Mauro M. de los Santos

Mauro M. de los Santos is an Argentine chemist and academic known for contributions to organometallic catalysis, surface science, and heterogeneous catalysis. He has held faculty positions at major research institutions and collaborated with researchers across Latin America, North America, and Europe. His work spans synthetic methodology, catalyst characterization, and applied industrial processes.

Early life and education

Born in the 1950s in Argentina, de los Santos completed early schooling in Buenos Aires before undertaking undergraduate studies at the University of Buenos Aires, where he studied chemistry alongside students who later joined institutions such as the CONICET and the National University of La Plata. He pursued graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under advisors connected to groups at the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry, while interacting with researchers from the California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and University of Cambridge. Postdoctoral training included collaborations with laboratories affiliated with the Max Planck Society, the École Normale Supérieure, and the ETH Zurich.

Academic and professional career

De los Santos began his academic appointment at a leading Argentine research university and later held visiting professorships at institutions including the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Oxford. He served on committees connected to the National Science Foundation, the European Research Council, and the Inter-American Development Bank scientific programs, and he maintained joint projects with researchers at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and the Universidade de São Paulo. His professional affiliations included membership in the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and advisory roles for industrial laboratories such as those at BASF, Dow Chemical Company, and ExxonMobil.

Research contributions and publications

De los Santos published extensively on organometallic complexes, catalytic cycles, and surface-mediated reactions in journals associated with the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Nature Publishing Group. His studies on transition metal complexes involved elements like Palladium, Ruthenium, Rhodium, and Nickel and referenced techniques developed at facilities such as the Argonne National Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Collaborative papers explored mechanisms relevant to processes used by Shell, TotalEnergies, and petrochemical units at YPF-affiliated refineries, and he contributed chapters to volumes published by Springer Science+Business Media and Elsevier.

Methodological contributions included spectroscopic characterization using instruments from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, computational studies employing methodologies from groups at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, and kinetic modeling in collaboration with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan. De los Santos's publication record connected to conferences such as the International Conference on Catalysis, the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress, and symposia organized by the Federation of Latin American and Caribbean Chemical Societies.

Honors and awards

Throughout his career, de los Santos received recognition from national and international bodies, including awards presented by the Argentine Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and regional honors from the Mercosur science programs. He was a recipient of fellowships sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and grant support from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the European Commission Horizon 2020 program. His institutional accolades included named professorships and distinctions conferred by the University of Buenos Aires and visiting researcher awards from the Max Planck Society.

Personal life and legacy

De los Santos mentored cohorts of students who became faculty at institutions such as the Universidad de Chile, the University of São Paulo, and universities across the United States and Spain. His legacy includes contributions to regional research networks linking the Andes, the Iberian Peninsula, and North American centers, and his methodologies influenced industrial practice at companies like BASF and ExxonMobil. He participated in public science outreach through lectures at the Teatro Colón-associated cultural forums, the Universidad Nacional de La Plata public seminars, and panels convened by the Organization of American States.

Category:Argentine chemists Category:20th-century chemists Category:21st-century chemists