Fitxa persona

I was born in Novelda (Alicante) in 1967. I obtained my PhD in Physics from the University of Valencia in 1995. After completing my doctorate, I carried out postdoctoral research at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (1996–1999) and at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (2000–2002), where I established scientific collaborations that remain active today.

I joined the University of Valencia in 2002 as a Ramón y Cajal research fellow. In 2006 I obtained a position as Associate Professor, and since 2017 I have been a Full Professor. I currently hold five recognized research “sexenios” and six teaching “quinquenios”.

My research activity focuses primarily on Extragalactic Astrophysics and Cosmology. I have published 126 articles in high-impact international journals, which have accumulated more than 5,200 citations and an h-index of 40. Since 2003 I have been Principal Investigator without interruption on ten competitive research projects (seven from the Spanish National Plan, one from the EU –Marie Curie Network–, one from the Generalitat Valenciana, and one from NASA through the Space Telescope Science Institute). I have also obtained observing time as PI at major facilities such as the Gran Telescopio Canarias and the Hubble Space Telescope.

My current research lines include the study of the cosmological model, galactic structure and dark matter, the unresolved structure of quasars, and the search for exoplanets, with particular emphasis on the use of gravitational lenses and microlensing techniques.

In the teaching domain, I have taught undergraduate and master’s courses for 28 academic years, covering a wide range of subjects and receiving very positive evaluations. I am currently the Director of the University of Valencia’s own degree Expert Course in Observational Astrophysics. I have supervised three PhD theses as sole advisor, all with international mention.

Regarding university management, I have been Director of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia since September 1, 2020. Previously, I served as Director (2011–2015) and Secretary (2007–2011) of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. I have participated in numerous evaluation committees, including ANEP, the Ramón y Cajal and Juan de la Cierva programs, National Plan selection committees, and the Time Allocation Committee of the Canary Islands Observatories, among others.