As part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the UPF Department and School of Engineering, Alba Cervera, a senior researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), was granted the Women Researcher Award in information and communication technologies. The award ceremony was held in the auditorium of the Poblenou campus, with more than a hundred people in attendance.

Alba Cervera, a doctoral student in Computing and Quantum Information, was awarded for the scientific quality of her research and the impact of her professional career. 

Having completed her PhD at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB), Cervera continued her research as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Alán Aspuru-Guzik at the University of Toronto, before returning to Barcelona as a senior researcher with the Quantic Group and, since October 2021, as coordinator of the Quantum Spain project at the BSC-CNS, which is to acquire and operate the first quantum computer in southern Europe.

Cervera’s research focuses on quantum technologies and computing, particularly on thequantum algorithms of the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) scale and theintersection between quantum physics and artificial intelligence. The award, endowed with 3,000 euros gross, recognizes not only Cervera’s scientific excellence but also her participation in communication and scientific outreach activities, as well as her contribution to the research areas of the UPF Department of Engineering.

More than 30 women researchers from all over the State, representing more than 20 universities, independent research centres, CSIC and other companies in the sector, submitted their candidacy for the award. Such a variety of participants unequivocally reflects the heterogeneity and quality of the research carried out by top-level female profiles working in Spain in information and communication technologies. 

The Women Researchers Award is an initiative that seeks to promote, recognize and make women researchers and their role in research visible, supporting the work of women scientists who contribute to the field of information and communication technologies. This award continues to reinforce the commitment by Engineering at UPF to promoting equality, inclusion and a gender perspective in research in these areas of study.