Prof. Pilar Fernandez-Ibañez

About

Professor of Environmental Engineering at Ulster University and previously Head of Group at Plataforma Solar de Almería of CIEMAT (Spain). Her research focuses on low-cost technologies for water purification and advanced oxidation processes for the removal of microbiological and chemical pollutants from water.

Pilar is an experienced researcher in the areas of low-cost drinking water disinfection solutions for the Global South and solar water treatment. Received grant awards from UKRI, EU-FPV, VI, VII, Horizon 2020 and the Royal Society International Collaboration for her research in Latin America, Asia, and Europe. She has authored key publications in these areas.

Member of the Royal Irish Academy, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Member of the UKRI-REF 2029 Panel for Engineering, and the committee for Climate Change and Environmental Sciences of the Royal Irish Academy. Executive Editor of the Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology A and Editor of the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. Finalist in the WISE Awards 2019 for gender balance in STEM. Distinguished Research Awards 2021 University Champion. Water for Life 2025 award from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Employment

• Ulster University - Jordanstown Campus Professor of Environmental Engineering
  2017 - Present
• Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas Medioambientales y Tecnológicas Senior Researcher & Head of Group of Solar Water Treatment
  2012 - 2016
• Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas Medioambientales y Tecnológicas Senior researcher
  2009 - 2012
• Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas Medioambientales y Tecnológicas Research fellow (investigador contratado)
  2003 - 2009
• Sistemas de Energías Regenerativas, SAU Project Developer & Manager
  2000 - 2003
• University of Almeria PhD schollarship (research)
  1997 - 2000
• University of Granada Research Assistant
  1995 - 1996

Education

Education history is unavailable.

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (216)

• Innovating Slow Sand Filtration: Exploring the Regeneration of a Traditional Technology for the 21st Century
  Separations 2026 DOI: 10.3390/separations13070201
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• Analytical Insights into Cyanobacterial Bloom: Lough Neagh Analysis for Water Management Case study
  Environ Colloquium Proceedings 2026 2026
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• Upgrading slow sand filtration: exploring the practicality of traditional technology for the 21st century
  Environ Colloquium Proceedings 2026 2026
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• Brief editorial – Special Issue “Pioneering Women in Water Research”
  Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2025.120052
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• Two dimensional-material-coated microcantilevers for enhanced mass sensing and material characterization
  Nanoscale 2025 DOI: 10.1039/d5nr03147h
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• Cu or Fe‐Exchanged Natural Clinoptilolite as Sustainable Light‐Assisted Catalyst for Water Disinfection at Near Neutral pH
  ChemPlusChem 2025 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202500225
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• Proof-of-principle
  Chemical Engineering Journal 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2025.167027
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• Automated household-based water disinfection system for rural communities: Field trials and community appropriation
  Water research 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2025.123888
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• From the lab to the river: Bimetallic clinoptilolite photocatalyst for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and emerging contaminants removal
  Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2025.116663
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• Addition of hydrogen peroxide to natural ferruginous water improves the efficacy of SODIS method against the waterborne pathogen Cryptosporidium
  Journal of Water Process Engineering 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.106559
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• New Wine in Old Bottles: The Sustainable Application of Slow Sand Filters for the Removal of Emerging Contaminants, a Critical Literature Review
  Sustainability 2024 DOI: 10.3390/su162310595
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• Efficacy of UVC-LED radiation in bacterial, viral, and protozoan inactivation: an assessment of the influence of exposure doses and water quality
  Water Research 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.122322
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• Mass and Stiffness Deconvolution in Nanomechanical Resonators for Precise Mass Measurement and In Vivo Biosensing
  ACS Nano 2024 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c03391
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• Introduction by editors
  Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2024.115934
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• Monitoring Environmental Resilience in Northern Ireland: The Importance of Legislation in Managing Wastewater Discharges Impact on the Environment
  34th Irish Environmental Researchers Colloquium, Waterford, Ireland, 25/03/24 2024
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• Bench-scale photoelectrocatalytic reactor utilizing rGO-TiO2 photoanodes for the degradation of contaminants of emerging concern in water
  Process Safety and Environmental Protection 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.psep.2023.12.009
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• Decentralised solar-based water treatment – Bridging the last mile to water security in low- and middle-income countries?
  Water Security 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasec.2023.100146
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• Field-testing solutions for drinking water quality monitoring in low- and middle-income regions and case studies from Latin American, African and Asian countries
  Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2023.111180
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• Aeromonas hydrophila in surface water and their removal using a POU technology for drinking in rural communities
  Environmental Advances 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.envadv.2023.100425
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• Solar photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of urea in water coupled to green hydrogen production
  Journal of Cleaner Production 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138200
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