(Alcalá de Guadaíra, 1947)
Expert scientist in multiscalar physics applied to astrophysics and cosmology, he has a degree in Physical Sciences from the University of Seville, a Master of Science in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from Trinity College of Dublin, as well as a Master of Philosophy from the City University of New York. and Doctor of Philosophy in Theoretical Physics from the City College of New York. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and the European Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1998 he founded the Spanish Astrobiology Center in collaboration with the NASA Astrobiology Institute. In addition, he is responsible for the Spanish participation in the infrastructure and instruments present in the science laboratory that arrived on Mars in August 2012. He is a research professor at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and at the Santa Fe Institute. Since 2010 he belongs to the community of Harvard professors within the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, where he also collaborates on the project on the origins of life with his work Top-down Synthesis of an Exnovo Chemical Artificial Living System. He has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Gravity Research Foundation of Massachusetts Annual Awards in 1996; the Joint Chair of the European Physical Society and the Swiss Academy of Sciences, NASA has awarded him its Public Service Medal and he has been awarded the Plaque of Honor of the Spanish Association of Scientists.
