Since December 1996, Ana Paula Soares Dias has been an Assistant Professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico's (IST) Chemical Engineering Department. In 1991 and 1996, she received her Master's and Ph.D. In Catalytic Process Engineering from IST. When she finished her degree in Chemical Engineering in 1987, she began working at IST as a trainee Assistant. She began working as an Assistant in 1991, after obtaining her master's degree. Her research on heterogeneous catalysis in selective oxidation processes in the industry has lately evolved into technologies for the generation of renewable fuels like biodiesel and pyrolysis bio-oil. The application of pyrolysis char as catalyst in green chemistry processes, and as adsorbents, in environmental remediation procedures was recently investigated by the researcher. The recovery of waste materials is the subject of all ongoing research (biomass, plastics, tire rubber, and inorganic).