Xavier Luri, new director of the IEEC
Xavier Luri Carrascoso is now officially the new director of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC). Since September 1, Luri has taken over from the former director, Ignasi Ribas Canudas, who led the Institute from 2017 until last august.
Xavier Luri (Ribes de Freser, Girona, 1966) holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Barcelona, where he has been a professor in the Department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics since 2007 and a full professor since 2021.
In addition to his teaching career, which he began in the early 1990s, Luri has built a solid track record as a researcher at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB), one of the IEEC’s research units, where he served as director from 2018 until the day before taking office as the new director of the IEEC. Since 2023, he has also been a member of the European Space Sciences Committee, an institution that provides independent scientific advice on space science to organizations such as the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
His scientific activity is, in fact, closely linked to ESA, as it focuses mainly on the Gaia mission — an astrometric satellite built by ESA with the participation of the IEEC, designed to produce the largest and most accurate three-dimensional map of our galaxy by observing more than one billion stars.
Luri was one of the proponents of the Gaia mission for its approval by ESA in 2001, and he also served as a member of its scientific advisory group, the Gaia Science Team, from 2001 to 2007. Since 2007, Luri has been a member of the executive committee of the Gaia-DPAC consortium. He plays a key role in the Spanish contribution to this project, participating in research and development related to supercomputing, data processing, and software development, as well as in the calibration of luminosity, kinematics, and the dynamics of the galaxy.
The new director of the IEEC also has extensive experience in innovation and knowledge transfer. During the development phase of Gaia, he participated in development contracts for ESA that led to the generation of a patent for a data compression system and to the creation of the spin-off company DAPCOM, of which he is the founder.
«It is an honor for me to have been chosen as the new director of the IEEC. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the work of the former director, Ignasi Ribas, who has made the IEEC the great center it is today. My goal will be to continue strengthening the Institute’s role as a hub for space research and industry in Catalonia, while opening it to new challenges together with its constituent units», Luri emphasized.
Since the beginning of this new term as director, Xavier Luri will lead the IEEC’s strategy to continue positioning it as a leading institution in scientific research, technological development and innovation, as well as in promoting the space sector in Catalonia. In this area, the Institute serves as a key center for the implementation of Catalonia’s NewSpace Strategy, promoted by the Government of the Generalitat.
Xavier Luri highlighted that “it is an honor to have been chosen as the new director of the IEEC” and expressed his gratitude to Ignasi Ribas for the work that has made the Institute “the great center it is today.” Luri’s goal will be to continue strengthening the IEEC’s role as a leading hub for space research and industry in Catalonia, while opening it to new challenges together with its constituent units.
About the IEEC
The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) promotes and coordinates space research and technology development in Catalonia for the benefit of society. IEEC fosters collaborations both locally and worldwide and is an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. As a result of more than 25 years of high-quality research, done in collaboration with major international organisations, IEEC ranks among the best international research centres, focusing on areas such as: astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, and Earth Observation. IEEC’s engineering division develops instrumentation for ground- and space-based projects, and has extensive experience in working with private or public organisations from the aerospace and other innovation sectors.
The IEEC is a non-profit public sector foundation that was established in February 1996. It has a Board of Trustees composed of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). The IEEC is also a CERCA centre.