José J. Baldoví awarded the Emerging Scientific Talent Prize by the Societat Catalana de Química

The Societat Catalana de Química has awarded the 2025 Emerging Scientific Talent Prize to José Jaime Baldoví Jachán, head of the 2D Smart Materials group at the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol) of the University of Valencia (UV) and Distinguished Researcher of Excellence under the Plan GenT. The prize recognizes his outstanding scientific career and his emerging leadership in the field of chemistry.

“It is a great honor to receive this recognition from the Societat Catalana de Química. I’m very grateful to all the people who are part of this journey,” said Baldoví. “On one hand, it’s an award for all the work carried out over many years of dedication to chemistry. On the other hand, it comes at a wonderful time—an especially productive stage in which we are exploring fascinating scientific problems in emerging research fields. Things are being done well,” he added.

In addition to leading his group and serving as guarantor of the María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence at ICMol, Baldoví is also President of the Association of Scientists of Excellence of the Plan GenT (ACCENT), a full member of the Young Academy of Spain, and faculty and researcher in the Department of Physical Chemistry at UV. He currently leads an ERC Starting Grant project and represents Spain on the Management Committee of the COST Action SuperQumap. A few weeks ago, he was also recognized by the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry with the Young Investigator Award in the research group leader category.

Graduated in Chemistry from the UV (2009), and holding a Master’s degree (2012) and PhD (2016) in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from ICMol, Baldoví received the Outstanding Academic Award at each stage of his academic training. He was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg (Germany), and returned to the Valencian Community through the Plan GenT program of the regional government. Since 2024, he has held the title of Distinguished Researcher of Excellence. Throughout his career, he has consistently obtained highly competitive research contracts and numerous accolades.

His research focuses on the development of theoretical and computational frameworks for the chemical design of smart devices based on molecular and two-dimensional materials. This work integrates physics, chemistry, and materials science to explore emerging applications in fields such as magnonics, spintronics, quantum computing, and sensing devices. He has published over 80 articles in international journals, a book chapter, and three popular science articles. He has also delivered around 40 invited talks at international conferences and 18 research seminars. Additionally, he holds a Master’s degree in Scientific Communication, which has enabled him to share the value of science with society through outreach activities.

The award, which includes a €1,000 prize and an official certificate, will be presented on June 26 in Barcelona, at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans. On this occasion, Baldoví will give a lecture on the importance of his work and its most significant results.