At the Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC, CSIC-UV), we are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of our colleague, Professor and Emeritus Chair José Bernabéu Alberola, Pepe (Mutxamel, 1945).

Pepe Bernabéu graduated in Physics in 1967 at the University of Valencia and obtained his PhD in 1970, also at the University of Valencia, with the Extraordinary Award. Between 1971 and 1978 he worked at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Switzerland, becoming the first Spanish scientist to join its Theory Division.

He returned to Valencia in 1978 and went on to develop a brilliant career as an exceptional teacher and researcher, supervising more than 20 PhD theses and training generations of physicists to whom he always conveyed his passion for science, his intellectual rigor, and his commitment to research and teaching.

In addition, Pepe played a key role in the development of particle physics in Spain and in the growth of the Theoretical Physics group in Valencia. He served as Director of the Department of Theoretical Physics at the University of Valencia and as Coordinator of the Spanish National Program on High Energy Physics.

He also played an important role in the consolidation of IFIC in its modern phase, where he promoted excellence in basic research as well as its applications in the field of medical physics.

His extraordinary career has been recognized with important awards: in 2008 he received the King Jaume I Award for Basic Research and, in 2011, the Physics Medal of the Spanish Royal Society of Physics. He was also a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain and Honorary Academician of the Royal Academy of Medicine of the Valencian Community. He served as Chairman of the HEP-EPS Board.

We will always remember his passion for physics, his joyful character, and his tireless energy to pursue what he believed in.