Numerary Member and President of the Experimental Sciences Section

Experimental Sciences: PhD in Physics

Date of admission: March 26, 1996

Medal: No. 77

Admission speech: «Entropy at Two Turn-of-the-Century Moments»

Response speech: Dr. Pere Miró i Plans

Outstanding career: Renowned researcher in the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, he has been a pioneer in fostering dialogue between science, philosophy and spirituality, integrating scientific thought and humanism in seminal works.

Dr. DAVID JOU MIRABENT

UNIVERSITY DEGREES

  • Physicist and poet, author of an extensive literary, essayistic, and scientific body of work.
  • BA (1975) and PhD (1978) in Physics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Since 1989 he has been Professor of Condensed Matter Physics at this university.
  • His scientific work focuses on the thermodynamics of irreversible processes and the physics of non-equilibrium systems.
  • He coordinated the Reports on Physics Research in Catalonia (1990–1996, 1996–2002, 2003–2009).

TEACHING AND ACADEMIC ACTIVITY:

  • One of the leading promoters of extended irreversible thermodynamics, taking thermodynamics beyond local equilibrium by linking generalized transport equations to new non-equilibrium entropy forms, with applications in heat transport, nanoscience, rheology, cosmology and quantum turbulence.
  • Member of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (1990) and the Royal Academy of Doctors (1996).
  • Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Madrid (2004).
  • Corresponding Member of the Accademia Peloritana of Messina (Sicily, 2005).

PUBLICATIONS

Author of over 270 papers in international journals and numerous research books, including:

  • Extended irreversible thermodynamics (with G. Lebon and J. Casas-Vázquez, 1993, 2010), cited over 1,500 times and translated into Russian.
  • Understanding non-equilibrium thermodynamics: foundations, applications, frontiers (2008).
  • Thermodynamics of fluids under flow (2011).
  • Introduction to thermodynamics of biological processes (with J. E. Llebot, 1990).
  • Física para las ciencias de la vida (with J. E. Llebot and C. Pérez-García).
  • Mecànica estadística i biologia molecular (1992).
  • Termodinámica química (with M. Criado-Sancho and J. Casas-Vázquez).
  • Co-author of Estudis bibliomètrics sobre la recerca en física a Catalunya (with Lluís Rovira and Pau Senra).

Poetry: he has published 23 books in Catalan, some translated into Spanish, Russian, English, Polish, German, Hungarian and Bulgarian, and his poems appear in around 30 anthologies. In Spanish, notable titles include:

  • Las escrituras del universo (2003).
  • Los ojos del halcón maltés (2002).
  • Luz de Sitges (2004).
  • Sitges en azul (2006).

His poetry explores scientific, religious, civic and cinematic themes with strong formal experimentation and a marked visual component. Pre-2004 books were collected in:

  • L’èxtasi i el càlcul (2002).
  • L’huracà sobre els mapes (2004).
  • Anthology Entre el mirall i les ombres (1995).

Later books include:

  • Les escriptures de l’univers (poems on science) (2007).
  • Llum de Sitges (2004).
  • Sitges en blau (2006).
  • L’avinguda i el laberint (poems on Catalonia and Spain) (2013).
  • Poemes sobre ciència i fe (2013).
  • Poemes de Nadal i de Setmana Santa (2014).
  • La mística dels dies (2015).
  • Text author of La Passió de la Selva del Camp (2009).

Since 1969 he has contributed to the weekly L’Eco de Sitges, publishing over 1,400 poems. His book Tapís was illustrated with etchings by Manuel Capdevila and set to music by Mercè Torrents; several poems have been set to music by Fina R. Palau, Antonio Arias, Xavier Pagès, Sergi Roca, Sergi Casanelles and Guillem Ramiro.

Essays and outreach (bridging science and the humanities):

  • L’escultor Pere Jou (1991).
  • Matèria i materialisme (1994) / Materia y materialismo (2015).
  • El temps i la memòria en la ciència contemporània (1996) / El laberinto del tiempo (2014).
  • Reescribiendo el Génesis (2008) (translated into Italian).
  • Cervell i univers (two cosmologies) (2011) / Cerebro y Universo (2011).
  • Introducció al món quàntic (2012) / Introducción al mundo cuántico (2012).
  • Assaigs sobre ciència i religió. Déu, cosmos, caos (2008).
  • La expressivitat de la Creació (with M. Rozman, 2010).
  • La poesia de l’infinit (science and mysticism) (2012).
  • Translator of S. Hawking into Catalan/Spanish: Breu història del temps / A Brief History of Time, El universo en una cáscara de nuez, Brevísima historia del tiempo and El gran diseño.
  • Science & technology columnist at La Vanguardia (1984–1994) and around 350 public lectures. From this outreach work came Converses a Barcelona: Vladimir de Semir i David Jou and the poetry book El color de la ciència, with illustrations by Fernando Krahn (1994).

AWARDS AND HONORS

  • Honorary Doctorate from the University of Girona.
  • Eduard Fontserè Award, Institut d’Estudis Catalans (1983).
  • King Juan Carlos I Award for Young Researchers (1986).
  • Narcís Monturiol Medal, Government of Catalonia (1992).
  • Ciutat de Barcelona Award in Sciences (1993).
  • Several literary prizes; Cadaqués a Quima Jaume Prize (2015) for his entire poetic work.

FULL CURRICULUM VITAE