Prize Winners

He holds a PhD in Physics from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He is currently a full professor and the founding director of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), an internationally renowned center for advanced photonics research based in Castelldefels (Barcelona).
After completing postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Central Florida and the University of Arizona (USA), he developed a distinguished scientific career in the field of optics and photonics. His research has focused on pioneering areas such as optical solitons, guided optics, singular optics, and topological photonics, making a decisive contribution to the development of new lines of research that now occupy a central position in modern physics. Author of more than 500 scientific publications and with over 30,000 international citations, he is the Spanish researcher with the greatest scientific impact in the field of optics. Among his most influential contributions are fundamental discoveries on the propagation and control of light, the orbital angular momentum of photons, photonic surface waves, and new topological phenomena that have opened entirely new fields of research with potential applications in communications, quantum computing, and advanced photonic technologies.

In addition to his scientific contributions, he has played a fundamental role in the creation and consolidation of ICFO. Since its founding in 2002 and under his leadership for more than two decades, the center has become one of the world's most prestigious research institutions in photonics, bringing together hundreds of international researchers and securing an extraordinary number of competitive European projects and awards for scientific excellence.

A distinguished member of the European Physical Society, the European Optical Society, and the Optical Society of America, he has received numerous national and international awards, including the Narcís Monturiol Medal and the Optical Society's Leadership Award.

The jury of the Rei Jaume I Prizes  has unanimously decided to award  Mr. Lluís Torner in Basic Research for his world-leading discoveries in Photonics his global impact, and his extraordinary scientific leadership, which has transformed the research landscape in Spain.