Sandra Cruz holds a PhD in Nanosciences and Nanotechnology from the University of Aveiro (2014) and a degree in Industrial Chemistry, as well as a Master’s in Advanced Chemistry from the University of Coimbra. She is currently a Researcher at IPN, where she leads national and international projects focused on developing sustainable recycling solutions for photovoltaic panels, thin films for efficient battery electrode applications, antimicrobial and wear-resistant coatings, and hydrogen production. Sandra managed the Portuguese segment of the GreenCoat project and is currently the Principal Investigator of the ActiveCATh project. Her responsibilities include project planning and management, as well as material characterisation using advanced techniques. Additionally, she serves as a reviewer for national and international projects. Continuing her commitment to professional development, she is a member of the Nanosafety Cluster and follows the Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas of joint funding programmes such as The Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative. She also actively monitors the development of Horizon Europe Work Programmes. Sandra's expertise lies in thin-film deposition via sputtering, which she applies consistently with a safety-by-design approach and sustainability as the ultimate goal. She has collaborated with renowned research centres, and is currently working with CEMMPRE. During her PhD programme, she specialised in Materials Engineering, Chemistry, and Nanosciences, with her thesis focusing on the synthesis and characterisation of graphene-based nanocomposites, particularly on the surface functionalisation of paper. With a diverse research background, Sandra has worked in various scientific fields, including nanoparticle synthesis, organic, computational, polymer, and analytical chemistry, as well as materials engineering. She has an impressive publication record, with 28 articles in international ISI journals, three book chapters, and over 650 citations, resulting in an H-index of 15 (Google Scholar) and H13 on Scopus. Actively engaged in academic supervision, she has co-supervised master's students and serves on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including those published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, Elsevier, and MDPI. She is also a guest editor for two special volumes published in the journals Processes and Polymers (MDPI).