María del Pilar Villar Castro is Senior lecturer in Materials Science and Engineering since 2008. After studying crystallization mechanisms of chromium-doped sol-gel mullites and structurally characterizing sinters of these materials during her PhD, using neutron beam analysis techniques (neutron diffraction and low angle neutron scattering techniques), with beams of electrons (electron microscopy techniques: SEM, TEM, HREM) and X-rays,  she focused on aerospace composite materials, working on laser processing in 2002 and in 2008 she began to work on another carbon-based material: diamond. Now she is fully dedicated to the latter through the electron microscopy characterisation of homoepitaxial layers for power electronic devices, contributing with the application of electron microscopy techniques (TEM/STEM-HAADF-EELS). She was co-director of several National proposal as well as PhD dissertation direction. and with the co-direction of 3 completed doctoral thesis works and 2 in the development phase. This line has been consolidated thanks to obtaining 3 national projects (Power-Diam, HiVolt-nano and DiamMOS, forming part of the research team in the first and acting as IP2 in the last two) and participation in 1 European project (GreenDiamond ).

She occupied also several individual academic management positions (Department Secretary, Acting Director of the Department, Deputy Director of the Department, total uninterrupted period 2003-2013, currently Director of the Personnel Management Secretariat -Vice-rector for Academic Organization and Faculty-). She is co-author of 47 scientific publications, more than 110 contributions to both national and international conferences, and 2 patents.