Prego, Ricardo

Since 2025, I am Honorary Associate Professor at the Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC). Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), specializing in Inorganic Chemistry, and later in Chemical Oceanography in the IIM-CSIC with a Ph. thesis on biogeochemical budgets in the Ria of Vigo. My research tackles the biogeochemical cycles and boundary exchanges (terrestrial, atmospheric, benthic, oceanic and anthropogenic) in the coastal system, in particular, estuaries, rias, fjords and subtropical lagoons. I am author/co-author of 292 publications (Researchgate), which 188 are SCI papers (Scopus), addressing nutrient salts and trace elements, including rare earth elements, for which I designed the construction of a cleanroom in 1998. As a recognition of my research, I am one of the scientists included in the Stanford Rankings since 2019. History enthusiast, I am co-author of the history of the “Instituto de Investigaciones Pesqueras (CSIC)” and member of the History of Science Group (GEHCi) of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry, where I am focussed in the rare earth elements. Also I am member of the Galician Mineralogical and Geological Group (GMXG). I frequently participate in the dissemination of information on chemical oceanography, Galician Rias, and rare earth elements in the media and scientific journals.