Chemical Engineering Professor Javier Lafuente elected new rector of the UAB
Chemical Engineering Professor Javier Lafuente was elected new rector of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in the online elections which took place on 27 and 28 October.
Professor Javier Lafuente Sancho was elected Rector of the UAB for the following four years, according to the provisional results of the elections, which for the first time were held online on 27 and 28 October. Javier Lafuente will take over the position until now held by current UAB Rector Margarita Arboix.
The overall participation in these elections was 11.47% (4,405 votes cast).
When consulted by sectors, Sector A cast a total of 868 votes (for a total of 67.44%), with 674 votes in favour of the candidate; Sector B cast 612 votes (20.39%), with 432 votes in favour of the candidate; Sector C cast 2,117 (6.62%), with 1,336 votes in favour of the candidate; and Sector D cast 808 votes (un 37.92%), with 428 votes in favour of the candidate.
In the elections held four years ago, total participation reached 10.74%.
The final results were announced by the UAB General Elections Board on 30 October. The results per centre and sector can be consulted at the following website: www.uab.cat/eleccions.
The university's rector is elected by the university community through universal suffrage. Following the organic law on universities, votes are weighted in the following manner:
- Sector A (professors): 51%
- Sector B (lecturers): 9%
- Sector C (students): 30%
- Sector D (administration and services staff): 10%
Professor in Chemical Engineering
Professor Javier Lafuente from the Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering earned his degree in Chemistry, with a specialisation in Technical Chemistry, in 1982. He received a PhD Cum Laude in Chemical Engineering in 1988 under the direction of professors Manel Poch (UdG) and Carles Solà (UAB).
He is director of the Research Group in the Biological Treatment of Waste Water and Gases. Elimination of Nutrients, Odours and Volatile Organic Compounds Group (GENOCOV), and director of the centre for technological tranfer of the TECNIO network belonging to the Government of Catalonia's Technology Centre for the Comprehensive Treatment of Gas Emissions, and Liquid and Solid Waste (BIO-GLS). Professor Lafuente has worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, at the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INP), the University of California (UC) and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago.
His research focuses on the application of biological systems for the treatment of contaminating wastewater. He is author of 141 publications in indexed journals with over 3,500 citations and has directed 12 Phd theses and several final projects. He also created two environmental spin-offs for the application of cutting-edge wastewater treatment technologies. In the management department, he has directed a research group, a faculty department, and is also the UAB's Vice Rector for Innovation and Strategic Projects since 2016.
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