F. Xavier Rius

Professor F. Xavier Rius, born 20 September 1955, is Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. He is head of the research team in Chemometrics, Qualimetrics and Nanosensors (http://www.quimica.urv.cat/quimio/). Professor Rius graduated from the University of Barcelona with a degree in Chemistry, and later gained a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the same University in 1982. After a postdoctoral year at the Biophysics Department of the University of Leeds, he joined the academic staff at the Faculty of Chemistry in Tarragona as a lecturer. In 1989 he spent a postdoctoral year at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1991. From Dic. 1988 till Jan. 1995 served as a Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry at the URV. From Apr. 1997 till 2002 served as vice-rector of Research and from May 2002 till May 2006 as the director of the Doctoral School at the same University. Professor Rius has been awarded the Narcís Monturiol prize from the Generalitat of Catalonia. Professor Rius contributed to the progress of the research areas in Chemometrics and Qualimetrics in Tarragona. More recently he has devoted his efforts to the development of chemical sensors based on the nanostructured materials. Specifically, he uses carbon nanotubes to build sensors to determine ions, molecules and microorganisms in real samples. The development of chemical sensors imbedded into textile fabrics (‘smart textiles’) is one of latest developments. He is cofounder of the company NT Sensors S.L., a spin-off from the URV. He is at present the academic coordinator of the master programme in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.