Ana Paula Soares Dias, born on October 23, 1963 in Batalha, Portugal, (Scopus author ID: 15728601000) graduated in Chemical Engineering from IST in 1987. She holds a Master's degree (1991) and a Ph.D. degree (1996) in Catalytic Process Chemistry, both in the field of Chemical Engineering. While pursuing her PhD, she spent one month each year at ESCPM in Strasbourg, France, gaining training in physical-chemical techniques for characterizing heterogeneous catalysts and other materials. She has been an Assistant Professor in the DEQ of IST since December 1996. She teaches courses in chemical engineering sciences and conducts research on biofuel production through transesterification, biomass pyrolysis, and CO2 capture. Recently, her research has focused on the recovery of organic and inorganic wastes. Her research focuses on developing functional carbon materials from biomass, terrestrial, and maritime, using techniques like carbonization and hydrothermal carbonization. He recently expanded his work to creating photocatalytic materials for building facades, aiming to combat air pollution. She is the author of 77 papers referenced in Scopus, 36% as first author and with h=27. 71.7% of the papers are among the top 25 most cited documents worldwide. He has supervised two Ph.D. theses in the field of biodiesel production and purification and has supervised more than 40 master's theses, including students from external institutions such as the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISEL) and the Instituto Politécnico de Setubal (EstBarreiro). She has been part of the research team of several projects funded by FCT and other entities in areas involving collaboration with chemical, mechanical, and civil engineering. He has external collaborations with Romania, France, and Italy in the field of heterogeneous catalysis and materials characterization.