Jorge Baeza Ballesteros, who holds a PhD in Physics from the University of València, has been awarded the First National University Graduation Prize, a distinction granted by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, which recognizes the “academic excellence” of the best university records in Spain.

Jorge studied Physics at the University of València between 2015 and 2019, receiving several awards for his academic performance. Among these, the Extraordinary End-of-Degree Award and the Captaincy General of València Prize stand out, the latter granted for achieving the highest undergraduate grades among all students in scientific disciplines at the university.

During this period, Jorge maintained a close relationship with the Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of València. After his first year of studies, Jorge took part in the first edition of the IFIC Summer Student Program, working under the supervision of Arantza Oyanguren on the Monte Carlo data analysis of the process Lambda_b0 → J/ψ Lambda_0. In his final undergraduate year, he was awarded a CSIC Research Introduction Fellowship to carry out his Bachelor’s Thesis at IFIC. His project, supervised by Pilar Hernández and Fernando Romero-López, focused on the study of two-particle interactions in finite volume. In parallel, Jorge also completed his external internship at the institute, working with Andrea Donini on an experimental proposal to study deviations from Newton’s law.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Jorge pursued the Master of Advanced Studies in Applied Mathematics at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), supported by a La Caixa Foundation Scholarship. For his academic performance in this program, he received the Wright Prize and the Horne Scholarship, both awarded by St John’s College.

In 2020, Jorge returned to the University of València and IFIC to undertake a PhD in Theoretical Physics funded by a University Teacher Training Fellowship (FPU) from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. His research, supervised by Pilar Hernández and Daniel G. Figueroa, focused on the use of numerical methods to study nuclear interactions between particles and high-energy phenomena in the early universe. During his doctoral studies, Jorge co-authored several scientific articles published in high-impact journals. He also carried out research stays at the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), Washington (USA), Berkeley (USA), and Helsinki (Finland), and participated as a speaker in various international seminars and conferences. Jorge successfully defended his thesis in October 2024, obtaining the highest distinction, Cum Laude.

Jorge is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Zeuthen (Germany), where he continues his research on the study of nuclear interactions and early-universe physics through numerical techniques.