Anxo Méndez Villar has a degree in Biology from the University of Vigo since 2017 and a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) since 2019. In 2020 he started his PhD studies, carrying out an industrial PhD project in collaboration with Ferrovial Construcción S.A. thanks to the Industrial PhD Grant of the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN) in the 2021 call.
His research focuses on microbiology in stone materials and the application of smart and sustainable environmental technologies (mainly those related to ornamental lighting) aimed at managing and mitigating biodeterioration in the context of architectural heritage. In particular, his thesis is part of the CROMALUX project: Third SMARTIAGO Challenge ‘Intelligent Lighting System for Heritage Conservation’, an Innovative Public Procurement Project with European funds to develop an ornamental lighting system for heritage conservation. He also participates in a national project, a regional project and a local project in the city of Santiago de Compostela. He is currently the author of 5 articles in JCR and SJR refereed journals and 8 oral communications in international and national conferences.
The development of his research activity has been carried out in the Gemap group of the USC, along with two international stays framed within the development of his doctoral thesis: in the Laboratory of Environmental and Food Microbiology of the Institute of Molecular Biology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and in the Department of Science of the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles.
