Prof. Ruben Martin, ICIQ group leader and ICREA professor has been included in the Forbes 2021 TOP 50 Awarded Spaniards List. Accompanied by household names as Antonio Banderas, Alejandro Sanz, Fernando Alonso, Ferran Adrià, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Irene Solà, Manolo Blahnik, Pedro Almodóvar, Penélope Cruz, Martin Berasategui, Rafael Nadal or Rosalía, the chemist Ruben Martin appreciates the recognition: “This is a great recognition to science in general. It is paradoxical that our society depends so much on science and technology but that on many occasions the work of scientists is not as valued as it should be. Science is absolutely essential for the well-being of our society, and the most important means of access to knowledge. Without a doubt, it is a pride to appear on the Forbes 2021 list of the 50 most awarded Spaniards, and above all, a recognition of the enormous work carried out by my research group in recent years,” highlights the scientist.

The list aims to recognize national talent in all areas of society by bringing together the 50 personalities who have won prizes, medals and awards outside the country in the last five years. Specifically, Forbes has included Martin in the list thanks to his research, mentioning that “the American Chemical Society rewarded him with the 2020 Arthur C. Cope Award for his methodologies for the metal-catalyzed activation of inert entities to produce synthetically relevant molecules. He is the second Spaniard to receive this recognition of excellence.”