Researcher Estel Cardellach Galí receives the Muncunill Award of Honour for Innovation in recognition of her contributions to the study of our planet

Estel Cardellach, researcher from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) at the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), received the Muncunill Award of Honour for Innovation on 8 May 2025 at an event at the Principal Theatre of Terrassa at 18:00. This is the 9th edition of the ceremony, organised by Terrassa’s City Council, with the support of the Provincial Deputation of Barcelona, with the goal of both bringing innovation closer to citizens and recognising the companies that work in this field, as well as contributing to reinforcing Terrassa’s position as an innovation referent.

Cardellach, PhD in Science by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), is the principal investigator of the Polarimetric Radio Occultations (PRO) experiment on board the PAZ satellite. This experiment, activated in 2018 and still running, is showing a new measurement principle she devised in 2009. This is the only technique able to provide vertical atmospheric profiles of thermodynamic variables and precipitation particles (rain, snow, ice).

To date, six more satellites with PRO instruments have been launched, and two of the leading meteorological organisations in the United States and Europe are studying how to leverage this data to improve weather forecasting. “It is important that the city of Terrassa rewards innovation. We live in a time of big challenges and fresh perspectives can help find the solutions we need,” says Cardellach.

Furthermore, the researcher has pioneered the study and development of GNSS reflectometry. This technique currently orbits in approximately 40 satellites, and she has contributed to the extraction of various products, such as offshore winds and hurricane winds, the study of polar continental ice, and the presence of surface water (floods), among others. In 2024, she was appointed member of the ‘Science and Technology Support Committee’ of the Spanish Space Agency (AEE), a permanent advisory and consultative body.