Lleida engineer Marcel Llopis has been honoured by Alumni UdL with the XIV Alfons de Borja Award, recognising his career in aerospace, artificial intelligence and data science. Llopis is head of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Leadership Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
The jury also highlighted his link with the University of Lleida's Polytechnic School (EPS), where he has given lectures and shared his experience with students. Alumni UdL, the association of former students and friends of the University of Lleida, presents the award each year to recognise professional achievement.
Llopis has lived and worked in the United States since 2006. He began his career in California at a medical imaging start-up focused on diagnosing and treating diseases, where he moved from intern to software architect and head of engineering for the visualisation product line. He later worked in the semiconductor and connectivity sector as chief engineer for a corporate platform managing electronic designs and products.
At JPL, Llopis has spent more than a decade in leadership roles on space exploration projects. He has led programming for sequence and activity planning on missions including Dawn and Psyche, and he spearheaded the first automated planner for a NASA flagship mission, Europa Clipper. He also worked on Mars 2020, co-led JPL's Flight Software and Avionics Systems Section, and developed AI tools for requirements work on the Mars Sample Return programme.
His current work includes integrating AI into mission development for MoonFall, which will send four autonomous hopping drones to the lunar south pole before astronauts arrive as part of the Artemis programme, and SkyFall, which will deploy six autonomous helicopters to identify future crewed landing sites on Mars. The award ceremony for this year's Alumni UdL is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
The award is named after Alfons de Borja, Lleida's most internationally recognised alumnus. Born in La Torreta de Canals in 1379 and dying in Rome in 1458, he studied, taught and served as vice-chancellor of the Estudi General de Lleida, and later became Bishop of Valencia and Pope Calixtus III in 1445. The award has been presented since 2004 and is sponsored by Grup SEGRE and Banco Santander. Previous recipients include Marta Puyuelo Gros, Dr César Sanz, Sergio Callen, Marc Palahí, the College of Physicians and the College of Nurses of Lleida, Joan Xavier Comella, Saül Craviotto and Antoni Brufau.
