Fontas Rigau, Claudia

Claudia Fontas Rigau is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Girona (UdG), where she teaches and conducts research in analytical and environmental chemistry. She is a member of the Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Research Group and holds a PhD in Chemistry from UdG (2001), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Montpellier, France. She has been a Principal Investigator on five national research projects and currently leads a project on advanced polymer inclusion membranes (2023–2026).

Research Interests: Her work centers on the development of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) for environmental monitoring and pollutant removal. Key areas include:

• Design of stable PIMs for metal and organic compound preconcentration
• Use of ionic liquids as extractants in membranes
• Speciation and availability studies of metals and oxyanions
• Development of sorbent materials for remote environmental sampling

The recent publications reflect a strong trend in environmental separation science, with emphasis on sustainable, selective, and field-deployable technologies for detecting and removing toxic pollutants such as As, Hg, Cd, pesticides, and antibiotics. Her work bridges analytical chemistry, materials science, and environmental engineering.

Scientific Recognition:

• Editor-in-Chief, 'Membrane Preparation and Characterization' section, Membranes (MDPI)
• Member of editorial board, Membranes
• Guest Editor of three special issues on liquid membranes
• Research evaluator for ANEP (Spain), H2020 FET-OPEN (EU), and ANR (France)

Advising and Grants: She has supervised 7 PhD theses and is currently co-supervising 5 PhD students with universities in Algeria and UdG. She has participated in multiple R&D projects, serving as First Chief Investigator in five competitive national projects (2014–2026). Her leadership in grant-funded research demonstrates sustained excellence and innovation.

Laboratory and Research Group: She is an active member of the Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Research Group at UdG, where she leads research on advanced separation materials and their application in environmental analysis.