MPSD Director Angel Rubio to receive the Spanish National Research Prize

Angel Rubio, Director of the Theory Department at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) and member of CFEL’s board of directors has been awarded the prestigious Spanish National Research Prize for his work on computational solid-state physics.

MPSD theory director Angel Rubio © MPSD

Rubio will receive the Premio Nacional de Investigación Blas Cabrera for his achievements in predicting new properties of nanoscale materials and non-equilibrium phases of matter. The Spanish Science Minister, Diana Morant, highlighted the conceptual and methodological advances of his work which had transformed computational materials science, opening new fields of experimental research.

The theoretical physicist, who is managing director of the MPSD, says he feels greatly honoured to receive the Prize: “This award is a testimony to the power of curiosity and passion for physics, driven by the incredible effort and collaboration of the exceptional team of students and researchers who have worked with me towards surprising discoveries.”

Angel Rubio’s research focuses on the electronic and structural properties of advanced materials, nanostructures and molecular complexes. His work includes the development of theoretical tools to investigate the electronic response of materials and molecules to external electromagnetic fields. He was named as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2022 by Clarivate.

His work has been recognized by many awards, including the 2018 Medal of the Spanish Royal Physical Society, the 2014 Premio Rey Jaime I for basic research, the 2006 DuPont Prize in nanotechnology, the 2005 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Humboldt Foundation, and two European Research Council Advanced Grants.

Angel Rubio is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the European Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2017, he was appointed as distinguished research scientist at the Simons Foundation’s Center for Computational Quantum Physics. He is a member of the Leopoldina (the German National Academy of Sciences), the Berlin Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, the European Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea, as well as a foreign associate member of the National Academy of Sciences in the USA.