Mtra. Margarita Chávez Martínez holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Facultad de Química at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, C. U., class of 1980–1984) and a Master’s degree in Inorganic Chemistry and Ceramics earned in 1994. She completed a research fellowship at the University of Sheffield (England, United Kingdom) from February 21 to September 7, 2000, as part of the ALFA program (Exchange Program Between Europe and Latin America).

Her career at the Azcapotzalco Campus of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana began in 1985 as a teaching assistant “B”. Since 1989, she has served as a Full-Time Tenured “C” Faculty Researcher in the Chemistry Area of the Department of Basic Sciences, which is part of the Division of Basic Sciences and Engineering (CBI). In the industrial sector, she worked from 1979 to 1984 at companies such as Cementos Tolteca S.A., Pinturas Optimus S.A., Galvaquimia S.A., Kimberly Clark de México S.A. de C.V., and Colgate Palmolive S.A. de C.V.

Her research focuses on the synthesis, study, and characterization of traditional and advanced ceramic materials. In the area of traditional ceramics, her work encompasses the analysis of clays, kaolins, metallic and non-metallic minerals, igneous, volcanic, and basaltic rocks, as well as domestic and foreign sea and beach sands, in addition to the synthesis of high-temperature ceramic pigments and ceramic glazes. In the field of advanced ceramics (new ceramics), her research focuses on complex oxides with rock-salt-type structures and derived structures, primarily lithium ferrite (LiFeO2) structures containing three cations simultaneously in different oxidation states, in both ordered and disordered structural configurations, as well as superstructures.

She has 12 articles published in Type A peer-reviewed journals—such as the Journal of the United Kingdom Ceramic Society, Zeitschrift für Kristallographie (Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich), Revista Mexicana de Física, and the ICDD (International Centre for Diffraction Data, formerly JCPDS) database—, 30 additional peer-reviewed articles, more than 55 articles in national and international conference proceedings, more than 95 papers presented at scientific forums, and 12 invited lectures.

In the areas of institutional management and academic representation, she served as Coordinator of Chemistry Laboratories (1989–1996), Head of the Chemistry Area (1996–2000), Academic Representative for Basic Sciences on the CBI Divisional Council (1993–1994 and 2018–2019), Member of the Evaluation Committee for the Basic Sciences Division (1997–2000), Coordinator of Chemistry Teaching-Learning Units (UEA) within the CBI General Core Curriculum (2009–2010), and UAM Representative to the Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (1996–2003) for the review and drafting of annexes to Official Mexican Standards (NOM).

Subsequently, she served as an Advisor to the Commission responsible for analyzing reports and proposals for research projects at CBI (2019–2022) and as a Member of the UAM Appeals Committee (2021–2024). She currently serves as the representative of the academic staff in Basic Sciences on the Academic Council of UAM Azcapotzalco for the May 2025–April 2027 term. In publishing, she served on the Editorial Board of the journal Tendencias en Docencia e Investigación en Química from 2015 to 2026, serving as its Coordinator from February 2021 to January 2026.

Among her involvement in academic and professional associations, the following stand out: the Sociedad Química de México from 1986 to 2024; the Sociedad Mexicana de Cristalografía from 2005 to 2018; and the Sociedad Mexicana de Física from 2007 to 2013. She was also a member of the Sociedad Mexicana de Materiales from 1998 to 2019. Furthermore, she served on the organizing committee for the annual event of the Chemistry Area—now the International Congress on Chemistry Teaching and Research—from 1987 to 2026, and participated as a member of the Thematic Groups in Basic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry.

Her career has been recognized with the first prize for written work in 1992 for the book Química Inorgánica II (Editorial Eón-UAM Unidad Azcapotzalco) and the PUMA (Programa Universitario del Medio Ambiente) Award in 1997 for the experimental study Tratamiento de residuos que contienen cromo.