The Rector of the University of Oviedo and Tenured Professor of Organical Chemistry, Vicente Gotor, received the award of the Royal Academy of Sciences in the field of Chemical Sciences, given in the category of consacrated researchers in honor of "their relevant merits" during their careers. The Rector attended an award ceremony that coincided with the inauguration of the academic course of the Royal Academy, and during which researchers from five disciplines were distinguished with awards. The opening speech was given by Professor Manuel Aguilar Benítez from Lugo, with the conference De Hess a Higgs: De la ionización espontánea del aire a la rotura espontánea de la simetría en física subatómica.

The Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences has recovered this year an award that have a long tradition among the scientific community and which took place for the last time in 2001. For this new era, the institution recovers its awards for five scientific disciplines, among them the Chemical Sciences. In each category, there are two modalities for the awards: one for consacrated researchers who have a distinguished career, and one for young researchers (younger than 40) who have conducted high-quality and scientifically-relevant researches.

Vicente Gotor Santamaría ha desarrollado una intensa trayectoria académica como docente y gestor, y una larga carrera científica como investigador internacional. Es rector de la Universidad de Oviedo desde mayo de 2008, reelegido en marzo de 2012. Coautor de 400 artículos en revistas internacionales y de once patentes nacionales e internacionales, ha dirigido 60 tesis doctorales y ha sido investigador principal de más de 25 proyectos nacionales, regionales e internacionales. Ha desarrollado además una amplia trayectoria de investigación aplicada con empresas nacionales y multinacionales. Vicente Gotor Santamaría has developed an intensive academic career as a teacher and manager, and a long scientific career as an international researcher. He has been the Rector of the University of Oviedo since 2008, reelected in March 2012. He is the co-author of 400 articles that have been published in international journals, he has 11 national and international patents, he has directed 60 PhD Theses and has been the lead researcher in more than 25 national, regional and international projects. He has developed a long trajectory in applied research for national and international enterprises.