Miguel Antonio Catalán y Sañudo (1894–1957) was a Spanish

spectroscopist Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wav ...

Biography

Miguel Antonio Catalán y Sañudo was born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, he obtained his degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

from the University of Zaragoza and received his doctorate in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1917 for his thesis about

spectrochemistry Spectrochemistry is the application of spectroscopy in several fields of chemistry. It includes analysis oin chemical terms, and use of spectra to derive the structure of chemical compounds, and also to qualitatively and quantitively analyze their p ...

. In 1920, he began work as a researcher at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. Examining the

spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

of the arc of

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

, he determined that the optical spectra of complex atoms consisted of groups of lines –which he called "multipletes"- between which existed certain characteristic regularities. Catalán demonstrated that study of the multipletes led to further understanding of the states of energy of

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...

s. On the invitation of

Arnold Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretica ...

, he worked at the University of Munich, and on the creation by the Rockefeller Foundation of the Institute of Physics and Chemistry (Madrid), in 1930 he was named head of the

Spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

Section. He was invited numerous times to work in the laboratories of the National Bureau of Standards (Washington, D.C.),

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, and MIT. He published more than 70 scientific articles in specialized journals. In 1926, he received a prize from the ''Real Academia de Ciencias'' (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) and in 1930, the international Pelfort prize. He married

Jimena Menéndez-Pidal Jimena or Ximena is the female version of the given name Jimeno, derived from the Basque ''Semen''. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It may re ...

, the daughter of

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

director

Ramón Menéndez Pidal Ramón Menéndez Pidal (; 13 March 1869 – 14 November 1968) was a Spanish philologist and historian."Ramon Menendez Pidal", ''Almanac of Famous People'' (2011) ''Biography in Context'', Gale, Detroit He worked extensively on the history of t ...

and María Goyri. Because of the military coup by General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

in July 1936, he and his father in law were the subject of numerous misdemeanours. From 1950 onwards, he served as director of the ''Departamento de Espectros del Instituto de Óptica de Madrid'' (C.S.I.C.). In 1952, he served as advisor to the Joint Commission for Spectroscopy, the head body for this field. In 1954, he became a member of the ''Real Academia de Ciencias'' (Madrid). Catalán died in

. The

lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The wor ...

Catalán is named after him. Based on certain conjectures of Miguel Catalan about rotational dynamics, his disciple and biographer Gabriel Barceló, years later, developed the

Theory of Dynamic Interactions A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

. The Government of the

Comunidad de Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

(Autonomous Region of Madrid) awards the

Miguel Catalán Investigation Award --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disambi ...

in Science since 2005, to honor Catalán's memory. The award recognizes outstanding life accomplishments in research and science. The award winners each receive a medal, a citation and 42,000 Euros. Winners of this award are: José Elguero Bertolini (2005, chemist),

Antonio Hernando Grande Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

(2006, physicist),

Amable Liñán Martínez Amable is a French given name. Notable people with the name include: * Amable Aristy (born 1949), Dominican politician and businessman * Amable Audin (1899–1990), French archaeologist * Amable Bapaume (1825–1895), French novelist, journalist ...

(2007, aeronautical engineer),

José Luis García Fierro José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

(2008, chemist) and Miguel Francisco Sánchez Madrid (2009, biologist). Since 2008, a

in Science for researchers under forty years is also given. The awards winners also receive a medal, a citation and 21,000 Euros. 50,000 Euros are also given to their institutions to fund their future work. Winners are: Oscar Fernández Carpetillo (2008, oncologist) and Luis Raúl Sánchez Fernández (2009, physicist).

External links

Biografia de Miguel Antonio Catalán Sañudo

http://www.miguelcatalan.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalan, Miguel Antonio 1894 births 1957 deaths People from Zaragoza Spanish scientists Academics of Imperial College London Spectroscopists