World leader

Avelino Corma, a distinguished researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), co-founder of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ), a joint centre of the UPV and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and ad honorem research professor at the CSIC, received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Basic Sciences category last night.

The 17th Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ceremony was held at the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao. The previous evening, the BBVA Foundation organised a concert in honour of this year's award winners.

In addition to Avelino Corma, John Hartwig (University of California, Berkeley, USA) and Helmut Schwarz (Technical University of Berlin, Germany) also received awards in the Basic Sciences category.

The jury for these prestigious awards recognised Avelino Corma's research work, highlighting his contribution to the development of new heterogeneous catalysts made from porous materials, which are essential for refining fossil fuels in an environmentally friendly way.

Avelino Corma is the author of more than 100 patents, with applications currently used to improve the efficiency of chemical processes and reduce the emission of polluting substances in the production of fuels, plastics, cosmetics, and food.

'This award is a recognition not only for me but also for the excellent chemistry and chemical engineering done in Spain in general, particularly at our Institute, the ITQ. That is why receiving this award from the BBVA Foundation is a source of enormous satisfaction for me,’ says Avelino Corma.

Avelino Corma: a life dedicated to chemistry

Born in Moncofa (Castellón) in 1951, Avelino Corma's CV is extraordinary. He graduated in Chemistry from the University of Valencia and obtained his PhD from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1976. After two years of study at Queen's University in Kingston (Canada), he joined the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) as a researcher in 1979 and as a research professor in 1987.

Avelino Corma has spent half a century researching heterogeneous catalysis in academia and in collaboration with companies. He has worked on fundamental aspects of acid-base and redox catalysis to understand the nature of active sites and reaction mechanisms, based on which he has developed catalysts that are now commercially used in numerous industrial processes.

A world-renowned and recognised expert in solid acid and bifunctional catalysts for making chemical processes more sustainable — especially in the synthesis and application of zeolite-based catalysts - Corma has published over 1,400 research papers and invented more than 100 patents.

Likewise, it is difficult to list all the high-level awards received by the Valencian researcher. Among many others, we can highlight the European Inventor Award for Lifetime Achievement from the European Patent Office, the Blaise Pascal Medal for Chemistry from the European Academy of Sciences and the Prince of Asturias, ENI and Spiers Memorial awards.

BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards recognise and encourage contributions of singular impact in basic sciences, biomedicine, environmental sciences and climate change, information and communication technology, social sciences, economics, humanities, and music.