Argentinian physicist Francisco de la Cruz, a TWAS Fellow since 1996, passed away on 19 May 2025.
Born in Barcelona, Spain, he moved to Argentina at the age of 12. After completing high school in 1955, he enrolled at the National University of Córdoba, Argentina, later transferring to the newly established Institute of Physics in Bariloche, Argentina, in 1958. There, he earned his master’s degree in 1961 and his PhD in physics in 1968.
De la Cruz served as a professor of physics and researcher at Bariloche Atomic Centre and Instituto Balseiro for 36 years, from 1971 until his retirement in 2007. An expert in superconductor materials, he was also a dedicated educator, having mentored 23 PhD students and over 30 master’s students in physics.
In 1979, he received the Teófilo Isnardi Award from the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina. In 1986, the French government named him a chevalier of the Order of Academic Palms. He was also awarded the Ricardo Gans Award from the Fundación Gans and the National University of La Plata, in 1988, and the TWAS Award in physics in 1991.
De la Cruz was a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina, and the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Argentina, as well as a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences.