The research activity of Prof. Rosa Menéndez, undertaken at INCAR-CSIC from the 80s, comprises two essential components: her contribution to the development of fundamental research in the Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering areas and the application of the most relevant outcomes to the design and development of new materials and products and to the solution of specific industrial and social problems.

She initiated the Composites Group at the early 90s. Her main scientific interests have been focused on the synthesis of carbon precursors from coal and petroleum derivatives and the design and control of the processing conditions for obtaining high-added value materials with tailored properties. The extensive experience acquired on graphitic carbon materials has facilitated the development of graphene materials with very different characteristics, suitable for being applied in a wide range of applications (electrochemical energy storage, telecommunications, chemical/electrochemical processes, environmental science and biomedicine). This research has been supported by Spanish/European funding bodies, within the framework of several national/international research projects (more than 30, being the PI in 23 of them) and contracts with industry, in which the characteristics of graphene materials are dictated by the requirements of their final application. Different top-down technologies for graphene production (specially following an optimized chemical route) have been developed and scaled up, thus giving rise to a huge portfolio of graphene-based materials. Her most relevant research results have been diffused among the scientific community through more than 220 publications in high impact factor journals, and 55 contributions to multi-author books and 4 book chapters. Moreover, she has been listed as co-inventor of 10 patents and supervised 22 PhD theses and 22 MSc in the fields of Materials and Chemistry. Additionally, she has participated in a large number of national and international conferences, presenting oral and poster communications or giving invited/plenary talks, also reinforcing important collaborations with several research institutions.

In parallel, she has been actively involved on International Committees and in Advisory Groups for the European Commission and private companies, both national and foreign.  Moreover, she has been widely recognized by different public and private organizations (XIX DuPont Award, in recognition of the work carried out in the study and development of new carbon materials with important industrial applications; Scientific Career Award from the Spanish Materials Association (2016); XV San Alberto Magno Prize for scientific excellence, awarded by the “Colegio de Químicos de Asturias y León and the “Asociación de Químicos del Principado de Asturias”; Prize for Chemical Excellence 2018, awarded by the “Consejo General de Colegios  Oficiales de Químicos” of Spain).  She has also occupied important management positions in the R&D&I Spanish system and in CSIC (being the last one as President of this research institution).