Joaquin Valderrama receives the Knight’s Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic

 in Australia / News / Science Diplomacy / Spain  tagged 2022 / Joaquín Valderrama / Premio / Science Diplomacy / SRAP by

Dr Joaquín Valderrama has been decorated by the Spanish Ambassador in Australia, HE Ms Alicia Moral Revilla, with the Knight’s Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic for his merits in presiding over the association Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP) from 2019 to 2021 and for sustaining a productive international research collaboration with the University of Granada (Spain) in his role as Senior Research Scientist at the National Acoustic Laboratories (Sydney) and Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Linguistics in Macquarie University (Sydney).

H.E. Alicia Moral-Revilla (Ambassador of Spain in Australia) reads the details of the award of the Officer Cross of the Royal Order of Isabel la Católica to Dr Joaquín Valderrama.  Photo credit: Ángel López-Sánchez.

The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic is de facto the highest Civil Order in Spain. This Order was created on 14 March 1815 by King Ferdinand VII, and is currently an honour granted to persons and institutions in recognition of the promotion of international relationships with other nations. Knights and Dames of the Order are bestowed by the Spanish Monarch, King Felipe VI—Grand Master of the Order, enjoy personal nobility, have the privilege of adding a golden heraldic mantle to their coat of arms, and receive the official style of “His Lordship or Her Ladyship”.

SRAP Honorary President Dr Joaquín Valderrama (NAL) received from H.E. Alicia Moral-Revilla (Ambassador of Spain in Australia) the Officer Cross of the Royal Order of Isabel la Católica. Photo credit: Ronny Kurniawan Ibrahim.

SRAP Honorary President Dr Joaquín Valderrama (NAL) received from H.E. Alicia Moral-Revilla (Ambassador of Spain in Australia) the Officer Cross of the Royal Order of Isabel la Católica. Photo credit: Ángel López-Sánchez.

The ceremony of the Award took place in the Australian Hearing Hub on the 25th of November 2022, during the 8th Australia-Spain Research Forum “A Digital World”.. Joaquin’s wife, friends and colleagues accompanied him in this special day.

SRAP Honorary President Dr Joaquín Valderrama (NAL) received from H.E. Alicia Moral-Revilla (Ambassador of Spain in Australia) the Officer Cross of the Royal Order of Isabel la Católica, a decoration from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation that is bestowed upon Spanish or foreign citizens that have excelled in their merits and achievements, as well as in promoting the interests of Spain. Photo credit: Ángel López-Sánchez.

Joaquin has now accepted a Maria Zambrano European Fellowship to continue his career on hearing neuroscience at the Department of Signal Theory, Telematics and Communications of the University of Granada in Spain. Joaquin has also been recently granted Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Macquarie University, which will ensure his international collaboration continues. Further, Joaquin will continue in SRAP as Honorary President and has also been nominated Ambassador of the Spanish Network of Scientists and Researchers Abroad (RAICEX).

We wish him all the best in his new position in Spain, and we hope he visits us soon to share his learnings and his experience.

Joaquín Valderrama and his wife Pilar. Photo credit: Ronny Kurniawan Ibrahim.

Detail of the Medal to Joaquín Valderrama. Photo credit: Ronny Kurniawan Ibrahim.

Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

About Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

A/Prof Ángel R. López-Sánchez is an astrophysicist and science communicator working at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University (MQ). He is a recognised expert in the study of how the gas is converted into stars in galaxies and how this affects galaxy evolution. He graduated in Theoretical Physics at the University of Granada (2000) and completed his PhD Thesis in Astrophysics at the prestigious “Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias” (IAC, Spain) and the University of La Laguna (Spain) in 2006. He moved to Australia in 2007, joining CSIRO “Astronomy and Space Science” to perform radio-interferometric observations of gas-rich galaxies at the Australian Telescope Compact Array. In 2011 he joined the Australian Astronomical Observatory and Macquarie University combining instrumentation support, research, lecturing, and outreach. He was appointed as a full-time research academic at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Macquarie University in May 2023. He is the president of the association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP), the vice-president of the Astronomical Association of Córdoba (AAC, Spain), representative in the Andalusian Astronomy Network (RAdA), and member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Spanish Astronomy Society (SEA), and the Australian Astronomy Society (ASA). He is a globally-recognised science communicator, with visibility in Spanish and Australian printed, broadcast, and social media. He is also a passionate amateur astronomer that uses his own equipment for capturing the beauty of the Cosmos. His stunning astronomy time-lapse videos and photos have received +1/2 million views in YouTube and have been seen in TV channels in USA, Australia and Spain, science museums worldwide, and textbooks.