Lorena Alcaraz has been a tenured scientist at the National Center for Metallurgical Research (CENIM-CSIC) since 2024. She obtained her Ph. D. in Chemistry from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in 2016. She has co-authored over 45 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. Some results were protected with four national patents (two internationally extended) and one trade secret. Dr. Alcaraz has actively participated in several International and National projects. In addition, she has collaborated on several R&D competitive agreements or projects and R&D non-competitive contracts with public or private entities related to the recovery of critical and strategic metals from secondary sources. Dr. Alcaraz focuses her research on developing innovative metallurgical techniques for the recovery of critical raw materials.