Curriculum Vitae of Prof. Francesc ILLAS

Born in Barcelona, November 13th, 1954

Researcher ID RID: C-8578-2011

(Updated, March 27th, 2024)

 

Education

1972-1977, BS Chemistry, University of Barcelona.

1977-1978, MS Chemistry, University of Barcelona.

1980-1982, Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry at the Universitat de Barcelona, Profs. J. Virgili and F. Sanz supervisors. Ph. D. degree obtained on July, 1982 (cum laude).

Present position

Full Professor of Physical Chemistry

Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física & IQTCUB, Facultat de Química,

Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Martí Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

Tel. +34-3-402 12 29; Fax +34-3-402 12 31.

E-mail: francesc.illas@ub.edu

University positions

1979-1982 - Assistant Professor, Departament de Química Física, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona.

1982-1984 - Associate Professor, Departament de Química Física, Facultat de Química de Tarragona, Universitat de Barcelona.

1984-1986 - Associate Professor, Departament de Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona.

1986-1992 - Associate Professor, Departament de Química Física, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona.

1992-now - Full Professor of Physical Chemistry, Departament de Ciència de Materials i Química Física, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona.

Visiting scientist

Dipartimento di Chimica, Universita della Calabria, Host: Prof. Nino Russo, June-July 1983

Laboratoire de Physique Quantique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France,  Host: Prof. Jean Paul Malrieu, September 1983, October-December 1985

IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California, USA, Host: Dr. Paul S. Bagus, October 1989-September 1990, July-September 1993, July 1996

Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA Host: Dr. Richard L. Martin, August 1996

Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Mexico, Host: Drs. I. Garcia-Cruz and M. Martinez-Magadan, July 2002

Excellence Centre of Advanced Materials Research and Technology, Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, Host: Prof. Eugene Kotomin, June 2003

Center of Nanotechnology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand, Host: Prof. Jumras Limtrakul, August 2011

Invited Professor

Dipartimento di Chimica, Universita della Calabria; February 1997

Laboratoire de Chimie Theorique, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris; June 2000 and February 2007

Scientific Consulting for companies and R+D institutions

REPSOL I+D, 1995-19996, interpretation of XPS of carbon cokes, see JACS 118 (1996) 8071, Fuel, 76 (1997) 1347

Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, 2002-2003, various aspects of simulations at molecular level

INAEL, 2011-2015, modelling photocatalysis

Professional service

Administration

Secretary of the Chemistry Faculty of the University of Barcelona at Tarragona (1983-1985)

Secretary of the CeRQT (Research Center for Theoretical Chemistry) of the University of Barcelona (1999-2001)

Director of the CeRQT (Research Center for Theoretical Chemistry) of the University of Barcelona (2001-2007)

Director of the Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (IQTCUB) (2008-2018)

Director of the Xarxa d’I+D+I de Referencia de Quimica Teòrica i Computacional de Catalunya (2006-2019)

Head of the Physical Chemistry section of the Materials Science and Physical Chemistry Department of the University of Barcelona (2018-present)

 

Editorial Board Membership

a) Standard “classical” scientific journals

Member of the Editorial Board of Surface Science (2012-now)

Member of the Editorial Board of Theoretical Chemistry Accounts (2012-now)

Member of the Editorial Board of Current Catalysis (2012-2015)

b) Electronic scientific journals

Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2000-2006 and 2008-2016)

Member of the Editorial Board of the Electronic Journal of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (2002-now)

Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Applied Chemistry (2005-now)

Member of the Editorial Board of the The Open Catalysis Journal  (2008-2015)

Member of the Editorial Board of Reports in Theoretical Chemistry (2011-2016)

Committee Appointments

Member of the selection committee of the Ramon y Cajal research positions, 2001

Member of the Chemistry research panel for research projects funding by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, 2003 and 2011.

Coordinator of sciences area for the funding agency of the Catalan Government Agency AGAUR, de Catalunya, (2002-2005).

Member of the evaluation committee of the Laboratorie de Chimie Theorique de la Université Pierre et Marie Curie de Paris, appointed by the CNRS, November 2003

Member of the evaluation committee of the Laboratorie de Chimie de l’Ecole Normal Supérieure de Lyon appointed by the CNRS, November 2005

Spanish representative management committee member of action COST-D41, Inorganic oxides: surfaces and interfaces, 2006-2010.

Member of the International Advisory Board of the Materials Simulation Laboratory at University College London.

Member of panel PE4 of the European Research Council for Advanced Research Grants, 2012-2017.

Member of PE4 panel to select proposals for PRACE 7th Regular Call, 2013

Spanish representative management committee member of action COST CM1104, Reducible oxides, 2012-2016.

Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi, Universitat de Girona, Spain, 2014-2021

Collaborator of Spanish Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI, 2018-2021.

Spanish representative management committee member of action COST Action CA18234, Computational materials sciences for efficient water splitting with nanocrystals from abundant elements, 2019-2022.

Publications and conferences

Publications in refereed journals: ~ 700

Books: 1

Book chapters: 20

Citation index: ~ 30.000 citations in Web of Science; ~ 36.000 citations in Google Scholar

h-Index: 83 (ISI Web of Science); 91 (Google Scholar citation)

Ranked by ISI Essential Science Indicators among the Most Cited Authors in Chemistry

Invited conferences: ~ 130

Special issues:

·     Special Issue of Journal of Molecular Catalysis, Vol. 119, 1997, papers from the “6th International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of
Heterogeneous Catalysis
”, held in Tarragona, Spain in June 1996. F. Illas, P.S. Bagus and J.M. Ricart (Guest Editors)

·     Special Issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (http://www.ijms.org/), Vol. 2, Issue 5, November 2001, “Elementary Steps in
Heterogeneous Catalysis: Theory and Experiment
”. Papers from Euroconference on Molecular Mechanism of Heterogeneous Catalysis held in
San Feliu de Guixols, Spain, in June 2001; F. Illas and J .M. Ricart (Guest Editors)

·     Special issue Journal of Molecular Structure THEOCHEM, Vol. 946, 2010, devoted to “Achievements and Challenges of Computational
Chemistry in Portugal – Selection of Papers Presented at the Portuguese Society Conference of Physical Chemistry, 9ENQF-Portuguese Society
Conference of Physical Chemistry
”, Aveiro, Portugal, 15-16 June 2009 J. L. Rivail, J. R.B. Gomes and F. Illas (Guest Editors)

Awards

2001 Distinguished Professor Mention for the University Research Promotion awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain.

 

 

premi-distincio

2004 Bruker Physical Chemistry Research Award of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry

 

premi-RSEQ-QF-2004

 

2009 ICREA Academia Award for excellence in University Research, spanning the 2010-2014 period

 

 

Entrega-premi-2

2009 Elected Fellow Member of the European Academy of Sciences

 

https://www.eurasc.org/user/98/francesc-illas

2015 ICREA Academia Award for excellence in University Research,
spanning the 2016-2020 period

PREMIS ICREA 2016 .jpg

 

2017 Elected Fellow Member of the Academia Europaea

 

http://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Illas_Francesc

2022 Medal of the Chemistry Spanish Royal Society

Imatge que conté text, persona, home, vestit

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Memberships

Societat Catalana de Quimica (1993)

Real Sociedad Española de Química (2003)

World Association of Theoretically Oriented Chemists (2005)

American Chemical Society (2007)

Spanish Society of Catalysis (2015)

Organization of scientific conferences and schools

Chairman of the specialised course “Experimental Techniques and Theoretical Interpretation in Surface Science

by Prof. Fulvio Parmigiani, Universitat de Barcelona, September 1991

Chairman of the specialised course “Theory of Chemisorption and Surface Electronic Structure” by Dr. Paul S. Bagus, Universitat de Barcelona, April 1993.

Chairman of the “6th International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Heterogeneous Catalysis”, Tarragona, Spain, June 1996.

Chairman of the International Workshop “Large Scale Computations in Chemistry. Applications to Material Science”, Barcelona, June 1996.

Chairman of the specialised course “Density Functional Theory. From Fundamentals to Applications in Chemistry” by Prof. Notker Rösch,

Centre de Supercomputació de Catalunya, Barcelona, September 1998.

