Marinélia Capela is a researcher at the Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering and CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials at the University of Aveiro. She graduated in Ceramic and Glass Engineering (2000) and obtained her master's degree in Biomedical Materials and Devices (2015) at the University of Aveiro. Recently, she completed her PhD in Biorefineries (2023) at the University of Aveiro in association with the University of Coimbra. With an h-index of 11 and over 353 citations, Capela has published 19 SCI papers. She has also presented 12 oral communications and 34 panel presentations at national and international conferences. She has actively contributed to 8 R&D projects and worked in the R&D department of a ceramic industry. Her teaching activities include Materials and Technologies I and II in the 1st-cycle degree in Design, under the coordination of Professor Paula Seabra. To enhance her teaching skills, she completed the pedagogical welcoming program for new teachers and 7 additional programs at the University of Aveiro focused on student well-being and pedagogical development. Capela's expertise in the scientific community has been recognized through the invitation to peer-review articles, serve as the main arguer for an academic degree jury and present at 3 seminars within Materials Engineering Master's programs. Capela has supervised/mentored 34 national and international students (4 PhD, 17 MSc, 13 BSc) and 2 research fellows. She is committed to transferring academic knowledge to industry, having published 6 technical articles and delivered 1 invited talk along with 3 panel presentations at industry-focused events. Capela has also bridged academia and the public, leading a workshop for secondary school teachers, providing practical techniques for teaching material science concepts, contributing to 12 cultural and science events, and engaging with public through radio, newspapers and online platforms. Throughout her professional career, in addition to working with traditional ceramics, she has studied bioactive glass and glass ceramics, and investigated the recovery of industrial wastes in ceramic pigments and glazes, traditional and one-part geopolymers, cement-based and hydraulic lime mortars, and self-hardening binders and adsorbents.