UC3M Professor Daniel García González named finalist for the 2025 Princess of Girona Foundation Research Award
4/25/25
The Princess of Girona Foundation has selected Daniel García González, Associate Professor in the Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), as one of the five finalists for the 2025 Princess of Girona Foundation Award in the Research category. This award recognizes the achievements of young scientists and researchers who have made significant contributions to their fields and demonstrate an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit with strong potential for future development.
Today, the Foundation announced the names of the five finalists for this prestigious award in the Research category. The jury meeting and the announcement of the winner will take place on Thursday, May 8, at the Manuel Rojas Conference Center in Badajoz, during a ceremony presided over by His Majesty the King. The award includes a €20,000 prize and a reproduction of an artwork by contemporary artist Juan Zamora (2017 Princess of Girona Foundation Award for Arts and Literature).
Daniel García González is the only finalist affiliated with a Spanish university. The other finalists are associated with institutions such as the Centre for Genomic Regulation, the Institute for Biomedical Research of Barcelona, Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) and the University of Chicago (USA).
An industrial engineer and PhD graduate with international distinction from UC3M, García González (Leganés, 1992) completed postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford, focusing on the mechanical behavior of brain tissue and its functional response. He currently leads several research projects, including a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant project (4D-BIOMAP; GA 947723), an ERC Proof of Concept project (ISBIOMECH; GA 101081713), and various national initiatives. He has established a multidisciplinary laboratory—MULTIBIOSTRUCTURES Lab (Multifunctional Structures and Biomechanics)—at the Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence (C3N-IA) within the UC3M Science Park in Leganés Tecnológico. There, he develops novel multifunctional materials and theoretical formulations that integrate mechanics with other physical phenomena, applying them to bioengineering challenges in collaboration with a broad international network. García González has completed research stays at numerous prestigious institutions and is a member of the Young Academy of Spain, where he currently serves as secretary. Among his many accolades, he received the 2023 National Research Award for Young Researchers ‘Matilde Ucelay’ in the Engineering and Architecture category, in recognition of the originality and interdisciplinary impact of his groundbreaking contributions to the development of smart and multifunctional materials and their applications in bioengineering.
In the field of innovation, García González has spearheaded the creation of 60Nd, S.L., a UC3M-backed spin-off specializing in the design and production of instrumentation for simulating biological processes influenced by mechanical stimuli in vitro. The company aims to develop and commercialize disruptive technology to induce mechanical activation in cells using magneto-sensitive materials. This technology opens new avenues for research in mechanobiology and mechanomedicine, with the potential to reduce time and costs in pharmaceutical research phases and to enhance the quality and effectiveness of treatments.
