LSRE-LCM can be traced back to 1975/1977 when two Research Lines
- Processos de Separação e Reacção em Meios Porosos e Dispersos, led by Alírio Rodrigues
- Heterogeneous Catalysis, led by José Luís Figueiredo were started at CEQ, Centro de Engenharia Química, Universidade do Porto, financed by INIC – Instituto Nacional de Investigação Científica. Ciência 1990, the financing programme launched by
JNICT, Junta Nacional de Investigação Ciêntifica, steered to a first organisation as independent research groups.
- Laboratório de Processos de Separação e Reacção em Meios Porosos e Dispersos
- Grupo de Materiais Carbonados e Compósitos of IMAT – Instituto de Materiais
The establishment of LSRE and LCM as R&D Units resulted from the process of organization of Portuguese academic and institutional research in 1993, promoted by Mariano Gago, the then Minister of Science and Technology. LSRE – Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering
Director: Alírio Rodrigues. Members: Carlos Costa, José Carlos Lopes, José Miguel Loureiro, Madalena Dias, Mário Rui Costa e Rui Boaventura. LCM – Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials
Director: José Luís Figueiredo. Members: Joaquim Faria, José Inácio Martins, José Melo Orfão and Manuel Jerónimo. In the FCT Evaluations of 1993-1995, 1996-1998 and 1999-2001, LSRE and LCM obtained classifications of Excellent and Very Good, respectively. In 1999, LSRE first applied to FCT for the status of Associate Laboratory. In 2002 a partnership between LSRE and LCM was established, to which the status of Associate Laboratory was
awarded in 2004. In 2011, this status was renewed for a period of 10 years. In the 2013 FCT Evaluation, the designation of LSRE-LCM was formally adopted and this R&D Unit was evaluated as Excellent. In the words of the Evaluation Panel, LSRE-LCM is “…by far the dominating research institution for Chemical Engineering in Northern Portugal.”
