Emilio Lora-Tamayo

Emilio Lora-Tamayo D'Ocon (5 November 1950 – 29 March 2024) was a Spanish physicist and academic. He served as the president of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) twice, from 2003 to 2004 and from 2012 to 2017. He was a professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and served as rector for Menéndez Pelayo International University and the Universidad Camilo José Cela.

Early life and education Emilio Lora-Tamayo was born on 5 November 1950, in Madrid. He was the son of Manuel Lora-Tamayo, who served during the Francoist dictatorship as the Minister of Education from 1962 to 1968 and president of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) from 1967 to 1971.

Lora-Tamayo received a degree in physical sciences in 1972 and his Diplôme d'Études Approfondies from Paul Sabatier University. He received his PhD in physical sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1977.

Career Prior to the completion of his doctorate, Lora-Tamayo worked at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), devoted in particular to microelectronics. Following the 2002 Prestige oil spill, he served as president of the Scientific Advisory Committee convened by the Spanish government. Between 2008 and 2012 he directed the CSIC's Barcelona Microelectronics Institute of the CSIC. He was appointed president of the CSIC again by the government of Mariano Rajoy in 2012, and held the position until 2017. He was also a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States. Lora-Tamayo was also criticised for the abrupt dismissal of the director of the , Juan José Negro, ten months before the end of his mandate on 30 September 2015. Negro had been proposed by a majority of his fellow researchers. The environmental organisation WWF said it would not like the dismissal to have been "a punishment for his clear and exemplary stance in the management of Doñana on issues such as the dredging of the Guadalquivir, the reopening of the Aznalcóllar mines or the claim for funds so that the Doñana Biological Station can continue".

Lora-Tamayo was appointed rector of Menéndez Pelayo International University in November 2017. Less than a year later, the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, chaired by Pedro Duque, demanded his resignation. Initially, Lora-Tamayo declined but agreed to resign after the ministry presented a motion of censure in November 2018. According to Lora-Tamayo, the government asked him to resign in order to put a woman in the post, with the secretary of state, , arguing that this was the government's political line. He was succeeded in the post by María Luz Morán Calvo-Sotelo, daughter of Fernando Morán López.

During his academic career, he published over 100 articles in scientific journals and presented more than 150 papers at national and international conferences. He also co-authored seven patents. He was also a member of the Real Academia San Dionisio of Jerez and of the Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona.

Lora-Tamayo died in Madrid on 29 March 2024, at the age of 73.