Dr. Stanca Maria is a scientist at the Research and Development National Institute for Textiles and Leather (INCDTP), Division Leather and Footwear Research Institute (ICPI), Leather Research Department. Her main areas of interest and activities are focused on sustainable materials and techniques for leather processing, leather surface up-grading by using smart nanomaterials, hide crosslinking with new pretanning materials, and obtaining new materials with added value from leather industry by-products to be used in agriculture and medicine. She is the co-author of 24 ISI papers and two book chapters.