J.A. Lozano collects BCAM’s second Severo Ochoa accreditation of excellence

• The scientific director of the center received the prize at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities in Madrid

The scientific director of BCAM, José Antonio Lozano, was in charge of collecting the second Severo Ochoa accreditation of excellence awarded by the State Research Agency to the Basque Centre for Applied Mathematics. The event, which took place in Madrid on September 9^th, was attended by the acting Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Pedro Duque; the Secretary of State for Universities, Research, Development and Innovation, Ángeles Heras; and the director of the State Research Agency, Enrique Playán.

Thanks to the Severo Ochoa Excellence accreditation, BCAM will have a funding of 4 million euros for the next 4 years. This distinction recognizes those centers that are among the best in the world in their area and is awarded after a rigorous evaluation in which more than a 100 international scientists of recognized prestige participate.

"The 12 centres and units accredited in this call stand out for their scientific production of the highest level and contribute in an exemplary manner to economic growth and to the improvement of the well-being and quality of life of citizens", said the director of the State Research Agency, Enrique Playán, during the opening of the event. For his part, Minister Pedro Duque stressed the "international competitiveness" of the centers recognized in this call and congratulated them for their scientific work, especially those who have achieved this accreditation for the second time.

When he received BCAM’s award, Jose Antonio Lozano expressed his gratitude for the enthusiasm and proactivity of the centre's team and expressed his wish that this second accreditation will place the organisation "beyond in the international sphere".

In addition to BCAM, two other Basque centres promoted by the Basque Government and Ikerbasque have received the María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence accreditation: the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and the Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE).