Álvaro Gallo wins the runner-up prize of Talento y Tecnología Awards 2023, his fourth prize for his thesis

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One PhD thesis. One outstanding cum laude. One researcher. Four Awards. Álvaro Gallo, a postdoctoral researcher at the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM), CSIC, has won his fourth prize for the doctoral thesis he finished last year. In this case, he has achieved the runner-up prize of Talento and Tecnología Awards 2023, organized by the Madrid city council for reward research related to technological development.

"The purpose of these awards is to detect talent in technological development in order to promote and strengthen this competition among Madrid university students", says the Madrid city council. The public administration aims to link advances in technology that can allow the university to connect with industry and business "through the practical application of the results of scientific research, thus activating the transfer of knowledge from the university to society".

Gallo has won also the unique award for the best doctoral thesis in Magnetism, Magnetic Materials, and their Applications granted and funded by the Spanish Chapter of the IEEE Magnetic Society (Magnetic Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); the Extraordinary Doctoral Award at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and another runner-up prize at Margarita Salas Research Awards, also granted by Madrid City Council.

His thesis is dedicated to decontaminating water. Entitled "Magnetic Nanoreactors: Environmental Catalysis Applications," it was supervised by Puerto Morales (ICMM researcher) and Jesús García Ovejero (UAM) and received an outstanding grade with honors and international recognition. In it, the researcher aimed to "contribute our bit to seek solutions to problems such as climate change and environmental pollution."

To achieve this, he used structures of nanoscale magnetic materials based on iron oxide. "These structures are capable of trapping contaminants present in water and transforming them into other compounds that are not harmful to the environment," explains the researcher, highlighting that the magnetic nature of these nanoparticles allows for the separation of contaminants "simply by using a magnet, leading to an efficient, straightforward, and clean process."

Gallo emphasizes that what makes his work special is its connection to the industry. In fact, he has already succeeded in scaling up his nanoreactors to reach the initial stages of industrialization, with highly favorable results: "This technology is suitable for incorporation into existing industrial water treatment processes," notes the researcher. Morales expresses her happiness and pride in her student's achievements and mentions some future steps: "We need to secure a project in that direction."