Clara Santato

Clara Santato is a Full Professor in the Department of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal. She holds a M.Sc. from the Università di Bologna and a Ph.D. from the University of Geneva. Her research focuses on sustainable electronics, organic semiconductors, and energy conversion materials. She leads the UNESCO Chair in Green and Sustainable Electronics and is a Tier-1 Canada Research Chair. Her work integrates bio-sourced materials like melanin and tannins into electronic devices to address environmental challenges.

Education:

• M.Sc. in Chemistry, Università di Bologna (1995)
• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Université de Genève (2001)

Research Interests:

• Sustainable electronics materials (bio-sourced, biodegradable)
• Charge transport in organic semiconductors
• Nanostructured photocatalysts for solar energy conversion
• Electrochemical energy storage

Awards & Affiliations:

• UNESCO Chair in Green and Sustainable Electronics (2023)
• Tier-1 Canada Research Chair (2020)
• IEEE Senior Member (2020)
• Member of Microfabrication Laboratory and Material Surface Analysis (LASM)

Grants & Projects:

• Pan-Canadian CREATE SEED program for sustainable electronics training
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) funding
• Collaborations with industry and academic institutions worldwide

Labs & Teams: Leads the Santato Research Group focusing on bio-inspired electronics and sustainable materials development.