Agurtzane Mugica

Miren Agurtzane Múgica Iztueta has been an Associate Professor in the Department of Polymers and Advanced Materials: Physics, Chemistry and Technology at the Faculty of Chemistry in San Sebastián (University of the Basque Country) since July 2017. She conducts her teaching and research in the field of Physical Chemistry within the Department of Polymers and Advanced Materials: Physics, Chemistry, and she is also a member of the Institute of Polymeric Materials-POLYMAT at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and the Basque Excellence Research Center-BERC POLYMAT. Her primary research focus in recent years has been largely related to the structure-property relationships of polymers. She has studied the thermal transitions of polymers (mostly semicrystalline) and the factors influencing them. She has also conducted research on polymer blends, both in thermodynamic aspects related to miscibility (the central theme of her Doctoral thesis) and crystallinity, as well as in aspects related to mechanical properties: toughness and hardness. In her most recent projects, she has studied organo-inorganic hybrid materials based on biodegradable polymers and nanoreinforcements, using polymers reinforced with nanotubes and nanoclays. Currently, her research is primarily centered on the study of nucleation, crystallization, thermal fractionation, and confinement of nanomaterials and biopolymers. She has 22 years of teaching experience in the university which has given her the opportunity to direct 8 Master's thesis and cosupervision of two Doctoral Theses. She has 3 six-year research periods and 4 five-year teaching periods. Participated in more than 35 Congresses, most of them international, collaborating in about 35 R+D+I projects and 52 publications(73% Q1) (web of Science). In summary, she has wide experience in the physicochemical characterization of polymers in general, in the field of mixtures of polymers with simple molecules or with other polymers, as well as in the management of techniques such as thermal analysis.