Awards

Juan Rodríguez-Carvajal wins the prestigious 2025 Walter Hälg Prize

The ICMAB is proud to celebrate the recognition of Juan Rodríguez-Carvajal, Senior Fellow of the ILL Laue-Langevin, who has been awarded the 2025 Walter Hälg Prize by the European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA). The award was presented during the ICNS 2025 conference held in Copenhagen and Lund (6–10 July 2025).

Juan Rodríguez Carvajal at the awards ceremony at the ICNS 2025 conference held in Copenhagen

This prestigious prize, sponsored by SwissNeutronics, honors Rodríguez-Carvajal’s exceptional contributions to neutron science, particularly for his development and continued leadership of FullProf—the world-renowned software suite used for Rietveld analysis of powder diffraction data in both crystallographic and magnetic studies. His connection with the ICMAB, where he began his scientific career, makes this recognition especially meaningful for the ICMAB community, which continues to benefit from his pioneering work and scientific legacy.

A software that transformed neutron science

FullProf, first released in the early 1990s, revolutionized the way scientists analyze powder diffraction data. It has become an essential tool in the global neutron and X-ray scattering community. Today, FullProf is cited in over 14,000 publications and is used in countless laboratories and large-scale facilities.

As noted during the award ceremony, “Juan Rodríguez-Carvajal is not only an exceptional scientist with profound instrumental expertise but also possesses deep insight into the underlying physics of neutron scattering, particularly in the realm of strongly correlated materials.” His commitment to scientific excellence is matched by his dedication to the research community. He continues to lead FullProf’s development, ensuring it evolves with the latest scientific and technological advances, and provides regular training to researchers worldwide.

Juan Rodríguez-Carvajal

Scientific biography

Juan Rodríguez-Carvajal earned his PhD in Physics at the University of Barcelona in 1984. He began his scientific career at the ICMAB-CSIC, before taking up key roles at major European neutron facilities, including the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble and the Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB) in Saclay. From 2006 to 2013, he served as Head of the Diffraction Group at the ILL and is currently a Senior Staff Scientist there.

Throughout his more than 40-year career, he has made significant contributions to the study of magnetic structures, strongly correlated materials, multiferroics, and energy materials, with a focus on oxide cathodes for batteries, superconductivity, and colossal magnetoresistance. His work elegantly bridges theoretical modeling, experimental neutron scattering, and advanced software development.

Rodríguez-Carvajal has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers, delivered more than 90 invited talks, and mentored a generation of young scientists through his courses and schools on diffraction and crystallography. His previous honors include the 2008 EPDIC Award and the 2011 Barrett Award from the Denver X-ray Conference.

A legacy rooted in Barcelona

Although now based in Grenoble, Juan Rodríguez-Carvajal’s scientific journey began in Barcelona, and ICMAB is proud to count him among the researchers who contributed to the institute’s early excellence. His trajectory continues to inspire many ICMAB scientists and students, who benefit from his developments and teaching.

We warmly congratulate Juan on this outstanding international recognition, and we celebrate his dedication, rigor, and transformative impact on materials science and neutron research.

If you would like to see him in action, he will be giving an Invited Talk at the 8ª Reunión de Personal Técnico y Responsables de Servicios de Difracción on 5-7 November in Barcelona!

Anna May

17 July 2025