Montserrat Zamorano Toro holds a Doctoral Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Granada, where she has been a Professor (Catedrática) at the Department of Civil Engineering since 1997. She lectures on the Bachelor's Degrees in Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, as well as the Master's Degrees in Civil Engineering and Advanced Material Technologies for Sustainable Construction. Her areas of expertise include waste management, circular economies, and sustainability.
She has obtained recognition for 4 sexenios (six-year research periods), consisting of 1 knowledge transfer period and 3 research periods, accredited by the National Commission for the Evaluation of Research Activity (CNEAI). She is the author of more than 100 publications in high-impact journals in her field, as well as several books and book chapters with prestigious national and international publishers. She has participated in and directed several competitive projects as a Principal Investigator, funded by the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (PEICTI) and the Regional Government of Andalusia, as well as numerous contracts for the transfer of research results with public administrations and companies.
Prof Zamorano Toro has carried out teaching mobility periods through Erasmus, Erasmus+ and other programmes at Mahidol University (Thailand), Samarkand State University (Uzbekistan), Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia, and Austral University (Chile). Her most notable research stays include those carried out at the University of Jordan, as part of the Erasmus Mundus DUNIA BEAM Project, and at the University of Bologna, funded by a "Salvador de Madariaga" Predoctoral Grant.
She has held several management positions, such as Coordinator of the Doctoral Programme in Infrastructure and its Relationship with the Environment (2001-2007), as well as Academic Secretary (2006-2010) and Director (2010-2013) of the Department of Civil Engineering. She was also Director of the School of Civil Engineering (2013-2021), the first woman to hold this post in Spain. Since 2016, she has been the Director of the Hidralia-UGR Chair in Digital, Innovative, Social and Sustainable Water Management, and in November 2022 she was appointed as Co-Director of the "La Huella Verde" Chair on Sustainability and Urban Transformation in Granada City and Province. Beyond the university sphere, she has also been a member of the Governing Board of the Professional Association of Civil Engineers, acting as Chair of its Teaching and Research Committee (2016-2020). In addition, she is a founding member of PROMA, Proyectos de Ingeniería Ambiental, S.L., an environmental consultancy spin-off created in 2016.
In February 2020, in recognition of her professional career, she received the Regional Government of Andalusia's Award for Environmental Merit.
