8/6/2010. The Palau de la Generalitat in Valencia today hosted the decision of the prestigious Rey Jaime I Awards, which honor scientists, researchers, architects and entrepreneurs in seven different categories. In the Basic Research category, the award went to Ernesto Carmona Guzmán, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Seville and member of the Institute of Chemical Research. The jury, which includes nineteen Nobel Prize winners, recognized Carmona’s contribution to organometallic chemistry, as well as his particular research into the activation of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and other molecules of environmental and economic interest.

Along with Ernesto Carmona, other award winners were José Mir Pallardó (Medical Research), Rafael Repullo (Economics), Jordi Bascompte (Environmental Protection), Manuel Martín Neira (New Technologies), Rafael Moneo (Urban Planning and Sustainability) and Emilio Mateu (Entrepreneur). The Rey Jaime I Awards, endowed with 100,000 euros in each of the categories, are organized by the Generalitat Valenciana and the Fundación Valenciana de Estudios Avanzados (FVEA). The awards ceremony will be held at the Lonja de Valencia next autumn.