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Dr. Simon Guerrero Cruz

Position
Associate Professor
Unit
Environmental Engineering and Management
Faculty of Infrastructure
Contact Info
66-2-524 5644
[email protected]
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PROFILE
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
RESEARCH INTERESTS
TEACHING
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
ON GOING AND COMPLETED PROJECTS
AWARDS AND HONORS
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
RESEARCH KEYWORDS

Dr. Simon is an environmental scientist & Microbiologist, with 10 years of experience specializing in the microbiology of greenhouse gases (GHGs) for Climate Change mitigation and management adaptation in human-mismanaged ecosystems.

His main interests are, but not limited to:

  • The microbial eco-physiology of GHG emissions, in particular from the Carbon and Nitrogen cycles in wastewater treatment and in water-intensive rice agriculture.
  • He strives to spread awareness on microbial drivers GHG mitigation and the adaptation in management and restoration of geochemical cycles, accounting for microbial drivers which ultimately rule GHG emissions and are the key to Climate Change mitigation.
  • The development of international networks and strategies oriented to exploit the benefits of Microbiology for Climate Change Mitigation.

 

During his career, Dr. Simon has collectively secured € 2.34 million through various international funding schemes encompassing:

  • Internationally competitive postgraduate scholarships, from diverse Mexican ministries and councils.
  • Globally prestigious individual postdoctoral fellowships from the HORIZON Marie Curie actions.
  • Globally intercontinental funding schemes in consortia such as EU – SE Asia Joint Funding Scheme, and the European Commission HORIZON Marie Curie Staff Exchange.

Multi country and multidisciplinary collaborations are the vehicle of his international impact, as he currently collaborates with scientists from diverse disciplines from 9 countries in 3 continents on aspects related to GHG mitigation, Climate Change adaptation in Agriculture through microbiology, microbial resource recovery, geochemical cycles primarily in wastewater and flooded paddy fields.

  1. PhD. in Environmental Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands (2018).
  2. MEng. in Environmental Technology and Engineering (IMETE), an Erasmus Mundus Master program between: Universiteit Gent, Belgium & Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze, Prague, Czech Republic, (2013).
  3. MSc. Environmental Sciences, UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands (2013).
  4. BSc. Biology, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology, Universidad de Guadalajara, México (2010).
  5. VET Pharmaceutical Chemistry and & Technology, Centro Enseñanza Técnica Industrial (CETI), México (2004).

Mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in anthropogenic ecosystems such as:

  • rice agriculture.
  • wastewater treatment.
  • urban & agricultural canals and ponds.

Microbiology of GHG emissions and mitigation for the development of microbial-inspired technologies to enable:

  • Climate-smart and GHG-mitigating agricultural biotechnologies.
  • Microbial biotechnologies for resource recovery, enabling circular economy societies.

Microbial diversity and function in crucial world challenges to ensure planetary health, focus on:

  • Microbiology and the relationship with microplastics in Mangroves.
  • Microbial degradation of emerging pollutants, e.g., microplastics.
  • Climate Change induced by microbial response to human management in anthropogenic ecosystems.

Bridging the science of microbiology of GHG to environmental management and policy through:

  • Constant engagement with NGOs in North America.

Creating research networks with private initiatives.

ED78.01: Environmental Chemistry and Laboratory (Mandatory Required general course)

ED78.19: Environmental Impact Assessment (Required elective for Environmental Technology and Management specialization)

ED78.9038: Fundamentals of Microbiology in Environmental Engineering (recommended prerequisite for the next subjects):

ED78.9039: Applied Microbiology and Laboratory (Elective)

ED78.9035: Microbiology of anthropogenic ecosystems and management (Elective)

ED78.9036: Microbiology of Climate Change Mitigation and Resource Recovery (Elective)

