M.F. Montemor http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7835-6814 is Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, Department of Chemical Engineering. Her scientific activity focusses on new functional coatings for surface protection and for energy storage. She is co-author of 20 book chapters and above 320 scientific papers. Her h index is 76. She has been awarded with the EFC medal and has received a Doctor Honoris Causa Degree by University of Mons. Leading a scientific team gathering around 20 researchers, including PhD students, pos-docs and young researchers, she fosters a creative research environment conducive to cutting-edge research and innovation that addresses synergies between materials engineering research and industry needs. She is co-founder of the company “Charge2C-NewCap” that fabricates supercapacitors. She is Editor of Applied Surface Science and member of the Advisory Board of various institutions. She is the President of the Scientific Council of IST-ID