Mathematician Carles Simó and biologist Ben Lehner, 2012 National Research Award laureates

By Biocat

The Government of Catalonia has recognized professor Carles Simó, Applied Mathematics and Analysis Chair at the University of Barcelona (UB), with the 2012 National Research Award, the most important of the categories with a €40,000 cash prize. Simó is world-renowned for his contributions in the field of systems dynamics, differential equations, astrodynamics and numerical analysis. His teaching work is just as remarkable as his research: he has directed more than 25 PhD dissertations and has taught more than one hundred PhD students in mathematics, who now work in universities and companies around the world. Simó received the award last night from President Artur Mas and Minister Andreu Mas-Colell, and took advantage of the occasion to express his concerns about “young people and under-use of mathematics. They can work anywhere."

In the young-talent category, with a €10,000 cash prize, the award went to Dr. Ben Lehner, the ICREA researcher that heads up the Systems Biology Unit research group at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. This biologist is a good example of the international scientific talent that the BioRegion of Catalonia has attracted in recent years. Born in Oxford (United Kingdom) in 1978, Lehner moved to Barcelona in 2006 and has gone on to become a benchmark in complex systems biology. Previously he has received the EMBO Young Investigator award from the European Molecular Biology Organization and the Banc de Sabadell and City of Barcelona Biomedical Research award. "Science in Catalonia is strong but fragile. Now what we need is quality research, not quantity,” he said when accepting the award.

Winners in the other categories, which don’t come with a cash prize, are the newspaper La Vanguardia, for its work in fostering scientific communication; businessman Pere Balsells who has lived in the United States for years now, for his patronage of science; and the collaboration among Henkel, the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), for their public/private partnership.

Catalonia is ranked third in the EU for research grants per million inhabitants, only behind Sweden and the Netherlands. Artur Mas told top representatives of Catalan research bodies that "20 years later we can now say that research in Catalonia has been a success. We will remain committed to this project because it can put us on the cutting edge. We have to keep fanning the flame." President of the Catalan Foundation for Research Innovation (FCRI) Antoni Esteve said that “we have to continue fighting to make this an attractive country with opportunities for young people."

News on the 2011 edition (8 February 2012)