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Prof. Javier LLorca (born February 26, 1960 in Spain) is a Spanish Engineer and materials scientist. He is Scientific Director of the Madrid Advanced Studies Institute of Materials (IMDEA Materials Institute) in Madrid, Spain, in which he is Principal Investigator of the Institute's Bio/Chemo/Mechanics of Materials research group and was the Institute's director from its' founding in 2007 until 2017. He is also Professor of Materials Science and the Head of the Advanced Structural Materials and Nanomaterials research group at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM)[1], where he was first appointed an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science in 1987.[2]
He is Fellow of the European Mechanics Society (2012) and of the Materials Research Society (2019) and member of the Academia Europaea (2013). In September 2023, Prof. LLorca was awarded the Leonardo Torres Quevedo National Prize in Engineering and Architecture by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [3] and the Morris Cohen Award of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society in 2024[4].
Education and career
Prof. LLorca obtained his BEng/MSc in Civil Engineering with honors at the UPM in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Materials Science at the same institution in 1986. In doing so, he received the university's "Best Doctoral Thesis" award.
From 1984-1987, Prof. LLorca was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science at the UPM. He became an Associate Professor at the UPM in 1987 and was appointed Full Professor in 1995. From 1989-1990, Prof. LLorca was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar in the Division of Engineering at Brown University, USA.[5]
In 2007, he founded IMDEA Materials Institute[6] where he was Director until 2017, when he became the Scientific Director, a position he holds today.[7]
Internationally, he has held (or currently holds) Visiting or Honorary Professorships at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2012-2015 & 2022-2025), Yanshan University[8], China, the Indian Institute of Science, India (2013-2014) and Central South University, China (2016-2021)[9].
In receiving the Leonardo Torres Quevedo National Research Prize from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Prof. LLorca was noted “for the pioneering nature and leadership of his research in the field of Computational Materials Engineering.” His contribution to the development of novel multi-scale modeling strategies, which have had a tremendous impact on various industrial sectors, was also highlighted.[10]
In receiving the Leonardo Torres Quevedo National Research Prize from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Prof. LLorca was noted “for the pioneering nature and leadership of his research in the field of Computational Materials Engineering.” His contribution to the development of novel multi-scale modeling strategies, which have had a tremendous impact on various industrial sectors, was also highlighted.
Honours and Awards
- 1986: "Best Doctoral Thesis", Technical University of Madrid, Spain.
- 1989-1990: "Fulbright Visiting Scholar", Division of Engineering, Brown University, USA.
- 1990: "Young Investigator Award", Technical University of Madrid, Spain.
- 1999: "Research Award", Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Spain
- 2000: "Gold Medal", Spanish Society of Structural Integrity[11]
- 2008: Elected to Royal Academy of Sciences of Zaragoza (Physics Section)[12]
- 2009: "Research Award", Technical University of Madrid, Spain[13]
- 2012: Fellow, European Mechanics Society[14]
- 2012-2015: Visiting Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
- 2013: Elected to Academia Europaea, Physics and Engineering Section[15]
- 2013-2014: Brahm Prakash Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Science, India[16]
- 2016-2021: Visiting Professor, Central South University, China
- 2018: "Career Award", Spanish Society of Materials (SOCIEMAT)[17]
- 2018: "SMD JOM Best Paper Award", The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS)[18]
- 2019: Fellow, Materials Research Society[19]
- 2022-2025: Visiting Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
- 2023: Distinguished Scientist Award, Structural Materials Division, TThe Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS)[20]
- 2023-2026: Honorary Professor, Yanshan University, China
- 2023: Leonardo Torres Quevedo National Research Award in Engineering, Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation
- 2024: "Morris Cohen Award", The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS)
Committees and Professional Activities
- 2010-2015: Member, European Solid Mechanics Conference Committee
- 2011-present: Member, International advisory board, Multiscale Modeling of Materials Conference[21]
- 2011-2014: Member of the Advisory Board, Materials Science and Surface Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland
- 2012-2018: Member of the External Advisory Panel of the Institute of Materials (Georgia Tech)
- 2015-present: Member, European Materials Modeling Council
- 2015-2023: Member, European Mechanics of Materials Conference Committee
- 2017-2019: Board of Directors, Society of Engineering Science[22]
- 2018-2023: Chair, European Mechanics of Materials Conference Committee[23]
- 2019-2022: International Technology Advisory Board, IRT Saint Exupéry
- 2019-present: Executive editor, Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering
- 2021-present: Editor, Materials Research Letters
- 2022-present: External Advisory Board, PRISMS (PRedictive Integrated Structural Materials Science) centre, University of Michigan.