Chairman of the Euresco conference “Molecular Mechanisms of Heterogeneous Catalysis” corresponding to the Fundamental Aspects of Surface

Science series, San Feliu de Guixols, Spain, June 2001

Co-chairman of the EurescoStructure and reactivity of oxide surfaces” corresponding to the Fundamental Aspects of Surface Science series, 

Acquafreda di Maratea, Italy, June 2002

Organizing committee member of the “Theoretical Chemistry: Modelling reactivity from gas phase to biomolecules and solids, Celebrating 25 years of the Theoretical Chemistry network of Catalonia (Spain)”; dedicated to Prof. Santiago Olivella on occasion of his 65th birthday, Barcelona, from 29 June to 3 July 2009)

Chairman of the workshop “New trends in computational chemistry for industry applications”, Barcelona, July 6th-7th, 2009

Chairman of the “2nd Workshop on New trends in Computational Chemistry for Industry Applications”, Barcelona, May 26th-27th 2011.

Chairman of the “Theoretical Modelling of Materials”, a satellite meeting of the World Association of Theory Oriented Chemists”,

WATOC 2011, Barcelona July 13-15, 2011.

Chairman of the “3rd Workshop on New trends in Computational Chemistry for Industry Applications”, Barcelona, May 23th-24th 2013.

Chairman of the “4th Workshop on New trends in Computational Chemistry for Industry Applications”, Barcelona, October 2nd-3rd 2015.

Chairman of the “5th Workshop on New trends in Computational Chemistry for Industry Applications”, Barcelona, October 3rd 2017.

Co-organizer of the “Computational materials science for sustainable energy using nanocatalysts from abundant elements” symposium of the European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) Fall Meeting and Exhibit held in Warsaw, September 2019, Warsaw.

Participation in the scientific committee of congresses and schools

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “XXIII Congreso de Químicos Teóricos de Expresión Latina”,Caceres, Spain, September 1996.

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “7th International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Heterogeneous Catalysis”, Cambridge,

United Kingdom, August, 1998.

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “Workshop on Condensed Matter Physics: Applications of the Density Functional Theory and

Methods of Quantum Chemistry”, XV Cursos de Verano de la Universidad de Cantabria, Laredo, Spain, June 1999.

Member of the Scientific Committee of the”8th International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Heterogeneous Catalysis”, La colle sur Loup, France, June, 2000.

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “XXVI International Conference on Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression”, Caxambu, Brazil, September, 2000.

Member of the National Advisory Board of the “5th International Conference on Spillover”, San Lorenzo del Escorial , Madrid, September, 2001.

Member of Advisory Board for the “9th International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Catalysis”, Zakopane, Poland, June 25-30, 2002

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “XXX International Conference on Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression”, Porto, Portugal, September, 2004.

Member of the scientific committee of the “II Simposium de Jovenes Investigadores RSEQ-Sigma-Aldrich”, Ciudad Real, 22-25 November 2005

Member of Advisory Board for the “Xith International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Catalysis”, Berlin, Germany, June 12-15, 2006

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “XXXII International Conference on Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression”,

Côtes de Carthage, Tunisie, September, 2006.

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “XXXIII International Conference on Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression”, La Habana, Cuba, September, 2007

Member of the International Advising Committee of “The fourth San Luis Symposium on Surfaces, Interfaces and Catalysis”, Cuernavaca, Mexico, March 2007

Member of Advisory Board for the “XIIth International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Catalysis”, Varna, Bulgaria, June 2008

Member of the Scientific Committee of “IBER 2008, the 9th Iberian Joint meeting on atomic and molecular physics”, Capuchos, Portugal, September, 2008

Member of Advisory Board for the International Conference on Materials Informatics and DFT, University Abou Bekr Belkaid, Tlemcen, Algeria, October 2008

Member of Advisory Board for the “13th International Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Catalysis”, Matsushima, Japan, June 2010

Member of the International Scientific Committee of the Nano Thailand 2010 conference, Thailand Science Park Convention Center (NSTDA) Pathumthani, Thailand

Member of the International Advisory Committee of the “9th triennial congress of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational

Chemist, 2011 WATOC”, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, June 2011

Member of the Scientific Committee of the XL International Conference on Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression, San Cristobal,

Galápagos, Ecuador, November 2014

Member of the Scientific Committee of the XLI International Conference on Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression, Torino, Italy, July 2015

Member of the International Program Committee of the 1st European Conference on  Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Catania, Italy, September 2015

Member of the Scientific Committee of the Reunión de la Sociedad Española de Catálisis, SECAT’17, Oviedo, Spain, June, 2017

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “Electronic Structure: Principles and Applications”, ESPA 2018 International Conference, Madrid, July 2018

Member of the Scientific Committee of the “Electronic Structure: Principles and Applications”, ESPA 2020 International Conference, Vigo, July 2021

Research interests

The research activities can be broadly described as Electronic Structure of Surface and Solid State models using Quantum Chemistry methods. In particular,

Electronic structure of metal clusters.

