PhD in Industrial Chemistry
Current position: Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, Canada
Research focus: Process Intensification
Daria’s research focuses on the intensification of traditional and new processes, as well as on techno-economic factors to accelerate their commercialization. Besides research, Daria is active in the field of scientific communication. She has co-authored a book on how to write scientific papers and prepare presentations and posters to provide guidance for professors, students, and other researchers in the STEM fields (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics).
2021 Canada research Chair in Engineering Process Intensification and Catalysis
2019 Emerging Leader in Chemical Engineering (Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, CSChE)
2016 Canada Research Chair in Intensified Mechano-Chemical Processes for Sustainable Biomass Conversion
2014 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canada
2013 PBEEE (Programme de Bourses d’Excellence pour Étudiants Étrangers) Excellence Fellowship Programme for Foreign Students by the government of Québec, Canada
CV as submitted for the Green Talents award (2012):
University of Milan, Italy
Research focus: heterogeneous catalysis, production of biodiesel from non-food biomass materials
A PhD student in Industrial Chemistry, Daria Camilla Boffito can already look back on numerous awards, publications and international recognition for her important contributions to the field of heterogeneous catalysis and improved efficiency of the biodiesel manufacturing process.
Daria Camilla Boffito’s mission is to increase the efficiency – and sustainability – of the biofuels production process. A leader among Italy's young scientists, Boffito’s notable scientific achievements so far are driven by her broader perspective on the agricultural, energy harvesting and industrial manufacturing processes. This begins with her commitment to non-food biomass resources and desire to achieve maximum agricultural benefit from the crop selection, planting and harvesting phase.
“In my work I have always tried to use non-food cultures with low water requirements and green manure effects, and explored the possibility of adopting them for crop-rotation with food cultures,” explains Boffito. “In this way the land is not just used for energy harvesting purposes, but beneficial properties are also conferred to the ground.”
Boffito’s already impressive record of publications and international presentations is based largely on her award-winning work developing efficient catalytic systems to improve process efficiency. These catalysts are designed to respond to different kinds of feedstocks and promote reactivity in environmentally friendly solvents, so as to avoid the use of toxic materials. She has also performed groundbreaking work with sonochemical techniques to enhance reactions efficiency.
The jury emphasized the importance of biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels and Boffito’s focus on non-food biomass materials, which is key to the sustainability of biofuels in the future.
