Dr. Carmen-Mihaela Popescu is a senior scientific researcher at Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, in Iasi, Romania. She is also an associate researcher at Edinburgh Napier University, UK and a JSPS fellow. Her scientific interests and experience include thermal and chemical modification of wood; degradation processes affecting historic wood; effect of different degradative factors (fungi, temperature, humidity and UV light) and degradation/ageing mechanisms involved in wood degradation; formulations with superhydrophobic and antibacterial properties for wood, protection of wood-based products and other organic substrates; cellulose nanocrystals and silica-based nano-composites; and Pickering emulsion polymerization. She also has experience in different analytical techniques: optical and electronic microscopy, near (NIR)- and mid (FT-IR)-infrared spectroscopy and chemometric techniques, two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS), X-ray diffraction, solid-state CP/MAS 13C-NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and dynamic water vapour sorption.