  1. Guerrero Cruz, S. (2018). “Ecophysiology of nitrate & nitrite-dependent methane oxidation”, ISBN: 978-94-028-1256-5. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2066/197540
  2. Guerrero-Cruz, S., Xue, W., Noophan, P., 2023. Chapter 4 – Wastewater granules: material–microbe formation and arrangement lead to blurry metabolic boundaries and greenhouse gas emissions, in: Aryal, N., Zhang, Y., Patil, S.A., Pant, D. Material-Microbes Interactions: Environmental Biotechnological Perspective (Eds.), Developments in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. Academic Press, 83–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95124-1.00004-8.
  3. Vaksmaa, A., Guerrero-Cruz, S., Ghosh, P., Zeghal, E., Hernando-Morales, V., Niemann, H. (2023). Role of fungi in bioremediation of emerging pollutants. Front. Mar. Sci, 10:1070905. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1070905
  4. Kaewyai, J., Noophan, P. (Lek), Cruz, S.G., Okabe, S. (2023). Influence of biochar derived from sugarcane bagasse at different carbonization temperatures on anammox granular formation. Int. Biodeterior. Biodegradation, 185: 105678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2023.105678
  5. Guerrero Cruz, S., Pijuan, M., 2022. Chapter 10 – Methanotrophic bacterial biorefineries: resource recovery and GHG mitigation through the production of bacterial biopolymers, in: An, A., Tyagi, V., Kumar, M., Cetecioglu, Z.B.T.-C.E. and R.R. (Eds.). Elsevier, pp. 155–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90178-9.00003-2
  6. Guerrero-Cruz, S., Vaksmaa, A., Horn, M.A., Niemann, H., Pijuan, M., Ho, A. (2021). Methanotrophs: Discoveries, Environmental Relevance, and a Perspective on Current and Future Applications. Front. Microbiol., 12: 678057.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.678057

  1. de Jong, A.E.E., Guerrero-Cruz, S., van Diggelen, J.M.H, Vaksmaa, A., Lamers, L.P.M., Jetten, M.S.M., Smolders, A.J.P., & Rasigraf O. (2020). Changes in microbial community composition, activity, and greenhouse gas production upon rewetting of drained iron-rich peat soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 149: 107862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107862
  2. Guerrero-Cruz, S., Stultiens, K., van Kessel, M.A.H.J., Versantvoort, W., Jetten, M.S.M., den Camp, H.J.M.O., Kartal, B. (2019). Key physiology of a nitrite-dependent methane-oxidizing enrichment culture. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 85: e00124-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00124-19.
  3. Stultiens, K., Cruz, S.G., van Kessel, M.A.H.J., Jetten, M.S.M., Kartal, B., Op den Camp, H.J.M. (2019). Interactions between anaerobic ammonium- and methane-oxidizing microorganisms in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 103, 6783–6795.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-019-09976-9

  1. Guerrero-Cruz, S., Cremers, G., van Alen, T.A., Op den Camp, H.J.M., Jetten, M.S.M., Rasigraf, O., Vaksmaa, A. (2018). Response of the anaerobic methanotroph “Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens” to oxygen stress. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 84(24): e01832-18. 10.1128/AEM.01832-18.

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.01832-18

  1. Versantvoort, W*., Guerrero-Cruz, S*., Speth, D.R., Frank, J., Gambelli, L., Cremers, G., van Alen, T., Jetten, M.S.M., Kartal, B., Op den Camp, H.J.M., Reimann, J. (2018). Comparative genomics of Candidatus Methylomirabilis species and description of Ca. Methylomirabilis lanthanidiphila. Front. Microbiol., 9: 1672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01672
  2. Gambelli, L., Guerrero-Cruz, S., Mesman, R.J., Cremers, G., Jetten, M.S.M., Op den Camp, H.J.M., Kartal, B., Lueke, C., van Niftrik, L. (2018). Community composition and ultrastructure of a nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidizing enrichment culture. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 84(3): 567-570. 10.1128/AEM.02186-17

https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02186-17.

  1. van Kessel, M.A., Stultiens, K., Slegers, M.F., Guerrero Cruz, S., Jetten, M.S., Kartal, B., Op den Camp, H.J. (2018). Current perspectives on the application of N-damo and anammox in wastewater treatment. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 50: 222-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2018.01.031
  2. Vaksmaa, A., Guerrero-Cruz, S., van Alen, T.A., Cremers, G., Ettwig, K.F., Lüke, C., Jetten, M.S.M. (2017). Enrichment of anaerobic nitrate-dependent methanotrophic ‘Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens’ archaea from an Italian paddy field soil. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 101(18), 7075-7084. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-017-8416-0

Speth, D.R., In’T Zandt, M.H., Guerrero-Cruz, S., Dutilh, B.E., Jetten, M.S.M. (2016). Genome-based microbial ecology of anammox granules in a full-scale wastewater treatment system. Nat. Commun., 7: 11172. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11172

  1. MicroSOS: Plants Crying for Help.

Funding: European Commission under the HORIZON Marie Curie Staff Exchange actions.

