Pablo García-Triñanes: from Akademia to the forefront of innovation in particle engineering

At the Bankinter Innovation Foundation we are proud to follow the journey of those who have gone through the Akademia programme and today are driving change from key disciplines for the future. Pablo García-Triñanes is one of them. A researcher and expert in particle engineering and supercritical fluids, his work connects fundamental science with real applications in sectors such as energy, health or the environment. She currently collaborates with international scientific networks and leads projects with a high technological impact. In this interview, he shares his career, the lessons that marked his path and how he continues to apply today the critical and innovative look he acquired at Akademia.

From fundamental science to real application

Pablo García-Triñanes has dedicated his career to research in supercritical fluids and particle technologies, a highly specialized field that connects the most fundamental science with applied innovation.

“From the beginning, I was attracted to the combination of fundamental science and practical application that particle technology offers,” he explains. This field, considered a frontier in chemical engineering, allows both to understand basic phenomena of matter and to design industrial processes with a real impact on strategic sectors such as energy, food, the environment or health.

What hooked him on this field was that versatility and potential for innovation, added to the fact that in his doctoral years at the University of Santiago de Compostela it was a pioneering and underdeveloped area.

Science with a global vision

Pablo García-Triñanes’ participation in international scientific committees and advisory boards of leading congresses has allowed him to develop a broad view of the challenges of his discipline.

“This always provides a global vision of the challenges and trends in the sector,” he says. Professionally, this international dimension offers you the opportunity to learn from diverse experiences, anticipate where research is progressing, and strengthen strategic collaborations. In addition, it allows you to connect with both young researchers and consolidated profiles with a long career, generating a valuable exchange between generations.

Personally, Pablo highlights the value of sharing and contrasting ideas with colleagues from all over the world. An experience that not only enriches, but also contributes to building an authentic feeling of international scientific community.

Projects with greater transformative potential

The versatility of particle engineering and supercritical fluid technology opens the door to breakthroughs with a decisive impact in strategic sectors such as energy, the environment or health.

“I see great transformative potential in projects that combine particle technology and supercritical fluids to create advanced and sustainable materials, such as cellular materials, catalysts or pharmaceutical compounds,” explains Pablo García-Triñanes.

In energy, his research is focused on particles that improve storage and conversion efficiency. In the environment, they are exploring supercritical processes for the recovery of waste and by-products. And in the field of health, they are working on the development of new core-shell systems for the controlled release of drugs (editor’s note: in pharmacy, the term core-shell refers to particle structures or devices where a core contains the active ingredient and a cover surrounds it to control its release, improve stability or protect it).

“They are different areas, but with a common denominator: to provide cleaner, more efficient solutions with high added value,” Pablo summarises.

Mentoring and the scientific community: giving back

For Pablo García-Triñanes, mentoring and community building have a value as essential as research itself. “Science advances when it is shared, and accompanying young researchers or professionals gives them confidence and guidance in a sometimes complex environment,” he says.

He has had the opportunity to mentor institutions such as IChemE and SCI, with the satisfaction of helping young people take decisive steps in their careers. “Deep down, it’s also a way to give back what I myself received about 15 years ago, when other mentors paved the way for me,” he recalls.

Pablo stresses that keeping these networks alive means creating spaces for collaboration, exchange and mutual support, where different generations combine experience and energy to strengthen and open up the scientific community. Its objective is to extend this commitment also to ANQUE and Akademia, thus consolidating a more inclusive and powerful ecosystem for innovation.

Akademia: A Look Beyond the Technical

Pablo García-Triñanes’ experience at Akademia marked a before and after in his way of understanding innovation. “It allowed me to open my eyes beyond my technical area and understand how disruptive trends transform society and business models,” he recalls.

From the program he learned that he still applies today: thinking in terms of applied innovation, questioning dogmas and anticipating changes. A mentality that he has integrated both in his research work and in collaboration with companies.

But perhaps most valuable was the conviction that, in a world in constant transformation, curiosity and open-mindedness are as important as technical knowledge to adapt and provide real value.

Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing: A Leap for Particle Engineering

For Pablo García-Triñanes, the impact of artificial intelligence and quantum computing in his field will be decisive. “Artificial intelligence is already transforming particle engineering,” he says.

Digital twins make it possible to replicate complex physical processes in real time, from granulometry to cohesion, humidity or flow problems. Added to this are generative models and surrogates (editor’s note: a surrogate model – also called a surrogate model or metamodel – is a mathematical or AI model that mimics the behavior of a complex or expensive model to execute, but much faster), which speed up simulation, and reinforcement learning, that opens the door to more precise predictive control. It also highlights the role of federated learning and LLMs, which democratize access to advanced simulations and complex decision-making, even in resource-limited industrial environments.

Quantum computing, on the other hand, can be the catalyst that takes these simulations to another level, solving problems of optimization and particle dynamics that are currently intractable with classical computing.

Together, both technologies will not only accelerate research, but will also make it possible to bring their results to the industrial environment sooner and better, multiplying the impact.

Water and sustainability: technology as a strategic priority

Water is, for Pablo García-Triñanes, one of the great global challenges. “Technology plays a decisive role in dealing with it,” he says.

His research has encompassed both desalination and reuse processes and the use of particle technologies to design more efficient materials and systems. These advances allow for improved filtration, absorption and water quality, as well as an understanding of the processes that affect membrane efficiency. “The connection is clear: optimising membranes, adsorbents or separation processes is key in water management”, he summarises.

Pablo gives the example of regions such as Cádiz, where the availability of water conditions social and industrial development. In this context, sustainable desalination is not only a technical challenge, but a strategic priority. From research, he stresses, it is possible to contribute with solutions that make these processes more energy-efficient, economical and environmentally friendly.

Scientific innovation: top-level talent, structures to improve

With an extensive international career, Pablo García-Triñanes is clear that the difference in innovation is not in people, but in the environment that surrounds them. “In Spain there is top-level scientific talent, but the difference with respect to other countries is not in the people, but in the structure that sustains innovation,” he points out.

In other, more dynamic ecosystems, researchers enjoy greater independence and access to flexible funding, making it easier for ideas to move from lab to market quickly and collaboration with industry to flow naturally.

On the other hand, in Spain, administrative rigidity and difficulties in accessing public and private funds limit this agility. This delays the transfer of knowledge and opens a gap between scientific excellence and its real impact.

The potential is there, Pablo stresses: “We have the talent to lead in innovation, but we need to trust research teams more, simplify processes without fear of disruption and open ourselves to more flexible models that allow us to better transform science into value for society.”

Advice for young researchers: perseverance and an international outlook

When it comes to guiding the new generations, Pablo García-Triñanes is clear: international experience makes the difference. “I would tell them to look for one or more international experiences. That will give them other points of reference and the confidence that their talent is at the level of any scientific environment, avoiding the imposter complex that you often have,” he recommends.

It also underlines the importance of patience and perseverance in the research career. To illustrate this, he uses a very graphic metaphor: “a steam locomotive”. At the beginning it is difficult to start and the march seems slow, but with constancy and direction the machine picks up speed, advances strongly and ends up generating a great impact.

Akademia: an experience that inspires and transforms

For Pablo García-Triñanes, the Akademia program offers students something unique and difficult to find in the traditional academic experience. “I would recommend Akademia because it offers interaction with talented young people with diverse points of view, which opens the mind and enriches any project,” he explains.

The program also offers the possibility of discovering alternative professional paths, exploring one’s own business paths and understanding that there are many ways to build a career beyond the usual itineraries.

“It is such a different teaching experience that, even from the role of teacher, it is difficult to describe it: it surprises, inspires and marks a before and after,” says Pablo.

Thank you very much, Pablo! And many successes!

If you want to know the testimonies of other Akademia alumni, you can see them here.

And if you want to know more about the Akademia program, we invite you to visit the Foundation’s website.