Carlos Bartual's research focuses on the design, synthesis, and micro-/nano-structuring of advanced materials for technological applications in energy storage, memory devices, and chemical sensors. He has developed a new family of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with multifunctional properties, such as magnetism, porosity, and fluorescence, which have significant potential for ultrasensitive chemical sensors. One of his most notable works includes the synthesis of the MOF {Fe(bpac)[M(CN)4]}, which changes its spin state upon moisture absorption, making it an effective humidity sensor at room temperature.

Carlos obtained his degree in Chemistry from the University of Valencia in 2007 and defended his doctoral thesis in 2010 through a cotutelle program between the University of Toulouse (LCC-CNRS) and the University of Valencia (ICMol). Following his doctorate, he conducted his first postdoctoral research at CNRS in Toulouse and Montpellier (France) from 2011 to 2014, where he collaborated with Innopsys company on a microarray scanner for pollutant detection and contributed to the INNODIAG project for early breast cancer detection. He then worked at the University of Zaragoza (Spain) from 2014, at the University of Barcelona from January 2015 to July 2016, and subsequently at the University of Valencia from September 2016, where he joined the SMOLMAT group as a Senior Researcher.

Carlos has developed high-quality MOF thin films, facilitating their integration into real devices and paving the way for industrial applications. His recent work focuses on smart materials with properties such as chirality, conductivity, and fluorescence, achieving significant results in materials chemistry. He has published 46 high-impact research articles, of which 39 are in top-tier Q1 journals. He has served as corresponding author on 19 of these publications and has actively participated in major international conferences.

Throughout his career, Carlos has co-supervised several PhD students and has taught over 450 hours of theoretical and practical chemistry courses at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Valencia. Since December 2023, he has served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Chemistry at the same institution.

Teresa holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Geneva and a degree in Chemistry from the University of Valencia. Previously, she has worked as a professor of Physical Chemistry, Materials Science, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Geneva, Paris Sciences et Lettres University, and CEU Cardenal Herrera University, respectively, accumulating almost 900 hours of teaching experience. As a researcher, she has worked at the Institute of Molecular Science in Valencia, where she completed a Master's degree in Sustainable Chemistry, at the Department of Physical Chemistry at the University of Geneva, and at Chimie ParisTech thanks to a postdoctoral fellowship granted by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Her main research areas focus on switchable materials with spin transition and materials with persistent luminescence, with over 40 publications in this field, 30 of them as main author and in high-impact journals such as JACS, Small, or Advanced Functional Materials, among others. For her career path, she has received various recognitions, such as the Bachelor's Degree Mention of Honor and several grants awarded by the Academic Society of Geneva, the Swiss Chemical Society, the Ernst et Lucie Schmidheiny Foundation, or the award for best article review by Elsevier, and has given several invited talks, notably at ICFE-10 (Lausanne), PDSTM (Florida), and IWPPP-5 (Belgrade).

Teresa has also participated in various outreach activities, highlighting her role as an event coordinator at Chimiscope (University of Geneva) and Élargis tes Horizons (ETH Zurich), has co-supervised numerous Master's and PhD final projects, and has served on doctoral defense committees, acted as an examiner for university entrance exams in the Canton of Geneva, and gained extensive experience in the publishing sector as a content specialist at Frontiers Media SA. Other certificates, courses, and interests include: Advanced English (CAE) awarded by Cambridge Assessment English, DELF awarded by the French Ministry of Education, Powder Diffraction School (Paul Scherrer Institute), Photoswitch School (CNRS, France), courses in X-ray diffraction (Université de Paris) and electronic paramagnetic resonance (Chimie ParisTech), AI learning through visualization (Columbia University), environmental education and renewable energies (Nebrija University), problem-based learning (University of Deusto), emotional difficulties in the classroom (CEU-CH University), and practical application of gender equality in the field of collective bargaining (Ministry of Equality), among others.

Álvaro Martínez Camarena (València, 1992) holds a PhD in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from the Universitat de València. He has previously worked as a lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and as a postdoctoral researcher at the universities of Paris-Saclay, Strasbourg, and València. He has also carried out short-term research stays at the universities of Vienna, Florence, and Catania. In recognition of his academic and research career, he has received several awards, including the University special award for outstanding academic achievement in undergraduate degree (València, 2014) and the Fernando Pulidori International Award (Debrecen, Hungary, 2019). Álvaro also holds a Master’s degree in Science Journalism and Communication from the UNED. His research focuses on the design of artificial enzymes with antioxidant activity, particularly aimed at the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

As a science communicator, he was awarded the XXVI European Award of Science Communication Estudi General for his book El oxígeno: historia íntima de una molécula corriente (2020), as well as the Josep Martínez Bisbal Prize (2022). He is also the author of Historia de los metales que cambiaron el mundo (Guadalmazán, 2024), and a contributor to the science outreach magazine Mètode and the podcast A Ciencia Cierta.