Science and Innovation

The Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, today presided over the presentation of the Gold Medals for Scientific Merit to the professor Andreu Mas-Colell, the doctor and physicist Lluís Torner, and the doctor and neurology specialist Mercè Boada at the Saló de Cent. With this distinction, approved by the Municipal Plenary on 24 November, the city recognises the respective scientific careers that have contributed to placing the city of Barcelona at the forefront of world research.

More than a hundred personalities attended the solemn ceremony in which the figure of the three award-winning personalities was celebrated and in which the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism, Jordi Valls, also took part.

Mayor Jaume Collboni reaffirmed that Barcelona is today the European scientific capital, quoting a phrase attributed to Newton: “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. The science that is done and projected from Barcelona, today on a global scale, “is done on the shoulders of the giants that we are recognising today with the Gold Medal for Scientific Merit”, he said.

In a speech in which he underlined the “long tradition of promoting scientific knowledge that has historically characterised Barcelona”, Collboni also listed four future objectives on which the city wants to leave its mark: to be decisive in incorporating women and other collectors – groups historically isolated from the scientific sphere; to accelerate towards climate neutrality and mitigate the effects of global warming on the most vulnerable; to design and produce chips; and to be decisive in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

Prof. Andreu Mas-Colell is economist, emeritus professor at the UPF and the Barcelona GSE, and current president of the Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). He is distinguished in the institutional sphere “for his tireless dedication to placing the city’s scientific fabric at the forefront of international excellence, contributing from different institutions and entities. He is also recognised for his vital dedication to ideas, science, talent, universities, innovation and research”.

In the field of physics, mathematics and robotics, to Dr. Lluís Torner, director of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO). He is awarded the medal “for his vital dedication to the field of photonic sciences, and the ability to have combined his scientific enthusiasm with tireless management of the ICFO, thanks to which he has placed the centre at the forefront of world scientific excellence, projecting the metropolitan region and Barcelona as a world-class research hub”.

In the case of Dr. Mercè Boada, neurologist and founder of the ACE Foundation, it is recognition for her contribution to life and health sciences. The medal is awarded “for her lifelong dedication to the study of dementias and Alzheimer’s disease, and for her innovative approach in the fight against the disease, through non-pharmacological treatment based on holistic patient care, including the improvement of their independence and quality of life”. Her work has helped to position Barcelona as an international hub of excellence in Alzheimer’s disease research.