Theory of chemisorption and surface chemistry.

Molecular mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis.

Magnetic coupling in ionic solids.

Interpretation of optical, vibrational and photoemission spectra in solids and on surfaces.

Theoretical study of adsorption and charge transfer at single crystal electrodes

Research grants

Sponsor

Project number

Project title

Years

Amount

CICyT

PB86-0032

Desarrollo de modelos no empíricos de actividad catalítica en sistemas de interés tecnológico.

1987-1989

7.254.000 pta

 

EC

SCI-173/89

Science Program EU

1989

197.500 pta

 

CICyT

PB89-0648-CO2-01

Estudio de la estructura electrónica de nuevos materiales

1990-1993

8.166.000 pta

 

CICyT

PB92-0766-CO2-01

Estructura electrónica de materiales con propiedades conductoras, magnéticas o catalíticas

1993-1996

10.750.000 pta

 

NATO

CRG941191

A theoretical cluster model approach to elementary steps in catálisis

1993-1996

1.008.000 pta

 

CICyT

PB95-0847-CO2-01

Modelos ab initio en química de materiales

1996-1999

11.000.000 pta

 

CIRIT

1997SGR00167

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca consolidats

1998-1999

1.050.000 pta

 

EC

ERB-FMB-ICT 983279

Magnetic Interactions in Low Dimensional Heisenberg systems

1998-2000

17.460.544 pta

 

CICyT

HI1998-0042

Simulaciones mecano-cuánticas de reacciones catalíticas sobre superficies de materiales cerámicos y metálicos

1999-2000

1.320.000 pta

 

CICyT

PB98-1216-CO2-01

Predicción ab initio de propiedades electrónicas en química de materiales

1999-2002

12.000.000 pta

 

CIRIT

1999SGR00040

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca consolidats

2000-2001

1.050.000 pta

 

CICyT

HA2000-0001

Agregados metálicos soportados en óxidos: Estructura, enlace y reactividad

1 Euro=166.386 pta

2000-2001

1.410.000 pta

 

CIRIT

2001SGR0043

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca consolidats

2002-2005

42.000 €

 

DURSI

Distinció Universitària

Distinció de la Generalitat per a la promoció de la Recerca Universitaria

2002-2007

180.000 €

 

CICyT

HI2001-0201

Simulación mecano-cuántica de reacciones catalíticas sobre superficies de materiales metálicos y cerámicos

2002-2003

8.474 €

 

CICyT

BQU2002-04029-CO2-01

Predicción ab initio de parámetros derivados de la estructura electrónica en Química de Materiales. Un punto de partida para la simulación no empírica de propiedades macroscópicas

2003-2005

119.750 €

 

EC

MEIF-CT-2003-500155

Heterogeneous charge-transfer studied from ab initio quantum chemical methods: Application to processes at electrodes and scanning tunnelling images

2004-2005

137.582

 

CIRIT

2005SGR-00697

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca consolidats

2006-2009

43.200 €

 

CICyT

CTQ2005-08459-CO2-01

Modelización ab initio a escala molecular, nanoscópica y macroscópica de materiales de interés tecnológico

2006-2008

112.812 €

 

CICyT

HP2007-0042

Adsorption and reactivity of gases on modified TiO2(110) surfaces.

