Dr Jorge Rodríguez is Associate Professor at Khalifa University in the UAE. He holds a PhD (2006) and a MEng in Chemical Engineering (2001) from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. He currently serves as editor for the journals Water Research and for Chemical Engineering Science. His research interests focus on the modelling and experimental development of microbial bioprocesses for wastewater treatment, anaerobic digestion, microbial fermentations and bioelectrochemical technologies. Jorge is also strongly interested on theoretical microbial ecology and metabolic bioenergetic modelling towards engineering of functional microbial communities. More recently amid the global pandemic, he extended his research activities into the health sector specifically on the epidemiology modelling of infectious diseases for which he advices the public health authorities in the UAE. He is also President of the Association of Spanish Scientists in the United Arab Emirates and a Fellow of the International Water Association (IWA), serving currently as elected chair of its Anaerobic Digestion Specialist Group.