The 2020 Wolf Prize in Physics has been awarded this year to the physicist and former student of the Universitat de València Pablo Jarillo-Herrero for “his pioneering theoretical and experimental work on twisted bi-layer graphene, which, among other things, will lead to a new energy revolution”, as stated by the President of the Wolf Awards, Reuvén Rivlin.  Jarillo-Herrero has been awarded along with the Canadian Allan H. Macdonald and the Israeli Rafi Bistritz. The awarding ceremony will take place on 11th June at Israel’s Parliament.

Nowadays, Jarillo-Herrero is Professor in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. He holds a Degree in Physics from the Universitat, with postgraduate studies at the University of California (United States) and a doctorate from the University of Delft (Netherlands).

His work focuses on experimental physics of condensed matter, in particular on quantum electronic transport and optoelectronics in new two-dimensional materials such as graphene.

Last year, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero was awarded the 2019 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize by the American Physical Society (APS), with a career in which he stood out for the discovery of superconductivity in twisted two-layer graphene.

The dean of the Faculty of Physics, Jordi Vidal, highlighted that ‘it is an honour for the Faculty to be able to count Pablo Jarillo-Herrero among its former students’. He also has pointed out that the award 'demonstrates the quality of the training we provide and which allows our students to reach the highest levels of excellence and recognition'.

The Wolf Foundation was born in 1976 in remembrance of the Cuban diplomatic and scientist of  German Jewish ascent Ricardo Lobo. In its history, the Wolf Foundation has awarded 340 scientists and artists, more than a third of whom have subsequently won the Nobel Prize in their respective disciplines.