2008-2009

6000 €

 

CICyT

CTQ2007-30547-E/BQU

ERA-Chemistry Project: Controlling selectivity via nanostructuration of multifunctional model catalysts

2008-2011

51.700 €

 

CICyT

FIS2008-02238

Type C roject Consolider: Modelización ab initio de materiales de importancia tecnológica basados en óxidos, metales y las combinaciones de ambos: de la escala nanométrica al sistema extendido

2009-2013

330.000 €

 

CIRIT

2009SGR-1041

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca consolidats

2009-2012

47.840 €

 

MINECO

PRI-PIBIN-2011-1028

India-Spain bilateral Project on Theoretical and computational investigation of molecular magnets and extended systems as candidates of exotic nanomaterials with useful properties

2012-2014

81.000 €

 

MINECO

CTQ2012-30751

Quantum-chemical study and computational design of advanced materials

2013-2015

107.000 €

 

DRG

2014SGR97

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca consolidats

2014-2016

24.000€

 

H2020

EINFRA-5-2015

Novel Materials Discovery Laboratory (NOMAD), NOMAD received a total of 4.910.624 € and is coordinated by Prof. Matthias Scheffler from the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

2015-2018

414.366€

 

MINECO/FEDER

CTQ2015-64618-R

Understanding, controlling, and optimizing heterogeneous catalysts and photocatalysts at the nanoscale. Application to carbon dioxide conversion and hydrogen production

2016-2019

164.560€

 

DRG

2017SGR13

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca consolidats

2017-2019

65.986€

 

MINECO

MDM-2017-0767

Maria de Maeztu Excellence Award to the Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry of Universitat de Barcelona

2019-2022

2.000.000 €

 

MICIUN

RTI2018-095460-B-I00

Rational design of new heterogeneous, electro-, and photocatalysts for a sustainable clean energy production via greenhouse gases conversion and hydrogen generation

2019-2021

229.900 €

 

DRG

2021SGR79

Projectes de recerca per potenciar els grups de recerca reconeguts

2022-2024

60.000€

 

AEI

TED2021-129506B-C22

Atom-Dispersed Catalysts for the Thermo-Photo Valorization of CO2: Experimental Design and Computational Modeling

2022-2024

169.510€

 

Relevant national and international collaborations

Active

Prof. Gianfranco Pacchioni, Chemistry, Universita di Milano-Bicocca, Italy

Prof. Jose A. Rodríguez, Brookhaven National Laboratory, U.S.A.

Prof. Jose R. B. Gomes, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.

Prof. Marcos Fernández-García, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, Madrid, Spain

Prof. Paul S. Bagus, Chemistry, University of North Texas, U.S.A.

Prof. Matthias Scheffler, Fritz-Haber Institut, Berlin, Germany

Prof. Fariba Nazari, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

Past few years

Prof. Jinyong Lee, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea (last joint paper in 2019)

Prof. Jumras Limkatrul, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand (last joint paper in 2014)

Prof. Michael Probst, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria (last joint paper in 2014)

Prof. Frank Hagelberg, Tennessee State University, Johnson City, USA. (last joint paper in 2014)

Prof. Donald G. Truhlar, University of Minnesota, U.S.A. (last joint paper in 2014)

Prof. Christian Minot, LCT-Jussieu, UPMC, Paris, France (last joint paper in 2014)

Prof. Alexis Markovits, LCT-Jussieu. UPMC, France (last joint paper in 2014)

Prof. Avelino Corma, Instituto de Tecnología Quimica, Valencia, Spain (last joint paper in 2011)

Dr. Isidoro García-Cruz, Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, México (last joint paper in 2010)

Prof. Richard M. Lambert, Chemistry, University of Cambridge, U.K. (last joint paper in 2008)

Prof. Ha-Jo Freund, Fritz-Haber Institut, Berlin, Germany (last joint paper in 2008)

Dr. Manuel Martínez Magadán, Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, México (last joint paper in 2008

Prof. Jean Paul Malrieu, Physics, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France (last joint paper in 2007)

Prof. Nicholas M. Harrison, Chemistry, Daresbury Lab. & Imperial College, U.K. (last joint paper in 2006)

Prof. Vincenzo Barone, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy ((last joint paper in 2006)

Prof. Bernard Silvi, Chemistry, LCT-Jussieu, UPMC, Paris, France (last joint paper in 2004)

Prof. Notker Rösch, Chemistry, Technische Universität München, Germany (last joint paper in 2002)

Dr. Richard L. Martin, Chemistry, Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S.A (last joint paper in 2002)

Prof. Nino Russo, Chemistry, Universita della Calabria, Italy (last joint paper in 2001)

Prof. Roberto Dovesi, Chemistry, Universita di Torino, Italy (last joint paper in 2000)

