Maria Giorgia Cutrufello graduated in Chemistry in 1996 at the University of Cagliari where she afterwards joined the research group in Industrial Chemistry first with a two-year Research Contract and then as a PhD fellow. After getting her PhD in Chemical Sciences in February 2003, she had a Research Contract (Assegno di Ricerca) at the University of Cagliari from March 2003 to March 2006, also spending one year (May 2003-May 2004) as a post-doc fellow at the Tulane University in New Orleans (LA, USA), with a grant from the Italian CNR. She got the assistant professor position in the field of Industrial Chemistry (SSD CHIM/04) in April 2006. She has carried out her didactic and scientific activity at the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences (University of Cagliari), teaching Industrial Chemistry, Inorganic Industrial Processes, and Sustainable Industrial Processes.

Her research activity is focused on the synthesis (by standard or innovative procedures) and thorough characterization of solid materials (such as zeolites, oxides, supported metals, mesostructured materials) and on their application as sorbents or catalysts in processes of industrial interest. Besides the development of sorbents for H₂S removal or CO₂ capture from gaseous streams, the present research topics deal with the study of catalytic processes for the production of fine chemicals and fuels from renewable materials and the chemical recycling of CO₂. Great interest is devoted to the correlation between the properties of catalysts or sorbents, determined by various characterization techniques, and their performance.

Her research activity, often developed in collaboration with other Italian or foreign research groups, is documented by 39 papers published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and about 60 contributions at national and international congresses.