The Leonardo 2026 Mathematics Grants have recognized three researchers from Catalan universities this year. This result positions Catalonia as one of the main references in mathematical research, as three of the five projects selected in the area of Mathematics, Statistics, and Data Science are led by the Pompeu Fabra University, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and the University of Barcelona.
These grants aim to promote highly innovative research projects led by researchers at an intermediate stage of their scientific career. In the 2026 call, 59 Leonardo Grants have been awarded, distributed across eleven areas of knowledge. Catalonia has been the autonomous community with the highest number of selected projects.
In the field of mathematics, the researchers linked to Catalan universities who have been awarded are:
- Lorenzo Cappello, scientific researcher at the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), for the project Black-Box Predictive Inference (subarea of Statistics).
- Elba García Failde, scientific researcher at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC), for the project Refined Enumerative Geometry Beyond ORieNtability (REBORN) (subarea of Mathematics).
- Alejandro Poveda Ruzafa, assistant professor at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Barcelona (UB), for the project A Prikry-type Approach to Woodin’s HOD Conjecture (subarea of Mathematics).
That three of the five awarded projects in mathematics are led from Catalonia evidences the strength of the Catalan university system and the international projection of its research groups. The selected projects cover diverse fields such as statistics, algebraic geometry, and mathematical logic, fundamental disciplines for the progress of knowledge with a growing impact on science and technology.
From the Catalan Society of Mathematics (SCM) we congratulate Lorenzo Cappello, Elba García Failde, and Alejandro Poveda Ruzafa for this important recognition. This success helps to give visibility to the mathematics being done in Catalonia and reinforces the role of Catalan universities as centers of excellence in research.
The Catalan Society of Mathematics celebrates that this international recognition helps to highlight the country's mathematical talent and trusts that results like this will contribute to increasing institutional support for research, essential for facing the great scientific, technological, and social challenges of the future.