Dr. Liliana Martelo (LM) obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Lisbon in collaboration with the University of Coimbra in 2016 under a FCT grant awarded through a highly competitive call (13.5% approval rate). Her Ph.D. thesis was approved with Summa Cum Laude in the subarea of Physical Chemistry, focusing the development of new oxygen optical sensors, explosives and blood. One of the most challenging aspects of her work was the detection of explosives. As part of a European FP7 Security project (ID: 248747, €830K), LM was responsible for developing responsive polymer membranes (developed by casting methodology) capable of detecting landmine vapours. This work culminated in the production of a prototype successfully demonstrated at the project’s conclusion. During this time, LM also undertook a research stay at the University of St. Andrews (UK) in the Organic Semiconductors Centre, where she worked in clean rooms to further develop these reactive membranes to explosives vapours. During those years, LM gained important insights into paper writing, project management and student´s supervision, among others. A significant outcome of her Ph.D. research was the patenting of novel near-infrared luminescent platinum (II) compounds (EP3419977A1) with potential applications in imaging, sensing, optoelectronics, and medicine where she was co-author. Following her Ph.D., LM secured a prestigious FCT postdoctoral research fellowship (2016-2019, 12.5% approval rate) to continue her work on portable explosive detection devices. As part of this fellowship, she spent nine months at Cranfield University (UK) in the Center for Chemical Defence, where she pursuit her research in explosives detection in real field and explosives formulations. Simultaneously, she developed a patented method (WO2018138649A2) for oxygen monitoring in aviation fuel tanks, which she co-authored as the first inventor. During this period, LM was also invited to contribute to the book chapter "Explosives Detection: From Sensing to Response" published by Springer in Fluorescence in Industry. Since September 2019, LM is an integrated member at LAQV/REQUIMTE at the University of Porto, where she started her work on an FCT-funded project (ZeroWaste, 225K, 2018). Here, she expanded her scientific knowledge and expertise in the field of Environmental Sciences, particularly focusing on recycling and recovering strategically and critical metals from waste streams, principally the waste of electric and electronic equipment’s (WEEE). This expertise was further strengthened in 2022 when LM gained, as Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), a funded project from FCT (RECY-SMARTE, 250K, 2022). This project aims to recycle and recover all raw materials of the waste of mobile phones (from the waste of printed circuit boards (WPCBs) and the liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) screens) without generating tertiary wastes. It combines a visual recognition of the components and their automatic dismantling using colour and depth segmentation with RGBD images and a two-arm robotic platform for automatic dismantling, which are a novelty in the field. Noteworthy achievements related to this proposal include co-authorship of a patent (PCT/IB2021/061408, 2021) and the 1st prize for the Best Business Idea (iUP25k, 2022) awarded by the University of Porto. In terms of scientific output, LM has co-authored four high-impact journal publications (two in Chem. Eng. J., one in Waste Manag., and one in Minerals Eng.), with three additional manuscripts currently under review. In 2024, she achieved a key milestone in her independent research career by securing FCT funding as Principal Investigator for the Light-Up project (2023.12478.PEX, 50K, 2024). This project seeks to develop an innovative hybrid recycling approach to recover high-grade rare earth elements (REEs) by polymer inclusion membranes and precious metals from flat-panel waste, contributing to a more sustainable and circular economy.