Rafael Rodrigo

Rafael Rodrigo has worked and collaborated with various institutions in Europe, Asia and America: NASA (USA), Oxford University (United Kingdom), European Space Agency, Max Planck Institute für Aeronomie (Germany), Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Factory (China), Utah State University (USA), European Science and Technology Centre (Holland), Instituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (Italy), University of Bern (Switzerland), Observatoire de Meudon-Paris (France) and the University of Padua (Italy).

Rodrigo has collaborated with several national and international committees, including the NATO Scientific Affairs Division, European Science Foundation, Austrian Space Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, Committee on Space Research, International Radiation Commission, Spanish National Commission for Space Research and the Spanish National Committee for Astronomy.

His research work has been awarded many prizes, including two from NASA, the Group Achievement Award for the Cassini Program and the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument and Honour Award for a Public Service Group, and two from the European Space Agency, for his contribution to the Huygens Probe and Rosetta Mission projects.

Rodrigo has published more than 200 scientific works in prestigious national and international journals such as Science, Nature, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Planetary and Space Science, Journal of Geophysical Research and Space Science Review. He has also presented more than 130 pieces of research at international conferences and has carried out work to help popularise science by collaborating in several articles and monographs on his speciality area.

His lines of research focus on exploration of the Solar System, comets and planetary atmospheres.

He has been the Coordinator of CSIC's Scientific-Technical Area of Physics and Physical Technologies and Manager of the National Space, Astronomy and Astrophysics Programme.

On 25 April 2008 the Council of Ministers approved his appointment as President of CSIC. From 2006 until his election he was CSIC's Vice President for Organisation and Institutional Relations.