Barja Martínez, Sara

Sara Barja Martínez, a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Centre for Physics of Materials (CFM), since January 2024 continues her research at the UPV/EHU as an Ikerbasque Associate Researcher. Her work focuses on the study of the relationships between structure and reactivity in (electro)-catalysis. To this end, she combines the exploration of catalysts at the atomic scale by scanning microscopy and the use of in situ and operando spectroscopy.

She obtained her PhD in Physics in 2012 from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and her work was recognised with the extraordinary doctoral prize. In 2013 she received an IOF Marie Curie Action project to carry out her postdoctoral studies at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, USA) and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart (MPI-FKF, Germany). In 2016, she joined the CFM as an Ikerbasque Research fellow and later, as a Ramón y Cajal. In 2021, she received a prestigious ERC-Starting Grant from the European Research Council for his COSAS project, through which she will address the challenge of understanding atomic-scale properties as well as reaction mechanisms in materials for seawater electrolysis and the production of high value-added chemical compounds.

Her work has applications in the development of environmentally friendly catalytic materials and processes. She combines her work in the laboratory with various outreach activities, having participated in events such as Naukas, What do we know about...? or JAKIN-MINA. In 2019 she was awarded the Hipatia Award for Young Talent in Science and in 2023, the recognition of Female Researcher by the Department of Education of The Basque Country and Ikerbasque.