The Institute of Physics of Cantabria (IFCA) is a multidisciplinary Joint Centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and University of Cantabria (UC) oriented to perform research on basic science to understand the components of nature, from elementary particles (Particle Physics) to the largest structures of the Universe (Cosmology, Astrophysics and Astronomy) as well as nonlinear phenomena and the complex collective behavior of matter. We also address social challenges such as Big Data and Machine Learning, Climate and Climate Change, and Open Science. These research activities build on advanced supercomputing services (IFCA is part of the Spanish Supercomputing network, RES) and the development of instrumentation in the framework of international collaborations.

It was created in 1995 through a cooperation agreement signed by José María Mato de la Paz (CSIC President) and Jaime Vinuesa Tejedor (UC Rector), being the first director of the center Xavier Barcons. IFCA has maintained a steadily growth since its creation, reaching its current size of about 86 people, with 30 staff researchers. It produces yearly more than 200 publications in the best journals in the respective fields and has nearly 40 active projects, obtaining an external funding of about 2 M€/year, more than 80% of the total budget of the Institute. The Institute is organized in six research lines (from two Departments: Structure of matter and Astrophysics) and two support units (administration and IT, with two and four staff members, respectively). There are also five additional support staff depending on the direction which are responsible of different structural activities (outreach, transfer and quality, maintenance and prevention and computing).

A fundamental pillar of our research is the collaboration with the largest scientific agencies and laboratories (CERN, ESA, ESO, etc.) as well as the participation in the most relevant international projects in our areas ofinterest (CORDEX, IPCC, EOSC-Hub, etc.). The level of excellence of our activity in different fronts makes IFCA an internationally recognized research center.

In November 2018 we received the accreditation as a Unit of Excellence Maria de Maeztu, issued by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Our vision is to make IFCA, with the support of MdM Excelence award, a consolidated unit of international standards developing top class basic research in Physics, gaining world class positioning through leadership in frontier research projects, and a reference centre in those subjects where the multidisciplinary interplay is key for the advancement of knowledge.

The Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial (IRI) is a Joint University Research Institute participated by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) that conducts basic and applied research in human-centred robotics and automatic control.

The institute, founded in 1995, is a key player in the Spanish robotics and automatic control scenes, and a valued participant in a large number of international collaborations.

Current scientific objectives of the center include the analysis, design and constructions of robot mechanisms; perceptual and cognitive tools for advanced manipulation; mobile robotics and ubiquitous computing to enhance everyday human life activity; and the control and management of water and energy systems.

The Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol), located at the Parc Científic de la Universitat de València, was founded in 2000 with the mission of establishing in Valencia a centre of excellence in Molecular Science and Nanoscience.

Directed from its beginnings by professor Eugenio Coronado, its objectives range from the chemical design of molecule-based materials, to the manufacture and characterization of molecular devices of interest in fields such as electronics and molecular spintronics, quantum computing, molecular sensors and tge generation and storage of energy.

It produces most of the high impact research papers of the Univ. of Valencia in Chemistry and it is recognised internationally as one of the pioneering centres for the research on molecular science.

The centre also houses a Scientific Unit for Business Innovation (UCIE) of the Valencian Agency for Innovation (AVI) to promote the transfer of knowledge in the Valencian business fabric.  

The ICMol employs more than 220 scientific researchers and houses the most advanced systems for the preparation, characterisation and study of molecules and molecular materials. The ICMol keeps 8 European Research Council (ERC) grants active and another 12 researchers within de framework of the “Ramon y Cajal” excellence programme, as well as 6 distinguished researchers from excellence from the Valencian Community (CIDEGENT program).

The aims of the Institute are:

• To design and synthesise molecules and molecular assemblies exhibiting useful physical or chemical properties.
• To investigate these properties through both experimental and theoretical approaches.
• To explore the potential applications of these molecules and materials in different areas of current interest (molecular magnetism, molecular electronics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, catalysis…).

The Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of  Barcelona (ICCUB) is an interdisciplinary center devoted to fundamental research in cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics. It was created in 2006 as the instrument of the University of Barcelona for the active support of research in these fields, to promote experimental physics and instrument development, enable a significant participation of the University of Barcelona in large international collaborations, and attract highly qualified scientific personnel.

Research at ICCUB is conducted with the aim of answering some of the most intriguing and fundamental questions in Cosmology:

• What are the origin and fate of the Universe?
• Which are the ultimate constituents of the Universe?
• Why does the Universe have its present appearance?

