In the decade of 1970, at the UCM, Miguel was the first to undertake the research as well as the educational program in a discipline that did not exist previously in Spain: Solid State Chemistry. In 1974 he founded a research group in this field, thus laying the foundation for other independent groups that are now internationally recognized. In 1985 he created the specialized Solid State Chemistry Group of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry, which he presided until 1998, and in 1987 started the Electron Microscopy Center Luís Bru at UCM. He was the dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of UCM from 1986 to 1994, president of the Royal Academy of Exact Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain (2009-2011), and director of the UCM Summer Courses of El Escorial (1992-1995). He was also the chair of important scientific meetings with a strong international flavor, such as the Gordon Conference on Solid State Chemistry in Oxford (UK) (2003).
His research focused on the synthesis and study of metal oxides, with emphasis on the stabilization of new phases at high pressure and the determination of correlations between structural details, microstructure and physical properties. He contributed abundantly in several fields of materials chemistry, including high Tc superconductivity (cuprates), perovskites with different applications, and magnetic oxides. He received several prestigious awards, such as the prize of the Spanish Royal Society of Physics and Chemistry for young researchers (1973), the prize of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences (1984), the prize Jaume I in Materials Science (1991), the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry (1996), the Miguel Catalán prize of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (2010), and very recently the UCM Research and Teaching Merit Medal (2024). He achieved a remarkable international recognition in his field of research and he was invited researcher or professor in many laboratories or Universities in UK, France, USA, Japan and Argentina.
His friendly and bright personality, his knowledge and enthusiasm for the research in chemistry and physics, together with his interest in other disciplines such as music, literature and history, won him the admiration and sympathy of numerous colleagues in Spain and in many other countries around the world. Some of us at the ICMAB had the privilege and fortune of being his collaborators or friends.
He leaves behind a lasting legacy, not only as a researcher with academic educational impact, but also as a person committed to diffuse and communicate science to the society. His impact will be felt for generations.
We will miss him.
Amparo Fuertes and Xavier Obradors
