Lorenzo Ferrer was born in Barcelona in 21 November 1920. He was appointed Maestro of the Generalitat de Catalunya during the civil war (October 1937- April 1938). He afterwards studied in the University of Barcelona. Doctor in Mathematics, he was pre-tenured lecturer in the University of Barcelona (1947-1959). In the year 1959 he got the chair of Theoretical Mechanics in the University of Valencia, until 1987, year in which he was appointed Emeritus Professor.

In the calls of 1953 and 1956 he was awarded with the Torres Quevedo Research Award. He was also awarded with the Valencian Innovation Award in the category of R&D (1989). Founder of the Operative Research School of the University of Valencia, in 1965, and director of the same school (1965-1991), he introduced Operative Research and Systems Theory in Valencia (between 1962 y 1969).