Sergi Garcia-Segura

For Sergi Garcia-Segura, Arizona State University is a community of opportunity.

“As a first-generation graduate in my entire extended family, I believe in the inclusive culture of ASU,” Garcia-Segura says. “I want to be part of the positive impact of ASU not only in terms of scientific and technological advances, but also how the university catalyzes change toward social and cultural equality.”

Garcia-Segura brought expertise in chemistry and materials science and engineering to ASU as an assistant research professor in 2016. Since then, he has been a researcher at the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment, known as NEWT.

This fall, Garcia-Segura starts a new position at ASU as an assistant professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering. 

“I’m devoted to solving environmental challenges in the water-energy nexus,” he says. “This is probably a perfect mix for an environmental engineer who should be an expert in many things to preserve nature and our natural resources.”

Garcia-Segura first became interested in engineering as a way to find answers to different questions he’d find himself asking. In environmental engineering, he says, “there are always new challenges and barriers to overcome.”

As a researcher, Garcia-Segura is tackling the challenges of advancing the novel electrode manufacturing process. He and his collaborators are working to reduce the capital cost of electrochemical water treatment devices by more than 100-fold. He also works to identify sustainable electrocatalyst materials as alternatives to platinoid metals. 

Garcia-Segura has collaborated with research groups on seven continents for nearly 90 published research journal articles about electrochemistry and related fields.

His work has earned numerous international and national awards that recognize his scientific achievements. Most recently, Garcia-Segura earned the 2020 International Society of Electrochemistry Elsevier Prize for Applied Electrochemistry and the 2018 “Jovenes Investigadores” or “Young Investigators” award from the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry’s Electrochemistry Group. He also earned the 2015 Green Talents award and the 2014 ISE Prize for Environmental Electrochemistry.

This fall, Garcia-Segura will be teaching environmental engineering undergraduate and graduate students about core concepts of physio-chemical water treatment processes and emerging technologies in a “fun and enriching experience.” 

When he’s not indulging his interest in solving problems with engineering, the Barcelona native enjoys traveling and hiking. He’s also an avid reader and cinephile.