María Yzuel facts for kids

María Josefa Yzuel Giménez, born in 1940, is a brilliant professor of physics. She teaches at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. Professor Yzuel has explored many exciting areas in physics. These include how light helps in medicine (medical optics). She also studied how images are formed and how clear they are. She even worked with liquid crystals, which are used in many screens today. In 2009, she became the president of SPIE, a big international group for optics and photonics.

Early Life and School

María Yzuel was born in a town called Jaca in Spain. She loved science and decided to study physical sciences. She went to the University of Zaragoza and finished her first degree in 1962.

She loved learning so much that she stayed at the same university. She continued her studies to earn her PhD, which is a very high degree. She completed her PhD in 1966. Later, in 1987, María received a special grant. This award from the British Council allowed her to travel to the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. She was the only woman to get this important award that year. There, she worked with a famous scientist named Harold Hopkins.

Amazing Discoveries and Career

In 1971, María Yzuel started teaching at the University of Zaragoza. She made history by becoming the first woman in Spain to be a physics professor! This was a huge step for women in science.

Later, in 1983, Professor Yzuel moved to the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She continued to break barriers there too. In 1993, she became the first woman president of the Spanish Optical Society. This society is a group for people who study light and optics. Then, in 1996, she became the secretary general of the European Optical Society.

Professor Yzuel worked on many different optical systems. These are devices that use light. She also studied how to process information using light. She showed how to use special devices called spatial light modulators. These devices can change light in useful ways.

She officially retired in 2011. However, she still works at the Autonomous University of Barcelona as an emeritus professor. This means she continues to share her knowledge and experience. She also helps guide the International Scientific Council of the South Ural State University.

María Yzuel cares a lot about making science open to everyone. She strongly supports programs that help women scientists. She has worked with the SPIE Women in Optics program. She also joined the Association of Women Researchers and Technologists. She even started a special section for women in physics within the Royal Spanish Society of Physics.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Professor Yzuel has received many important awards and honors. She is a Fellow of several major scientific groups. These include The Optical Society, the European Optical Society, and SPIE. Being a Fellow means she is recognized as a top expert in her field. She is also a Senior Academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona.

Here are some of her other special awards:

• 2005: She received the SPIE Director's Award.
• 2005: She was given a medal from the University of Warsaw.
• 2009: She became the President of SPIE.
• 2012: She received an Honorary Doctorate from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche. This is a special degree given to honor great achievements.
• 2013: She was awarded the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise. This is a very high honor in Spain.
• 2014: She received a medal from the Royal Spanish Society of Physics.
• 2015: She was the President of the Spanish Committee for the International Year of Light. This was a worldwide event to celebrate light science.
• 2017: She won the Gender Equality Award from the University of Alicante.
• 2017: She received another Honorary Doctorate from the University of Granada.
• 2021: She was given the SPIE President's Award.

To honor her amazing work, SPIE created the Maria J. Yzuel Educator Award in 2003. This award is given to people who do great work in teaching optics. In 2018, a building at the Walqa Technology Park was named after her. In 2019, The Institute of Photonic Sciences started the Maria Yzuel Fellowship Awards. These awards help women students who are studying science.

See also

In Spanish: María Josefa Yzuel Giménez para niños