Duration: January 2024 to December 2027.

Role: Dr. Simon is the AIT representative as Associated Partner in a successful consortium with 5 European partners worth 1.6 million euros with a grant allocated to AIT of up to 257 thousand euros with a maximum of 56 month for staff academic exchanges to Europe.

  1. MicroGR2ICE: Microbial GHG reduction in RICE.

Funding: European Commission and the Southeast Asia Joint Funding Scheme (JFS).

Duration: April 2023 to March 2026.

Role: leader of a consortium partners in The Netherlands and Germany. 2021. With a total allocated grant worth 360 thousand euros.

Awards and Grant honors:

  1. Awarded with a HORIZON2020 Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship: Career Restart in 2020, for the top 2% of Postdoctoral researchers in Europe. Fellowship value 259,000 euros for the destination country: Spain, Catalan Institute of Water Research.
  2. Awarded the “Seal of Excellence” by the European Commission HORIZON2020 program Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (2018) for my Postdoctoral outstanding proposal “MICROWATER”, placing in the top 5% of young researchers in a globally competitive scheme from approximately 10 thousand applications worldwide.
  3. Awarded an international scholarship for Doctoral Education Programme worth 48 thousand euros by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT). An award given to the top 1% of undergraduate students in Mexico from approximately 20 thousand applications to all fields and all destinations. 2017 with destination country: The Netherlands.
  4. Awarded with a supplementary scholarship by the Ministry of Education, Mexico, for postgraduate education support in 2012.
  5. Awarded an international scholarship for International postgraduate education worth 40 thousand euros by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT). An award given to the top 1% of undergraduate students in Mexico from approximately 20 thousand applications to all fields and all destinations. 2011 with the destination countries: The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Belgium.

 

Honors as an International Scientist:

  1. Invited Expert to the International Expert Panel for Research funding scheme from the Slovak Research and Development Agency (SRDA). Field: Agriculture, Q3-Q4 2024, Slovakia.
  2. Invited Expert Reviewer for the First Order Draft (FOD) of the Global Nitrous Oxide Assessment report. Invited by: The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Secretariat & United Nations Environment Programme. July 2024, UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME.
  3. Invited juror for the European Commission HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-02 program RES4CITY, serving as an evaluator for project incubation grants in the framework of the “RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON initiative” for technological solutions to transform cities into circular economy networks. July 2024. European Commission.
  4. Invited reviewer for the “Initiation grants on Atmospheric Methane Removal” by the NGO Spark Climate Solutions. April 2024, United States of America.
  5. Invited panelist in a closed session on Methane Mitigation in the framework of the International Rice Congress 2023. Host: The Global Methane Hub, October 28th 2023, Pasig City, The Philippines.
  6. Invited Scientist to a closed per-invitation global convening on “Atmospheric Methane Destruction”. Hosted by the NGO Spark Climate Solutions and Stanford University, April 10-14th, San Francisco, United States of America.
  7. Invited delegate on the AIT Hub Vietnam project for academic expansion. Host: Van Lang University, June 31st 2022, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

 

Honors as a speaker:

  1. Invited Key-note speaker at “the 4th International Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture for Sub-Tropical Regions (ISSASR-4) held between June 21st to June 25th 2024 in Changsha, China.
  2. Invited speaker on “Micro-solutions for Macro-challenges: the role of microbiology in GHG mitigation”, by the University of The Philippines campus Diliman, Institute of Environmental Sciences and Meteorology. October 20th 2023, Quezon City, The Philippines.
  3. Invited panelist in a closed session on Short Lived Climate Pollutants, at UNITED NATIONS ESCAP within the framework of the Clean Air and Climate Conference 2023. Host: Clean Air Task Force (CATF), June 1st 2013, Bangkok, Thailand.

Invited panelist in by-invitation closed session on Greening Education in Asia at UNITED NATIONS ESCAP. Host: UN ESCAP, May 17th 2023, Bangkok Thailand.

  1. “Atmospheric Methane Destruction Network, lead by Spark Climate Solutions.”
  2. “The Methane Emissions Technology Alliance (META)”.

Climate Change Mitigation, Greenhouse Gases, GHG, Greenhouse Gas Mitigation, Rice Agriculture, Wastewater Treatment, Wetlands, Microbiology, Resource recovery, Methane Microbiology, Methane Mitigation, Methanotrophy.