Professor Miquel Duran Portas has received the Medalla Narcís Monturiol for Scientific and Technological Merits which is awarded annually by the Generalitat de Catalunya, and has become the sixth distinguished researcher from Girona to receive this prestigious recognition. The Government has awarded the Medalla Narcís Monturiol to sixteen researchers and three research institutes. These awards, issued for the first by the Generalitat in 1982, want to honor individuals and organizations that have made an outstanding contribution to the development of science and technology in Catalonia.
Miquel Duran Portas (Maia de Montcal, 1957) received his PhD in Chemistry at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in 1984 and did postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley (1985-1986) . Since 1992 he is Full Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Girona, an institution where he held various academic positions. He carries out research activities within the Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi (IQCC), and is a member of the Catedra of Scientific Culture and Digital Communication (C4D). His research is focused on the theoretical study of molecular structure and reactivity, especially related molecules of interest in biological molecules of interest in the computer industry and telecommunications. He is a recognized promoter of science and has written more than two hundred scientific papers.