Miguel A Rodriguez-Valverde

“PowerPoint is boring. People learn in lots of different ways but experience is the best teacher.”
Dwight-The Office (Season 5, Episode 13)
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Miguel A. Rodriguez-Valverde is an experimental physicist focused on fundamental and applied research on interfacial phenomena within the field of materials science. He is fascinated by surfaces, viewing them as the puzzling boundaries where most specific interactions between solid and liquid materials take place. His research profile is characterized by its international scope, multidisciplinarity, and a strong commitment to knowledge transfer, highlighted by his mobility between academia and industry (Laboratoire du Pôle d’Émulsions, EUROVIA-France).

He is a Full Professor in the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Granada (UGR) and leads the Lab of Surface and Interface Physics. He is also an active member of the CyTes group, GECI, the Spanish Society of Materials, and the Royal Spanish Society of Physics.

His primary research keywords include wetting, adhesion, surface tailoring, durability, drop dynamics, low friction, and high water retention. He has a solid track record in technology transfer, having participated in industrial contracts funded by prominent companies such as Repsol-YPF, KOLMER, OPERON, RYLESA, TECNIMACOR, and CETURSA. Furthermore, he contributes to the scientific community as a co-organizer of major international events, including the Natural-Inspired Surface Engineering, International Workshop on Bubble and Drop Interfaces, and the International Soft Matter Conference.

Committed to academic excellence, he has an extensive teaching background in both undergraduate and postgraduate physics programs at the UGR, with a particular focus on Mechanics and Waves. Throughout his career, he has supervised numerous PhD, Master’s, and Bachelor’s theses, and actively participates in teaching innovation projects.

As a firm promoter of scientific culture, he regularly engages in science outreach and popularization actions. Above all, he advocates for the philosophy of slow science, slow teaching, and slow learning—prioritizing depth and rigor over immediacy.

Feb 2021 – Present
Full Professor
Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada.
Oct 2015 – Feb 2021
Associate Professor
Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada.
Mar 2011 – Oct 2015
Lecturer
Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada.
Jun 2006 – Mar 2011
Researcher – Ramón y Cajal Programme
Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada.
Research: Rationalized design of cationic bituminous emulsions enhanced for road paving (RDBE).
May 2005 – May 2006
Postdoctoral Researcher
Polymers and Composites Laboratory (DIMTI), University of Trento (Italy). Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.
Oct 2003 – May 2005
Researcher (Industry)
Laboratoire du Pôle d’Émulsions of EUROVIA (French road construction company).
Jun 2002 – Sep 2003
Researcher (Industrial Contracts)
Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada. Research contracts funded by Repsol-YPF S.A.
Jan 2002 – Jun 2002
Postdoctoral Grant
Link-to-Postdoctoral position grant from the University of Granada.
Jan 1999 – Dec 2001
Ph.D. Researcher
Biocolloid and Fluid Physics Group, University of Granada. Funded by ERDF.

Awards & Recognitions

  • 🏆 Best Poster Award. 3rd section of the 3rd World Congress on Emulsion (Lyon, France, September 2002). [View Poster]
  • 🏆 University of Granada Award (2002). Recognition for research groups with outstanding industrial collaborations. [View Certificate]