Prize Winners

Curriculum Vitae

Professor of Excellence at Carlos III University of Madrid

He holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Valladolid and an M.S. in Numerical Analysis from the University of Dundee. He served as an associate professor at the University of the Basque Country and as a full professor at the University of Valladolid from 1982 to 2014. Since 2014, he has held a Chair of Excellence at Carlos III University of Madrid. In 2019, he was a Rothschild Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge University.

Prof. Sanz-Serna’s research interests have focused on the numerical analysis of differential equations—whether deterministic or stochastic, ordinary or partial differential. His most recognized contributions are related to his pioneering work on symplectic integrators, a type of method specifically designed for Hamiltonian problems so common in science and technology. Symplectic integrators are now used daily in a wide range of applications, such as quantum and celestial mechanics, statistical physics, molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo simulations.

In addition to teaching and research, he has devoted a significant portion of his time and efforts to the management, promotion, and organization of science and education in Spain and internationally. He served as Rector of the University of Valladolid (a period during which he had to completely suspend his research), and has been president of the Royal Academy of Sciences since 2018.

He reestablished the Royal Spanish Mathematical Society (RSME) and founded SEMA, the Spanish Society of Applied Mathematics. He has served as vice president of both societies. He currently serves on the “Applications and Interdisciplinary Relations” committee of the European Mathematical Society and on the “Major Awards” committee of SIAM (U.S.).

Jury ruling

The jury of The Rei Jaume I Prize in Basic Research has unanimously decided to award Jesús Sanz-Serna “for his pioneering work in numerical analysis and its implications for mathematics and other fields of science. His major contributions combine techniques from probability theory, statistics, optimization, and artificial intelligence.”