- This distinction, funded by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Vienna, recognizes scientific careers of outstanding relevance in the field of theoretical physics.
- Prof. Gavela will be a guest of the particle physics group between May 4 and 15 and again between October 12 and 23. Her lectures in May will take place May 5 and 12.
Prof. María Belén Gavela Legazpi, Full Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a member of the Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT UAM-CSIC), has been named Erwin Schrödinger Visiting Scientist 2026, an international distinction recognizing outstanding scientific careers in theoretical physics. The program, supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Vienna, has a long-standing tradition dating back to the 1970s and has honored more than 50 leading researchers in particle physics.
Prof. Gavela studied physics at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and at the Université Paris-Sud, and has held research positions at leading institutions in Europe and the United States, including CERN. After holding a permanent position at the French CNRS, she returned to Madrid, where she has been Full Professor since 1996. Her research lies at the interface of particle physics phenomenology and quantum field theory, with seminal contributions to CP violation, neutrino physics, and physics beyond the Standard Model. Her work on leptonic mixing and CP violation has been particularly influential, paving the way for current experimental efforts to observe CP violation in neutrino oscillations. In recent years, she has also contributed to axion and axion-like particle physics.
Throughout her career, Prof. Gavela has received several international distinctions, including the Julius Wess Award (2023) and the Beate Naroska Guest Professorship (2020), and has played a key role in the international particle physics community through her service on high-level committees, including the CERN Scientific Policy Committee and Research Board, as well as the European Strategy for Particle Physics update.
As part of this distinction, Prof. Gavela will participate in scientific activities in Vienna during two periods, from May 4 to 15 and from October 12 to 23, including lectures scheduled for May 5 and 12.