Juan Manuel Bermúdez García
Juan Manuel Bermúdez García holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Granada, a Master’s degree in Science, Technology and Environmental Management and a PhD in Environmental and Fundamental Chemistry, both from the University of A Coruña.
During his research career, Juan Manuel has made stays in renowned international centers, such as the University of Oxford (UK) or the University of Cambridge (UK). In addition, he has participated in experiments carried out in large facilities, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory (NM, USA).
His research focuses on the development of new solid thermomaterials for cooling and heating systems with low greenhouse gas emissions, which has already been recognized with awards from the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences and specialized groups of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry.
The researcher also has an extensive background in entrepreneurship and transfer, being an alumni of the exclusive Impulse program of the University of Cambridge (UK) and having represented the University of A Coruña as a finalist in the Emerging Technologies Competition of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Juan Manuel is also very active in science outreach, having collaborated in national and international media, such as C&EN magazine, Chemistry World, Business Insider, or the program Órbita Laika. In addition, he runs the outreach channel “@thermogramer” on social media, and has appeared recurrently in press, radio, and television.
Project
Juan Manuel Bermúdez García develops his line of research at the Interdisciplinary Center for Chemistry and Biology (CICA) of the University of A Coruña. Here, the researcher develops new solid materials capable of transforming pressure into cooling, heating and thermal energy storage for systems that are more efficient and safer for the environment and the user.
The researcher has played a very relevant role in the discovery of “perovskiñas” and “respiro-calorics”, solid materials capable of transforming small pressures and reusing CO2, respectively, to provide cooling and/or heating. These are the first examples of solid materials that can operate under similar conditions to commercial cooling and heating gases (many of which will be removed from the market before 2050 for contributing to global warming), presenting a very promising, more sustainable and safer alternative.
The next objective in this project is to deepen the understanding of these emerging materials to optimize their thermal properties, and implement them in technologies such as refrigerators, air conditioners, mobile devices, wearables, flooring, insoles and self-cooling textiles, which can take advantage of the pressure exerted on purpose or recovered, for example, from footsteps when walking to heat and/or cool in a sustainable way.