Teaching activity

Prof. Illas lectured Chemical Thermodynamics, Quantum Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Physical Chemistry of Surfaces and Surfaces and Catalysis courses to students of Chemistry Degree. He has given specialized courses for Ph. D. students at the University of Barcelona and at the University of La Habana. He has been professor of the Spanish interuniversitary Ph.D course in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry in the two first editions (Universitat Jaume I de Castelló and Universitat de Valencia) in 2000 and 2001, respectively. He has been member of Ph. D. committees at many Spanish Universities and at the Universities of Groningen, Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI), Paul Sabatier (Toulouse), Poitiers, Université de Provence (Marseille) and Universitá di Milano-Bicocca (Milan). He has been the supervisor of 27 Ph. D. students and is currently supervisor of 2 Ph. D. students and has hosted a large number of post-doc and graduate students from many countries France (3), Italy (8), England (2), Portugal (2), Germany (4), The Netherlands (2), Colombia (2), Mexico (4), Korea (1) — and several invited professors worldwide.

Former Graduate Students

Dr. Josep Manel Ricart (Ph. D degree obtained in 1985), now Full Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

Dr. Jaime Rubio (Ph. D degree obtained in 1986), now Full Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Universitat de Barcelona.

Dr. Javier Luque (Ph. D degree obtained in 1989), co-supervised by Dr. Ramon Pouplana, now Full Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Universitat de Barcelona.

Dr. Margarida Bachs (Ph. D degree obtained in 1991), co-supervised by Dr. Jaime Rubio.

Dr. Manuel Blanco (Ph. D degree obtained in 1992), co-supervised by Dr. Jaime Rubio, former Professor at Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Bahia in Brasil

Dr. Carme Sousa (Ph. D degree obtained in 1994), Extraordinary Mention Award, now Full Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Universitat de Barcelona.

Dr. Jordi Casanovas (Ph. D degree obtained in 1995), now Associated Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Universitat de Lleida.

Dr. Empar Lorda (Ph. D degree obtained in 1995), now research technical support staff member at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya.

Dr. Núria López (Ph. D degree obtained in 1999), Extraordinary Mention Award, now Group Leader at the Institut Català d‘Investigacions Químiques (ICIQ).

Dr. Maite García-Hernández (Ph. D degree obtained in 2001), Extraordinary Mention Award, former Post-Doc at the Technical University of Munich.

Dr. Iberio de P.R. Moreira (Ph. D degree obtained in 2001), former Marie Curie postdoc at Universitadegli Studii di Torino, now Associated Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Universitat de Barcelona.

Dr. David Domínguez-Ariza (Ph. D degree obtained in 2003), co-supervised by Dr. Carmen Sousa.

Dr. David Muñoz Ramo (Ph. D degree obtained in 2004), co-supervised by Dr. Iberio de P.R. Moreira, former post-doc at University of Cambridge after having been postdoc at the University College in London. Now at Cambridge Quantum Computing Ltd

Dr. Javier Carrasco Rodriguez (Ph D obtained in 2006), co-supervised by Dr. Nuria Lopez, Extraordinary Mention Award, former Ramon y Cajal Felllow at Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (CSIC) in Madrid following an Alexander von Humboldt post-doc at the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Berlin. Now group leader at CIC-enegiGUNE, Alava, Basque country

Dr. Silvia González-Pérez (Ph. D obtained in 2007), co-supervised by Dr. Carmen Sousa, now Associated Professor at Universidad Particular de la Loja, Ecuador.

Dr. Daniel Torres Rangel (Ph. D obtained in 2007), co-supervised by Dr. Núria López, former post-doc at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and Beatriu de Pinós Post-doc at the Ecole Normale deChimie, Lyon. Now Associate Professor at New York City College of Technology

Dr. Francesc Viñes Solana (Ph D obtained in 2008) co-supervised by Dr. Carmen Sousa, Extraordinary Mention Award, former Alexander von Humboldt post-doc at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral contract at the Universitat de Barcelona and Ramon y Cajal Fellow at Universitat de Barcelona. Now Associate Professor at Universitat de Barcelona

Dr. Sebastien Fernandez (Ph D obtained in 2008), co-supervised by Dr. Alexis Markovits, Dr Christian Minot (Université Pierre et Marie Curie) and Dr. Gianfranco Pacchioni (Universita di Milano-Bicocca) to obtain double PhD degree at Universitat de Barcelona and Université Pierre et Marie Curie. Now Responsable administratif - Institut de Formation Doctorale - ‎Sorbonne Université

Dr. Alberto Roldán Martínez (Ph D obtained in 2010), co-supervised by Dr. Josep Manel Ricart, Extraordinary Mention Award, now Ramsay Fellow at Cardiff University after postdoc at the University College London.

