Rachid Hakkou is a full professor at Cadi Ayyad University (UCA, Morocco) and an affiliated professor at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). He holds a master’s degree in Applied Chemistry from Poitiers University (France) and a DESS in Mineral Processing from the Nancy School of Geology (ENSG, France). In 1993, he received a Ph.D. in Geosciences and Raw Materials from the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine (France). In 2001, he obtained his PhD in Waste Management and Treatment from the Faculty of Science and Technology, UCA. In 2016, he received the Hassan II Award for the Environment, and in 2020, he won the David Hopper Prize for Leadership in Research for Development (IDRC, Canada). His research focuses on finding sustainable solutions for the management and valorization of mining waste as construction materials, as well as methods of mining site restoration.