Createch360, and Ecomemb, dedicated to the recovery of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes.
My research experience focuses on water and wastewater treatment. Beginning my research career in the 1990s, I focused on optimizing biological wastewater treatment processes, particularly in areas with poorly understood operational mechanisms, such as solids separation problems and foaming in activated sludge systems. Initially adopting a classical chemical engineering approach (modelling, optimization, control), I quickly recognized the need for additional tools to extract knowledge from incomplete databases. This led me to delve into artificial intelligence, using both soft computing techniques and knowledge- and case-based reasoning systems. I became a pioneer in AI and digitalization for water management, an area that, while common today among major water companies, was virtually unexplored in urban water cycle management at the end of the twentieth century.
My active research has encompassed numerous national and international projects focused on the development of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for the operation, design, and selection of alternative treatment technologies in water and wastewater management. I have studied the application of membrane technologies in water treatment, including membrane bioreactors, forward osmosis, and other methods for wastewater treatment and reuse. In collaboration with ICRA, I have also investigated the degradation mechanisms of pharmaceuticals and micropollutants in water and wastewater treatment systems.
At present, my interest is focused on the potential benefits of implementing nature-based solutions in urban areas to address current and future societal and environmental challenges. This involves examining water-related aspects of urban planning at different scales and in different socio-geographical contexts, as well as assessing multidimensional vulnerability.
I have six recognized teaching periods awarded by the Spanish and Catalan Governments (1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2023). I am an active member of the University’s teaching innovation networks on problem-based learning and collaborative online international learning methodologies. A significant milestone in my academic career is the creation and implementation of the Master’s Degree in Water Science and Technology at the University of Girona in 2018, the first master’s program in the world in this field to use 100% problem-based learning, and which has received the excellence distinction from AQU. Throughout my academic career, I have been committed to returning knowledge to society, particularly by supporting vulnerable communities in developing countries. In line with SDG #6, I have participated in several development cooperation, WASH, and higher education capacity-building projects in Africa (Senegal), South America (Colombia, El Salvador), Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), and the Caribbean (Haiti).
I have three recognized management periods awarded by the Spanish Government (2026). I have also undertaken numerous international research stays at all stages of my academic career, including at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), Joanneum Research Institute (Austria), the University of California, Berkeley (USA), and the Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, USA).
My current research projects are: C-newtral, Life4Zoo, Acting4Water, and D-pattern. I am also Director of the Chair in Digitalization and Water Security (INCIBE).