Visiting Scholar, Polytechnic University of Madrid / IMDEA Materials Institute
Visiting Scholar
Jimena de la Vega Blanco is a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), specializing in the recycling and revalorization of industrial residues as sustainable flame-retardant additives for biopolymer nanocomposites. She holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where she focused on life cycle analysis and waste treatment for renewable energy applications.
Alongside her doctoral research, she has over eight years of professional experience as a Chemical Synthesis Laboratory Technician at IMDEA Materials, managing laboratory operations, safety protocols, and advanced polymer processing and fire-testing equipment. Her multidisciplinary background spans polymer synthesis, thermal and mechanical characterization, and fire behavior analysis, with a strong record of collaboration in industrial and academic projects.
Jimena has co-authored multiple scientific publications in high-impact journals and received the first award in the 2023 Three-Minute Thesis Competition. Her current research interests bridge sustainable materials design, circular economy strategies, and multifunctional polymer composites.
At CBE, her focus is to conduct a comprehensive life cycle analysis (LCA) of waste-derived materials to assess the environmental impact of their production, particularly in applications related to building insulation and materials with electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties.