The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has celebrated the 4th edition of the Research Awards, a recognition of scientific excellence, innovation and commitment to society of UPV research staff.
At the exciting and dynamic gala held at the UPV, 34 awards were presented in six categories: Award for excellent research impact; Award for excellent research publication; Award for excellent research career; Award for scientific dissemination; Award for research media impact and Award for knowledge transfer; The names of the award winners can be consulted at this link.
In addition, two special awards were given to the outstanding researcher of the year 2025: Ivana Gasulla and Ramón Martínez Máñez. Both have pointed out the special illusion of receiving an award in their own workplace, surrounded by family and friends.
Ivana Gasulla, a researcher at the iTeam institute, was the winner in 2025 of the V edition of the Young Female Scientific Talent Award granted by the Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences, among other merits. The scientist has stressed the importance of offering professional consolidation opportunities to research staff so that they can develop their career at the UPV.
For his part, Ramón Martínez Máñez, who won the National Research Award 2024, among other awards, has valued very positively the evolution of research at the UPV “has nothing to do with what it was 30 years ago,” but has insisted that we must continue to improve.
As a novelty, this edition has introduced a new recognition: to the UPV research staff who have published in the journals Science o Natureas benchmarks of international excellence.
Finally, awards for the dissemination and communication of the dana were presented to those who, since the fateful October 29, 2024 and until today, have facilitated the work of the media, offering scientific and rigorous answers and counteracting the spread of hoaxes.
Science by and for people
One of the most emotional moments of the gala was the tribute to Miguel Ángel Miranda Alonso, recently deceased, who was nominated in one of the categories. A pioneer in photochemistry and photobiology, Miranda Alonso was one of the founders of the Institute of Chemical Technology of the UPV; his intelligence and scientific vision were highlighted, but even more his generosity and conciliatory spirit.
During the gala, UPV Rector José Capilla highlighted the essential role of research in the university mission: “Our university is defined by its innovative vocation and by a scientific community that is not satisfied with understanding reality, but works every day to improve it. That is the essence of the UPV: science with purpose, research with impact and commitment to people”.
Scientific fun
At the gala there were also moments for laughter and scientific dissemination: to the traditional game of questions and answers about R&D, the winners of the last contest of scientific monologues of the UPV were added: María Pérez Sirvent, who performed her monologue “Algebra, nothing more and nothing less”, Julia Pérez, who spoke about the evolution of plants and their adaptation to the environment, and Francisca Ramón, who with “El derecho y el torcido”, reflected on the double meanings of legal language.
In addition, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, a national reference in scientific dissemination, has merged theatrical improvisation, science and film with its project Im=P-r[0].