Professor Josep Castells passed away on the 30th of July. The whole ICIQ community joins his family and friends in their loss.

He was a member of the CSIC where he worked as a research professor. Later on in his career, he became director of the department of organic chemistry at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona from 1969 until 1976, and from 1979 he held the same position at the Universitat of Barcelona, where he retired in 1990.

From a scientific perspective, Prof. Castells made an important contribution to the Spanish chemical research by introducing  spectroscopic techniques to organic chemistry. He received recognition for his work, such as Generalitat de Catalunya’s Narcís Monturiol medal, among other awards.

Further information about Prof. Castells’ legacy can be found in Josep Font’s article -in Spanish- published in La Vanguardia on August the 4th.