The Social Council of the UC recognizes with the Juan María Parés 2024 Award the research excellence and impact of Raúl Medina, inside and outside IHCantabria

More than 150 international projects, 200 scientific publications and 40 doctoral theses supervised endorse Raúl Medina’s scientific career, which has been dedicated to the advancement of coastal engineering and coastal protection

Tireless researcher, professor of generations and a leader with vision, the general director of the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the Universidad de Cantabria (IHCantabria), Raúl Medina, will be awarded the Juan María Parés 2024 Research Award, in the category of “Research Activity”. This award will be presented by the Social Council of the University of Cantabria, on June 12, in the auditorium of this university institution.

The awarding of this prize not only highlights the extraordinary scientific career of Raúl Medina, but also his ability to build community, promote talent and shape scientific knowledge that focuses on the great challenges of the planet. Because the mark that Raúl Medina is leaving in the field of coastal engineering is not only measured in figures, but in the real transformation of territories, institutions and people, inside and outside Spain.

A trajectory at the service of knowledge and society

Raúl Medina has devoted more than four decades to research, teaching, technology and knowledge transfer. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Cantabria, has been a professor since 2001 and General Director of IHCantabria since 2011. He has led more than 150 international projects on risks, erosion, floods or integrated coastal management. He has published more than 200 scientific articles, directed more than 40 doctoral theses and developed tools, such as the Coastal Modeling System (CMS), used by more than 580 institutions in 56 countries, to improve the sustainability and resilience of coastal environments. His scientific, applied and socially committed vision has left its mark on projects promoted by multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.

An inspirational figure inside and outside IHCantabria

The opinions of those who have shared a path with him, such as academics and scientific researchers, reflect the human dimension that accompanies his scientific career. “This award cannot be understood without the human value that Raúl represents and the values he transmits in everything he does,” says Javier López Lara, UC professor and head of the Climate Risk, Adaptation and Resilience Group at IHCantabria.

Íñigo Losada, professor at the University of Cantabria and Director of Research at IHCantabria, highlights Raúl Medina’s commitment to young talent and the development of the knowledge economy in Cantabria as exemplary. With this award, he says that “the leadership exercised by Raúl Medina in the creation and management of one of the most prestigious centers in the world in his discipline” is being recognized.

“I would like to highlight, in addition to a level of humanism, empathy and generosity, his prescient and strategic vision in the conception and application of a transdisciplinary approach, to seek solutions to the different problems related to water and aquatic ecosystems,” comments José A. Juanes, Director of Strategies at IHCantabria.

“Raúl is a master of masters, who has been able to solve complex coastal problems in Cantabria and the world, training generations with wisdom and generosity,” says Mauricio González, UC professor and head of the Coastal Engineering and Management Group of this institute.

Science that protects territories, inspires people and leaves a footprint

In the words of Professor Emeritus César Vidal, who has known Raúl for more than 40 years: “Raúl Medina has not only been an extraordinary researcher, but also a brilliant mind, a generous colleague and a leader in difficult times”, as he demonstrated during the Prestige crisis, when he organized in record time the scientific response to protect the Cantabrian coast. “Raúl has not limited himself to accumulating merits”, says Vidal, highlighting Medina’s management as general director of IHCantabria, in which he has been able to combine excellence, commitment and humanity, “which has made him a reference that transcends disciplines”.

Therefore, Raul Medina’s legacy is not only in the numbers. For him, what is essential is in the bonds that are woven while pursuing results. That is why he believes that “this award is not only an individual recognition, but also a collective one. Because I wouldn’t be here without my colleagues who have accompanied me on this journey”. Because, in his opinion, a research career, like a journey, “is better measured in friends and experiences than in articles or indexes. The important thing is not only in the results, but in the bonds we create along the way.