Francisco López Dekker was born in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in 1972, but has lived most of his life in Castelldefels, near Barcelona, Spain. In September 1997 he graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), obtaining the degree of Telecommunications Engineer. Prior to his graduate studies (June 96 to September 97) he participated in a research project on SAR (Sinthetic Aperture Radar) Interferometry at UPC, collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) and local industry. In this research project high resolution radar images of Earth are processed in order to obtain high resolution digital elevation models (DEM) of its surface. In July 1997 he was awarded a Balsells Fellowship to pursue an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of California at Irvine, which he finished in December of 1998. In January 1999, he joined the Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His Ph.D. work (2003) involved the development of techniques to study the atmospheric boundary layer using a UHF imaging radar. In 2003 he returned to Barcelona to join Starlab.
Alba Pérez Gracia was born in Barbastro, Spain, in 1968, and moved to Barcelona at the early age of 6 months. She graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in 1996, specializing in mechanical engineering. In July 1997 she was awarded the Balsells Fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California Irvine. Prior to her graduate studies she worked as an engineer in the automotive industry and in the environmental area. Her research interests are robotics and control. She also likes dancing, gardening and playing cello. Alba was also awarded a second-year Balsells Fellowship for 1998-1999.
Ferran Negre was born in Barcelona in 1972. In June 1996 he graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, specializing in Electrical Engineering. He has worked as a lecturer on Electronics and Microcomputers at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and teaching C and assembly language at a technical highschool. In September 1997 he was awarded the Balsells Graduate Fellowship in Engineering to pursue a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering at UCI, which he completed in the spring of 1999. He then joined Cyrix Corporation to complete his practical training. He likes computers and in general all kinds of technologies. He also likes sports such as rowing, sailing, and whitewater kayaking, and videogames, both playing and creating them. He is also a casteller in Sant Cugat, his home town since 1978.