Dr. Pablo Rivero Moreno (Ph. D obtained in 2010), co-supervised by Dr. Ibério de P.R. Moreira, former postdoc at Rice University, Texas and at postdoc at Arkansas University. Now working at a company

Dr. Albert Bruix Fusté (Ph D obtained in 2014), co-supervised by Dr. Konstantin Neyman, former postdoc at Technical University Munich and Marie Curie postdoc at Aarhus University, Denmark, now Beatriu de Pinós postdoc at Universitat de Barcelona

Dr. Ilker Demiroglu (Ph D obtained in 2014), co-supervised by Prof. Stefan Bromley, former postdoc at University of Birmingham, now at Eskisehir Technical University

Dr. Gian Giacomo Asara (PhD obtained in 2014), co-supervised by Prof. Josep Manel Ricart, former postdoc at King’s College London. Now Editor in Chief of International Journal of Quantum Chemistry.

Dr. Daniel Reta Mañeru (PhD obtained in 2016, co-supervised by Prof. Ibério de P. R, Moreira), now postdoc at The University of Manchester

Dr. Oriol Lamiel Garcia (PhD obtained in 2017), co-supervised by Prof. Stefan Bromley, former postdoc at University of Bath

Dr. Sergio Posada Pérez (Ph D obtained in 2018), Extraordinary Mention Award, co-supervised by Prof. Francesc Viñes, former postdoc at Université Catholique de Louvain, now Marie Curie postdoc at Universitat de Girona.

Dr. Isaac Alcon Rovira (Ph D obtained in 2018), co-supervised by Prof. Stefan Bromley, former postdoc at Technical University of Denmark, now postdoc at Freie Universität Berlin

Dr. Hector Prats Garcia (Ph D obtained in 2019), co-supervised by Prof. Ramón Sayós, Extraordinary Mention Award, now postdoc at Oxford University after a Marie Curie postdoc at University College London and a postdoc at Denmark Technical University.

Dr. Antoni Macià Escatllar (PhD obtained in 2020), co-supervised by Prof. Stefan Bromley, Now Data Analyst at Optimus Price

Dr. Marc Figueras Valls (PhD obtained in 2021), co-supervised by Prof. Francesc Viñes, former postdoc at Wisconsin University, now back as postdoc to UB

Dr. Anabel Jurado Mañas (PhD obtained in 2022), co-supervised by Dr. Angel Morales Garcia

Dr. Martí Lopez Berbel (PhD obtained in 2023), co-supervised by Prof. Francesc Viñes

Dr. Pablo Lozano Reis (PhD obtained in 2023), co-supervised by Prof. Ramón Sayós, now postdoc at Duisburg-Essen University

Present Graduate Students

Ling Meng (PhD started in 2021), co-supervised by Prof. Francesc Viñes

Eleonora Romeo (PhD started in 2021), co-supervised by Dr. Federico Calle-Vallejo

Nestor Garcia Romeral (PhD started in 2024), co-supervised by Dr. Angel Morales

Wei Cao (PhD started in 2024), co-supervised by Prof. Francesc Viñes

Postdocs

Prof. Alexis Markovits, HMC fellowship, 1998-1999, now Full Professor at UPMC, Paris.

Prof. Peter Reinhardt, HMC fellowship, 1999, now Maitre de Conferences at UPMC, Paris.

Prof. Coen de Graaf. Marie Curie fellowship, 1999-2000, now ICREA Research Professor at Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

Prof. Carmen Sousa, Ramon y Cajal fellowship, 2001-2006, now Associated Professor of Physical Chemistry at Universitat de Barcelona.

Prof. Núria López. Ramon y Cajal fellowshio 2001-2005, now Group Leader at the Institut Català d‘Investigacions Químiques (ICIQ)

Dr. Jose Richard Baptista Gomes, Portuguese Government fellowship, 2002-2003, now researcher at Aveiro University.

