Juan M. Lema is an Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. President of the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences (2019 - ). Distinguished Fellow of the International Water Association, IWA (2022).His research focuses on Environmental Biotechnology, emphasising the development of technology and processes for treating and recovering resources from waste and wastewater. He has supervised 62 PhD theses, authored over 450 papers and book chapters, and holds 20 patents, 9 of which are European or international. According to the Stanford List, he and 7 of his former PhD students are ranked among the top 2% of impact researchers in Environmental Biotechnology worldwide. He has served in various academic positions, including as the Head of the Departments of Chemical Engineering at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) (1981-83) and at Santiago de Compostela (USC) (1991-2000). First Head of the Technological Transfer Centre at USC (1999-2000). Promoter and first Dean of the School of Engineering at USC (2003-10). Promoter and the first Head of the Spanish Conference of Chemical Engineering Deans (CODDIQ) (2008-12). Promoter and Head (2015-2019) of CRETUS (Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies), currently one of Galicia's ten singular research centres, with more than 150 researchers. Promoter and member of the Governing Board of Viratec, the Galician Cluster of Environmental Technologies.He has received several awards and distinctions: Comerma Engineer (Ferrol, 1989). European Prize A-IQS for industrial enzymes (Barcelona 1993). Babcock Award for technological innovation (Bilbao, 2004). Gold medal in chemical engineering from the University of Valladolid 2010). García Cabrerizo Foundation Award for scientific innovation (Madrid, 2011). He is a Fellow (Lisbonne 2014) and Distinguished Fellow (Copenhagen 2022) of the International Water Association, IWA. He has received numerous honours, including the Golden Insignia of the University of Santiago de Compostela (2013). He has been awarded Dr Honoris Causa by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile (2015), Politecnico de Milano, Italy (2021), Universidad de Valladolid, Spain (2021) and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain (2023) and appointed as an Honorary Professor at The University of Queensland, Australia (2018) and Beijing University of Chemical Technology (2024).