The president of the Catalan Government has awarded the medal to 19 individuals and one institution for their contribution to science and technology in Catalonia

The president of the Catalan Government, Quim Torra, has given out Narcís Monturiol medals and a Narcís Monturiol plaque during a ceremony in which he emphasised “the historical contribution made by our scientists”. The awards, which were created by the Catalan Government in 1982, are given to individuals and organisations that have made a notable contribution to the development of science and technology in Catalonia.

Nineteen individuals and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) received the awards in a ceremony held in the Sant Jordi Hall of the Palau de la Generalitat. One of the people distinguished with an award was Manola Brunet, professor of Climatology in the Department of Geography of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), head of the URV’s Climate Change Centre and visiting professor at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK). She is an international expert recognised for her research into the instrumental reconstruction and analysis of the climate in different historical periods and geographical areas. She has conducted a pioneering long-term analysis of the atmospheric temperature in mainland Spain and has participated in the global and regional evaluation of how extreme climate events are changing in a warmer world. In 2018 she was appointed president of the Commission for Climatology of the World Meteorological Organization.

The award was also given to Mary Nash, who has been an honorary doctor of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili since last year and emeritus professor at the University of Barcelona (UB). Nash is an expert in the history of women and gender and the author of numerous academic publications.

281 medals an 45 plaques awarded to people and research institutions

Since creating the awards in 1982, the Catalan Government has awarded 281 Narcís Monturiol medals (221 to men and 60 to women) and 45 plaques to institutions. Those who have received awards come from all areas of knowledge, including the life sciences, the humanities , the social sciences, architecture, engineering and the pure sciences. This year awards have been given to 8 women and 11 men.

This year’s Narcís Monturiol awards ceremony form part of the celebrations commemorating the 200th anniversary of Monturiol’s birth, which are a Government initiative to promote the figure of the engineer and intellectual from Figueres. Monturiol was an inventor and social activist committed to the progress and well-being of Catalan society and who is remembered for many achievements, in particular for building the first manned autonomous submarine, the Ictineu.

See here for a full list of award winners.