- Dr Nuria Tapia Ruiz has received the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award 2022, an SRUK/CERU initiative sponsored by the Banco Santander Foundation for the seventh consecutive year.
- The awardee’s long-term mission is to produce new-generation batteries that are cheaper and can deliver higher energy density, while also being safer and longer-lasting.
- SRUK/CERU and the Banco Santander Foundation keep supporting talented Spanish researchers and bridging research and knowledge transfer between Spain and the United Kingdom.
London, 5th September 2022. The Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU) and the Banco Santander Foundation have awarded the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award 2022 to Dr Nuria Tapia Ruiz for her excellent career in fundamental materials chemistry. The awardee’s research focuses on the creation of new materials for energy storage, particularly on lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery technologies. By using diffraction and spectroscopic techniques, Dr Tapia Ruiz aims to characterise these materials with the aim to produce a new generation of batteries that will last longer and deliver higher energy density, while also being cheaper and safer than currently existing batteries. The Scientific Committee, composed of internationally recognized researchers and chaired by Prof Carmen Domene, from University of Bath, evaluated 18 highly competitive nominations. In the words of Prof Domene, “The relevant and outstanding work carried out by Spanish researchers in the UK and their successful research trajectory are recognised with the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award. The quality of all the evaluated applications has been exceptional and the number of received applications has increased one more year, which shows the positive impact this award has on the scientific community. In this 7th edition, the Scientific Committee has highlighted the research carried out by Dr Nuria Tapia Ruiz in the fields of fundamental materials chemistry and energy, as well as her leading skills and training work. On behalf of the Committee, I would like to congratulate the awardee”.
Dr Tapia Ruiz finished her BSc in Chemistry at the University of Barcelona. She then moved to the UK to carry out her PhD studies at the Chemistry Department in the University of Glasgow. In 2013, she joined the University of St. Andrews to work as a Postdoctoral Fellow in energy storage materials with Prof Peter Bruce. In 2014, she moved to the University of Oxford to work as a Research Fellow in Prof Bruce’s lab at the Materials Department. Dr Tapia Ruiz started her independent career as a Lecturer in Chemistry at Lancaster University in 2017, where she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2020. One year later, she was awarded with the Lancaster’s Science and Technology Research of the Year Award. At the moment, her interests focus on the physics and chemistry of materials for energy storage, primarily in the area of electrochemical energy storage devices, such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors, at both fundamental and applied levels. In Nuria Tapia Ruiz’s words: “I am deeply honoured to receive the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award 2022. I would like to thank past and present members of my research group without whom this award would not have been possible, as well as SRUK/CERU and the Fundacion Banco Santander for providing me with this wonderful recognition”.
According to Mr Borja Baselga, director of the Banco Santander Foundation “For the seventh consecutive year, we continue to support young Spanish researchers who, with their innovative research, are working to build a better world. This year, Dr Nuria Tapia Ruiz has been awarded with the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award for her research focused on making energy resources more efficient, a crucial subject in our days and the coming future”.
This seventh edition of the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award reinforces SRUK/CERU and the Banco Santander Foundation’s commitment to support and promote the work of Spanish researchers in the United Kingdom while building bridges between the two countries. Dr Claudia Román, president of SRUK/CERU, highlighted that “Dr Nuria Tapia Ruiz is a young researcher with an already impressive career demonstrated by her leadership and ability to conduct world-class research. I am sure this award will give visibility to the incredible talent that Spanish researchers bring to the United Kingdom. Her work focuses on developing materials for sustainable energy storage technologies that contribute toward the important and much needed transition to renewable energy generation to fight global warming. She will use this award to engage with SRUK/CERU members through workshops and meetings to disseminate her research and build collaborations with other Spanish institutions in her field, whilst increasing visibility of women in STEM. Dr Tapia Ruiz plans to raise public awareness of energy research that tackles climate change through events such as the Energy Storage Symposium, which will include both Spanish and British experts, and by showcasing her work in journals and the media. My most sincere congratulations to this amazing researcher”.