These questions reveal the intimate connection between particle physics and astrophysics and therefore demand a multidisciplinary approach. Research at ICCUB intends to tackle them from the theoretical, observational and experimental viewpoints.

In addition, the institute has a strong technology program aimed at fostering its participation in observational astronomy and particle physics international collaborations. ICCUB research also generates products and technologies transferable to industry and society.

IFISC (Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems) is a joint research institute between the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) created in 2007. Its mission is to develop Cross-Disciplinary and Strategic Research in Complex Systems following the established scientific approach of physicists.

By Cross-Disciplinary Research we mean the transfer of knowledge, concepts and methods to create bridges among traditional disciplines. By Strategic Research we mean focusing on advanced studies in emerging strategic fields with a strong potential impact, avoiding incremental research and the “basic-applied” polarization.

IFISC´s working environment is a complex system in itself seeking coherence and integration from diversity, interaction, scientific dialog, transversal structures, bridge building and self-organization. Research is therefore organized in terms of research lines, rather than research groups.

Emerging from a back-bone transversal research line of exploratory nature on Complex Systems, Statistical and Nonlinear Physics, there are 5 research lines of transfer of knowledge in the interface with other disciplines: Transport and Information in Quantum Systems (interface with Quantum Technologies), Nonlinear Photonics (interface with Information and Communication Technologies), Nonlinear Dynamics in Fluids (interface with Earth Sciences), Biocomplexity (interface with Life Sciences) and Collective Phenomena in Social and Socio-Technical Systems (interface Social Sciences).

The Information and Communication Technologies Engineering is a young and dynamic multidisciplinary department of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona.

The research interests of the faculty cover a broad range of topics in the field of Information and Communication Technologies. These can be grouped into five broad categories: Cognitive and Intelligent Systems; Audiovisual Technologies; Networks and Communications; Computational Biology and Biomedical Systems and Brain & Cognition

This broad spectrum of topics reflects the current interdisciplinary reality of cutting edge research in ICT.

The Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE) is a joint research center of the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Autonomous Government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia), created in 1999. The Institute performs frontier research in High Energy Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics, Astroparticle Physics, and related areas as Astrophysics, Medical Physics and Instrumentation. The theoretical section is also internationally reputed.

One of the cornerstones of the Institute is a coordinated and long-term planned participation in the international experiments carried out in large international infrastructures such as CERN, GSI/FAIR, Pierre Auger Observatory and LIGO at present

The main elements that define the recent activity of the IGFAE are a good performance in terms of scientific production, talent attraction and fundraising, an intense international activity, especially within large experimental collaborations and the activation of a new framework to organize the research in terms of Strategic Research Areas (SA).

In 2016, IGFAE was accredited “María de Maeztu” Unit of Excellence, integrating the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu alliance (SOMMa). This award is an opportunity to boost the scientific performance of the Institute in the quest of some of the most fundamental questions in Physics.

The IFIMAC – Condensed Matter Physics Centre is a new María de Maeztu Excellence Research Unit located in the campus of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid pursuing cutting-edge research and scientific excellence.

It comprises researchers from several university departments aiming to advance the limits of knowledge in both theoretical and experimental Condensed Matter Physics. Sixty four researchers constitute its permanent staff with up to ninety postdoctoral researchers and Ph.D students.

Research performed in the institute has gained world reputation in the following areas:

• Advanced Materials
• First Principles Simulations and Modeling
• Nanophysics
• Nano and Quantum Optics
• Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics

The Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) is a joint research center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA). Created in 1999, it was the world’s first center dedicated specifically to astrobiological research and the first non-US associate member of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute (now the NASA Astrobiology Program). It is an interdisciplinary research center whose main objective is to study the origin, presence and influence of life in the universe. Its staff includes scientists specialized in a wide range of fields such as biology, chemistry, geology, physics, genetics, ecology, astrophysics, planetology, engineering, mathematics and computer science. In 2017, CAB was distinguished by the Ministry of Science and Innovation as “María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence”, for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022.

CAB has led the development of the REMS, TWINS and MEDA instruments, all operational on Mars since August 2012, November 2018 and February 2021, respectively; as well as the science of the RLS Raman instrument, which will be sent to Mars in 2022. In addition, since its inception, the center has been developing the SOLID instrument, aimed at the search for life in planetary exploration.

