Professor Barluenga

José Barluenga was born in Tardienta (Huesca), a small village near the Pyrenees, on July 27, 1940. After earning his degree in Chemistry from the University of Zaragoza in 1963, he completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Gómez Aranda in 1966. He then spent three and a half years at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim, Germany working under the supervision of Professor Heinz Hoberg in the field of Organometallic Chemistry. In 1970, he returned to Spain to work at Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Zaragoza, where he stayed until 1972, the year he secured a position as Associate Professor at the University of Zaragoza. In 1975, he won the chair of Organic Chemistry at the University of Oviedo where he developed his scientific carrier.

During this time, he served as president of the Advisory Committee for Scientific and Technological Research and president of the First Spanish Committee for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Research, both under the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. He was also the president of the Organic Division of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (1997). Professor Barluenga was the driving force behind the establishment in 1993 of the «Enrique Moles» Organometallic Chemistry Institute at the University of Oviedo and served as its director.

Barluenga was a globally recognized scientist, achieving significant milestones in chemistry research: stabilization and chemical characterization of functionalized organolithium compounds; activation of alkenes and alkynes towards nucleophilic reagents; new synthetic perspectives with transition metals, particularly Fischer carbene complexes; design and application in asymmetric synthesis of enantiomerically pure activated carbenes; development of the new reagent bis(pyridine)iodonium tetrafluoroborate, better known as IPy₂BF₄ or Barluenga’s reagent, among others. His work has consistently been a benchmark in his field of research.

He received numerous awards and distinctions, as well as scientific appointments, reflecting his professionalism and intellectual rigor. The first of these accolades was the Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, received in 1989, notable for being the first time it was awarded to a Spanish researcher. This award was followed by many others, including: the Solvay Prize from the Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE) in 1990; the DuPont Prize in 1991; the IV Iberdrola Prize for Science and Technology in 1996; the Gold Medal of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry in 1998; an honorary doctorate from the University of Alcalá in 2000 and from the University of La Rioja in 2010; the Gold Badge of the University of Oviedo in 2001; the first Enrique Moles Prize for Science and Chemical Technology in 2001; the Third García-Cabrerizo Foundation Prize in 2002; the Elhuyar-Hans Goldschmidt Brothers Prize in 2005; the Rey Jaime I Research Prize, also in 2005; Silver Medal of the Principado de Asturias, in 2009, one of the highest honors awarded by the regional government; and the Lilly Foundation Prize in 2011 for his contributions to Spanish chemistry.

José Barluenga supervised 112 PhD students and published over 600 scientific articles.

PhD students supervised by Professor Barluenga:

Gregorio Asensio Aguilar

Vicente Miguel Gotor Santamaría

Miguel Angel Roy López

Ana Mastral Lamarca

Fernando Aznar Gómez

Santos Fustero Lardiés

Antonio Ara González

Francisco Palacios Gambra

José Manuel Concellón Gracia

Pedro José Campos García

Francisco Javier Fañanás Vizcarra

Carmen Nájera Domingo

Miguel Tomás Lardiés

Victor Rubio Royo

Pablo Bernad Enguita

Ramón Liz Guiral

Juan Carlos García Martín

Jorge Villamaña García

Juán Francisco López Ortiz

Luisa Alonso Cires

Carmen Jiménez Lorences

Laudina Muñiz Carbayín

Ana Bayón Fernández

Julia Pérez Prieto

Josefa Flórez González

Nieves Gómez García

Bernardo Olano Alvarez

Jesús Jardón Alvarez

Joaquín López de Prado Nistal

José María Martínez Gallo

José Ramón Fernández González

María Paz Cabal Naves

Fernando López Ortiz

María José Iglesias Valdés

María Flora Alvarez Castellanos

José Manuel González Díaz

Alfredo Ballesteros Gimeno

Miguel Santos Bayod Jasanada

Eduardo Rubio Royo

José Luis Fernández Simón

Francisco Foubelo García

Jesús Joglar Tamargo

Miguel Angel Rodriguez Barranco

Francisco Javier González Fernández

Gonzalo Canal Mori

Humildad Cuervo García

Luis Angel López García

Angel Luis Suárez Sobrino

Enrique Aguilar Huergo

María Luján Llavona Díaz

María Isabel Merino Natal

Miguel Ferrero Fuertes

Alfonso Carlos Valdés Gómez

Jian-She Kong

María Rosario González García

Argimiro López Viado

Raquel Pérez Carlón

José Alfredo Martín Fuentes

Isidro Llorente García

Javier Marcelo Montserrat

Carlos del Pozo Losada

Rosa María Canteli Vega

Miguel Angel García Martín

Javier Santamaría Victorero

Roberto José Sanz Díez

Sofía Barluenga Badiola

Elvira Peláez Arango

Mónica Fernández González

Marta Pérez Alvarez

José Angel López Pelegrín

Félix Fernández Marí

Cristina Ribas Bueno

Beatriz Baragaña Ruibal

Pablo Luis Bernad Millán

Félix Rodríguez Iglesias

Andrés Avelino Trabanco Suárez

Lorenzo José Alvarez García

Silvia Martínez Sánchez

María Angel Palomero Vázquez

Ignacio Gutiérrez Pérez

Salomé López González

Jorge Alonso Alonso

Manuel Angel Fernández Rodríguez

Francisco González Bobes

Carlos Mateos Gutiérrez

Manuel Alejandro Fernández Hernández

Iván Pérez Sánchez

Ramón Bernardo de la Rúa García

Henar Vázquez Villa

Mónica Álvarez Pérez

Mónica Trincado Rodríguez

Alejandro Diéguez Vázquez

Ana de Prado González

Ana Belén García Delgado

Rubén Vicente Arroyo

María Marco Arias

Pablo Barrio Fernández

Patricia García García

Lucía Álvarez Rodrigo

Facundo Andina Manéndez

Martín Fañanás Mastral

Patricia Moriel Blanco

Esther Campos Gómez

Diana de Sáa Recio

Marcos García Suero

Jaime García Rodríguez

Amadeo Fernández Miranda

Agustín Jiménez Aquino

Abraham Mendoza Valderrey

Aránzazu Gómez Hernández

David Palomas Doña

Lorena Riesgo Canal

María Piedrafita Monreal

Eva Tudela Palomar

María Tomás Gamasa

Ana Belén Álvarez Fernández

Raquel de la Campa Fernández

María Escribano Santamarina