An Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Marta Sanz-Solé was appointed Vice-President of I-CERCA in June 2023.
The Government has also honoured Eudald Carbonell, founder of the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA).
Today marks the ceremony for the presentation of the Creu de Sant Jordi to Dr Marta Sanz-Solé (Sabadell, 1952) in recognition of her outstanding contributions and career in the fields of science and mathematics.
With an extensive professional trajectory, Marta Sanz-Solé specialises in probability theory. Her research focuses on stochastic analysis, particularly stochastic differential equations and partial differential equations.
A PhD graduate of the University of Barcelona (UB), she served as a lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) before becoming a professor at UB, where she joined the research group on stochastic processes. Between 1993 and 1996, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics at UB and later as Vice-President of the Division of Experimental and Mathematical Sciences (2000–2003) at the same institution.
Dr Sanz-Solé was President of the European Mathematical Society (2011–2014), becoming the first woman to hold this position. She has also served on scientific and management committees for various mathematics research centres across Europe and chaired the PE1 (Mathematics) panel for the Consolidator Grants in the 2019 and 2021 calls of the European Research Council.
Her academic excellence has been recognised with numerous awards and honours, including the Narcís Monturiol Medal for Scientific and Technological Excellence from the Government of Catalonia (1998), Fellowship of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (2011), membership of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (2016) and the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (2019), and honorary membership of the College of Economists of Catalonia, among others.
In the same ceremony, the Government will honour Eudald Carbonell, an archaeologist, professor of Prehistory, and founder and director of the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA) from 2004 to 2015, for his significant scientific and outreach contributions in archaeology and prehistory.
Dr Carbonell has led numerous excavations, most notably his role as co-director of the Atapuerca archaeological site, one of the world’s most important prehistoric sites. He has also directed excavations at the Abric Romaní site, a key resource for understanding Neanderthal life. In 1997, he received the Prince of Asturias Award and, in 2009, the National Culture Award.
Of the twenty individual medals awarded this year, seven have been granted to professionals in science and research. Today, the Creu de Sant Jordi is also presented to:
– Claudi Alsina, Professor of Mathematics;
– Pilar Bayer, Emeritus Professor of Algebra;
– Carme Torras, mathematician, computer scientist, and writer;
– Elia Torroella, pharmacist;
– Jordi Camí, Third Vice-President of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, founder of the CRG and PRBB, and Director of the IMIM (now the Hospital del Mar Research Institute) from 1985 to 2005.
