2024 RSEF-BBVA Physics Awards

Since 2008, the Royal Spanish Physics Society-BBVA Foundation Physics Awards have annually recognized creativity, effort and achievement in the field of physics, with the aim of serving as an incentive for professionals who carry out their work in research, secondary and university education, innovation, technology and dissemination.

The jury has recently announced the winners of the 2024 prizes, awarding the Young Investigator award in Theoretical Physics to ICFO Alumnus, Dr. Martí Perarnau Llobet. Dr Pernarnau carried out his doctoral studies in ICFO in the Quantum Information Theory group led by ICREA Prof. Antonio Acín.  He defended his thesis in 2016, after which he went on to carry out postdoctoral studies at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching (2016-2020) in the Theory group of Ignacio Cirac. He later moved to the University of Geneva where he carried out research before recently returning to Barcelona to join the Quantum Information group at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona as a Ramón y Cajal researcher.

This award recognizes Martí’s significant contributions to the field of quantum information, in particular quantum and stochastic thermodynamics. In this field, he has explored the nanoscale thermodynamic properties of physical systems with a major impact on quantum technologies. His pioneering work opens new avenues for the optimization and manipulation of open quantum systems, information processing, and metrology.

Congratulations Martí!