Likewise, CAB participates in different missions and instruments of great astrobiological relevance, such asCARMENES, CHEOPS, PLATO, BepiColombo, DART, Hera, the MIRI and NIRSpec instruments at JWST and the HARMONI instrument at ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).

The Centre de Recerca Matemàtica was established in 1984 by Professor Manuel Castellet as a centre of the l’Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC, the Catalan Academy), in the premises of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). It is the oldest mathematics research institute in Spain. Presently, the CRM is a consortium between the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan Government), the IEC and the UAB. The CRM belongs to the CERCA Agency of research centres sponsored by the Catalan Government, and is a member of ERCOM (European Research Centres in Mathematics), a committee of the European Mathematical Society.

One of the core roles of the CRM is the organisation of international research programmes on selected topics in the field of mathematics, mathematical sciences and all its applications. The CRM hosts every year a number of notorious researchers from all around the world to interact with local researchers over extended periods. 

The CRM is strongly committed to fostering and enhancing research throughout the country. Each research programme held at the CRM spawn new collaborations among researchers from different backgrounds and levels of expertise during the lectures, seminars and informal interaction, which the CRM building has been designed specifically to encourage.

We are a research centre on the causes and consequences of climate change. Led by one of the most recognized scientists in the Climate Change field, Prof. Maria José Sanz, we produce multidisciplinary knowledge to support decision making towards sustainable development at the international level.

With a multidisciplinary team, connected to the main scientific institutions, networks and socio-economic agents, for a decade, our contribution to research of climate change and to the science-policy interface puts us in a unique position to offer knowledge, tools, new methodologies and cross-cutting proposals, that we lead towards action in a collaborative framework with stakeholders, to design and help implement policies aimed at sustainable development.

This vision and mission requires a seamless path from collecting evidence and expert judgements, through research that investigates and compares assumptions and results of different models, to the implementation and testing of integrated solutions. With emphasis on the multiple facets of the climate change problem, paired with its leadership position in state-of-the-art integrative modeling methodologies, BC3 has the potential to address and consolidate its position as a world leader in supporting the significant parts of the lifecycle of transdisciplinary climate change research.

In the 2018-2021 period, BC3 will further develop this strategic mission, emphasizing the bridging of scales and scientific languages to support policy- and decision-making in environmentally sustainable, economically efficient and socially equitable ways. In order to do so, the centre will continue to engage with highly recognized scientific teams and research institutions at global, national and regional levels with an increased emphasis on effectively conveying policy messages to public and private decision makers.

The International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE, www.cimne.com ) was created as a Consortium between the Catalan Government and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in April 1987. CIMNE headquarters are at UPC in Barcelona. It has premises in Madrid, Terrassa and other cities in Spain and worldwide (https://www.cimne.com/m2621/in-the-world). CIMNE employs some 256 persons including 222 researchers and 38 administration staff.

CIMNE is an R&D centre in the broad area of computational engineering. Its mission is the development and dissemination of original research in the field of Numerical Methods in Engineering (NME), the education of researchers and the transfer of the research outputs to industry.

CIMNE is a leading international centre of excellence in the field of NME through four main action vectors:

1. Excellence in research on NME for multidisciplinary engineering applications, in terms of scientific outputs and software-based tools.

2. International dimension and worldwide activities.

3. Active participation and management in scientific societies.

4. Commitment with technology transfer to industry.

Research at CIMNE focuses on the development of NME of interest to the following scientific fields: structural mechanics, geomechanics, fluid dynamics, material sciences, optimisation, biomechanics coupled multi-physics processes and high performance computing. Applications include problems in civil, mechanical, aeronautics, naval/marine, biomedical and environmental engineering, energy efficiency and fusion technology, among others.

The priorities of CIMNE for research excellence target new NM and software to help engineers to better predict, design and optimise systems affecting our lives, including our environment and welfare, our security and safety, and the products we use and export. These goals can only be attempted from a multidisciplinary perspective, which is at the core of CIMNE activities. CIMNE has been selected as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence for the period 2019-2023. This is the highest level of recognition of excellence and leadership that is awarded to a research centre in Spain.

CIMNE is an institution that puts a strong emphasis also in technology transfer and the creation of solutions for society and industry. For that reason, it has created its own spin-off company aimed at helping materialise that vision: CIMNE Tecnología.