The Mexican astrophysicist José Eduardo Méndez Delgado, researcher at the UNAM Institute of Astronomy, was awarded the Princess of Girona International Research Award 2026.
The ceremony took place at the Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona, in front of about two thousand people. Kings Felipe VI and Letizia, along with Princess Leonor, presented the recognition. The scientist shared the distinction with five other outstanding young people in the social, artistic and business fields.
Career and key discovery
Méndez Delgado, 31, defended in his speech the role of Mexican public education and UNAM in his training. He also thanked Spain for its scientific openness and the support received in Germany. He sent a message of encouragement to the new generations of Latin American scientists.
Its main achievement was to solve in 2023 the so-called “nebula abundance discrepancy problem”, an enigma that baffled modern astrophysics for decades. The finding was published in the journal Nature and previously earned him the 2024 Ernst Patzer Prize from the Max Planck Institute.
His training includes studies at UNAM, a cum laude doctorate from the University of La Laguna (Spain) and a postdoctoral degree at the University of Heidelberg (Germany). He has more than 50 publications in high-impact magazines.
Leadership in international projects
Currently, Méndez Delgado founded the international scientific collaboration DESIRED and leads key studies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V) project. It also participates in the strategic design of the next phase, SDSS-VI, consolidating UNAM’s leadership in global space exploration.
