CIC energiGUNE increases to six the number of researchers included by Stanford University in its ranking of the most influential scientists in the world

Professor Michel Armand repeats as the most important researcher in Spain – and seventh in the world – in the field of Energy, while Elena Palomo, head of the Scientific Directorate of the Thermal Energy Solutions Area and Ikerbasque Professor, is once again recognised as the most important scientist in the Basque Country in the field of Mechanical Engineering and Transport

The list of CIC energiGUNE scientists is completed by Montse Casas-Cabanas, Scientific Coordinator of the Electrochemical Storage Area and Ikerbasque Research Associate; Paramaconi Rodríguez, head of the Electrochemical Hydrogen Technologies group and Ikerbasque Research Professor, Javier Carrasco, head of the Modelling and Computational Simulation group; and Yaroslav Grosu, head of the Interfacial Phenomena and Porous Media group

The “Ranking of World Scientists”, compiled by Elsevier and Stanford University, includes more than 200,000 top scientists from around the world, belonging to 20,564 centres

CIC energiGUNE, a leading Basque research centre in energy storage specialising in batteries, thermal energy solutions and hydrogen technologies, and a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance-BRTA, has six of the most important scientists in the world on its staff, according to the “Ranking of the World Scientists” reference list, drawn up annually by Stanford University and the academic publishing house Elsevier. The information corresponding to the scientific activity carried out in 2021 has been released this week and once again positions Michel Armand as the most important researcher in the Basque Country, considering all scientific branches, and in fourth place at national level. Within the field of Energy, Professor Armand stands out as the most important researcher both in the Basque Country and in Spain, as well as being recognised as the seventh most important worldwide.

Likewise, Elena Palomo, Scientific Director of the Thermal Energy Solutions Area at CIC energiGUNE and Ikerbasque Professor, is, for the third year running, the most influential in the Basque Country and the sixth in Spain in the field of Mechanical Engineering and Transport.

The field of energy, however, is the most relevant for CIC energiGUNE, as in addition to Michel Armand, the list also includes Montse Casas-Cabanas, Scientific Coordinator of the Electrochemical Storage Area at the centre and Ikerbasque Research Associate, and Paramaconi Rodríguez, head of the Electrochemical Hydrogen Technologies Area and Ikerbasque Research Professor, in seventh and eighth place among the most influential researchers in the Basque Country in this field. Both are also among the 150 most important researchers in Spain in this field.

Likewise, Javier Carrasco repeats as the third most influential researcher in the Basque Country in the field of Chemical Physics and one of the 50 most prestigious researchers in the territory considering all scientific branches. The prestigious Stanford University list also mentions Yaroslav Grosu, head of the Interfacial Phenomena and Porous Media group, among the most influential researchers in the world in the field of Applied Physics.

The list of the renowned Californian institution is based on the impact of published research, taking into account various factors such as co-authorship or the percentage of self-citations, as well as through the combined analysis of a series of standardised parameters directly related to the impact of indexed scientific publications. The study gives an overview of both the researchers’ historical professional career and the specific work carried out in the last year analysed, which in this case corresponds to 2021.
Specifically, the list is divided into two parts. On the one hand, the result of the analysis of the year 2021, where more than 200,000 researchers in the world are cited (distributed in more than 20,500 centres), 3,648 at national level (in 479 centres) and 168 at Basque level (in 22 centres). On the other hand, the result of the career analysis to date (end of 2021), where more than 195,000 scientists in the world are named (distributed in more than 23,000 centres), 2,998 at national level (in 453 centres) and 129 researchers at Basque level (in 18 centres). In the latter case, the scientific careers of Michel Armand and Elena Palomo also stand out. Armand ranks first as the most influential researcher in the Basque Country and the State in Energy thanks to his long career, while Palomo is second and eighth, respectively, in Mechanical Engineering and Transport.

CIC energiGUNE researchers
Born in France in 1946, Michel Armand began research into rechargeable lithium batteries at the end of the 1980s – by combining them with solid polymer electrolyte – which has led to the development of the main associated technologies, including electric vehicles. He is currently the head of the polymer electrolyte research area at CIC energiGUNE, where he coordinates a team working on the solid-state battery for the electric vehicle of the future. He has received numerous awards throughout his career, such as the Volta Award and the Galileo Prize, and has recently been named “Fellow of The Electrochemical Society” by the ECS at its Congress held in Atlanta.

Elena Palomo, head of the Thermal Energy Solutions Area, has led seven large-scale research projects and has been an evaluator member of the FP6, FP7 and H2020 programmes. At international level, she was the French delegate of the executive committee of the “Energy Conversion through Energy Storage” programme of the International Energy Agency (2006-2017) and piloted for 6 years the most important international network of R&D in thermal storage (“Compact Thermal Energy Storage” – SHC/ECES IEA programmes). In 2021 she received the “Women and Science” award, granted by the Association of Professional and Business Women of Alava (AMPEA).

Montse Casas-Cabanas is the Scientific Coordinator of the Electrochemical Storage Area at CIC energiGUNE. Her research focuses mainly on the design of functional materials for energy storage and she has experience in several energy storage technologies. Last year she was appointed Scientific Advisor by the Faraday Institution, and also highlights her participation in the development of the FAULTS programme, which has become a reference of use for researchers and professionals in the battery industry. He is also a member of the Expert Group of the European Battery Association (BEPA).

Paramaconi Rodriguez holds a PhD in Materials Science with a specialisation in electrochemistry. His research combines electrochemical methods and a variety of spectroscopic, microscopic and spectrometric methods with the aim of providing an understanding of the effect of the surface structure of catalysts and the role of the interface composition in important electrochemical reactions. Throughout his career he has received several awards from the Academy of Physics, Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Venezuela, the Electrochemistry Group of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry and the International Society of Electrochemistry.

Javier Carrasco is director of the Modelling and Computational Simulation group at CIC energiGUNE, with an extensive career that has revolved around first-principles atomistic thermodynamics, density functional theory, theoretical chemistry and solid-state physics. In 2018, he received China’s ‘Top 10 Breakthrough of the Year’ award in the field of electronic science and technology for the paper “Atomic-level energy storage mechanism of cobalt hydroxide electrode for pseudocapacitors”, published in Nature Communications. He is also a recipient of a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Yaroslav Grosu is Group Leader of Interfacial Phenomena and Porous Media at CIC energiGUNE, which he joined in 2015, focusing his research on the development of materials for thermal storage applications. He holds a PhD from Blaise Pascal University in France in Physical Chemistry and from the National Technical University of Ukraine, the Polytechnic Institute of Kiev, in Thermal Engineering. He collaborates with Alberto Giacomello in the ERC-proof of concept NODRY and has recently been awarded with a Ramón y Cajal grant and was ranked second in the area of energy and transport.

In addition to these awards, the ranking also includes and highlights the work carried out by other researchers with a past at CIC energiGUNE, which further reinforces the scientific work promoted by the centre in recent years, and its positioning as a benchmark for the development of outstanding and cutting-edge scientific activity.