María Val Martín Joins IIAMA-UPV to Lead Climate Research

The internationally renowned scientist returns to Valencia through the ValER program to advance the study of climate and atmospheric pollution.

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Generic image of a scientific laboratory with advanced equipment and screens displaying data.

Internationally recognized researcher María Val Martín has joined the IIAMA-UPV, where she will lead a new group focused on studying atmospheric and climate impacts.

The scientist, an agronomic engineer from UPV, returns to the Valencian Community after more than twenty years of experience in the United States and the United Kingdom. Her return is part of the first ValER recruitment call, an initiative by the Generalitat Valenciana to attract international scientific talent.
From Valencia, María Val will lead the new “Atmosphere-Biosphere-Climate Impacts and Interactions (ABCi2)” group, which will analyze how land-use changes, environmental phenomena, forest fires, and droughts affect air quality and climate, particularly in Spain and the Mediterranean region. She will also evaluate the effects of strategies for carbon dioxide capture, such as reforestation.
Val Martín, who earned her PhD in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University in 2007, previously worked at Harvard University, NASA, and Colorado State University. Since 2017, she was an associate professor at the University of Sheffield (UK), where she led a research team.
Her publications have appeared in journals such as Science, Nature, and PNAS, and her research contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The researcher highlighted the importance of the ValER program for her to return to her home region and contribute to research development in the Valencian Community, establishing national and international collaborations.
Based on information from the official source: IIAMA — Institut d'Enginyeria de l'Aigua i Medi Ambient (UPV) (19/10/2026)