ICFO researcher Jordi Martorell Honoured with the 2025 Academia Excellence Award

ICFO Researcher Professor Jordi Martorell Peña, also faculty member at the Castelldefels School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering (EETAC) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), has been distinguished with the 2025 Academia Excellence Award, a prestigious programme promoted by the Government of Catalonia to support leading academic research.

Martorell is among 13 UPC researchers selected in this highly competitive call, which recognised 50 academics across the Catalan university system. The award acknowledges researchers with outstanding scientific trajectories and provides long-term support to strengthen high-impact research carried out at Catalan universities.

The Academia Excellence programme (formerly ICREA Academia) offers selected researchers resources over a five-year period, enabling them to intensify their scientific activity and consolidate internationally competitive research lines with strong academic and societal relevance.

At ICFO, Prof. Martorell conducts cutting-edge research in nanophotonics and photovoltaic technologies, focusing on fundamental and applied strategies to overcome efficiency limits in solar energy conversion. His work explores advanced three-dimensional nanophotonic architectures, often designed to control light–matter interaction at the nanoscale and reduce intrinsic energy losses in solar cells.

The distinction highlights both Prof. Martorell’s individual achievements and the strength of the collaborative research ecosystem shared by both ICFO the UPC.