Prof. Ibério de Pinho Riberio Moreira, Ramon y Cajal fellowship, 2003-2008, now Associated Professor of Physical Chemistry at Universitat de Barcelona.

Prof. Stefan T. Bromley, Ramon y Cajal fellowship, 2005-2008, now ICREA Research Professor at Universitat de Barcelona

Dr. Annapaola Migani, Marie Curie fellowship, 2004-2005, Beatriu de Pinos 2006-2007, former Ramon y Cajal at CIN 2 (2013-2017), now Research Intelligence at Elsevier.

Dr. Christof Loschen, Humbold fellowship (co-supervised by Prof. Konstantin Neyman), 2006-2007, now computational chemist at Covestro.

Dr. Marcos May, Mexican Government fellowship, 2008-2009, now Lecturer at UAM Azcapotzalco.

Dr. Jacek Wojdel, Beatriu de Pinos fellowship, 2006-2008, former postdoc at ICMAB. Now at Building teams building services

Dr. Juan Radilla, Mexican Government fellowship, 2010, now Lecturer at UAM Azcapotzalco.

Dr. Lety Feria, Mexican Government fellowship, 2008-2009, former postdoc at Universidad Particular de Loja, Ecuador. Now at Departamento de Física y Química Teorica UNAM.

Dr. Martin Zwijnenburg, Juan de la Cierva fellowship, former Lecturer & EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellow at UCL, now Full Professor at UCL.

Prof. Jose Roberto dos Santos Politi, Brazilian Government fellowship, 2012-2013, now Professor at Brasilia University

Dr. Sergio Tosoni, INNPACTO program fellowship, 2011-2013, now Reseacher at Universitá Milano-Bicocca

Dr. Francesc Viñes Solana, Juan de la Cierva fellowship, 2011-2014 and Ramon y Cajal Fellowship 2014-2019. Now Associate Professor at Universitat de Barcelona

Dr. Leny Alvarez Falcon, Mexican Government fellowship, 2013-2015

Dr. Kyoung Chul Ko, Korean Government fellowship. 2014-2016, now Associate Professor at Chonnam University, Souht Korea

Dr. Angel Morales Garcia, Juan de la Cierva formación fellowship, 2017-2018 and Juan de la Cierva incorporación fellowship 2019-2020

Dr. Federico Calle Vallejo, Ramon y Cajal fellowship 2017-2022, now Ikerbasque researcher

Dr. Michel de Oliveira Almeida, Brazilian Government fellowship, 2021-2022

Dr. Maria Voccia, TED project postdoc, 2023-2024

Dr. Samadhan Kapse, TED project postdoc, 2023-2024

Dr. Marc Figueras, TED project postdoc, 2023-2024

Referee activity

Prof. Illas is regularly refereeing papers for many journals as listed below, see also reviewer profile at https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/1274321

Angewandte Chemie

Accounts of Chemical Reseach

ACS Catalysis

ACS Nano

Catalysis Science & Technology

ChemCatChem

Chemical Communications

Chemical Physics

Chemical Physics Letters

ChemPhysChem

Chemical Reviews

Chemical Society Reviews

Chemical Science

Chemistry, A European journal

European Physics Letter

Inorganic Chemistry

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Journal of Catalysis

Journal of Chemical Physics (listed as one of the top 20 reviewers in 2011 and 2017, http://jcp.aip.org/top_20_reviewers_for_2011; https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.5043197)

Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation

Journal of Computational Chemistry

Journal of Materials Chemistry

Journal of. Molecular Catalysis

Journal of Physical Chemistry (A, B, C and Letters)

Nature Catalysis

Nature Communications

Nature Materials Reviews

Nanoscale

New Journal of Physics

Physical Review Letters (Outstanding Referee Certificate 2012 by American Physical Society)

Physical Review B

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, recognised by the editors as an Outstanding Reviewer in 2018.

Science

Small

Surface Science (Highly Valued Reviewer Certificate 2012)

 

He also acted and regularly acts as referee of research proposals to the Spanish Ministry of Education, the Catalan Department of Universities and Research, the Argentina Evaluation Research Agency, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy (USA), the European Research Council (ERC), the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Danish Science Foundation.

 

 

 

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