fellows1998_jordiJordi Ros Giralt was born in Vilafranca del Penedes, near Barcelona (Spain), in 1975. In May 1998 he graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), obtanining the degree of Telecommunications Engineering. In January 1996 he was awarded a scholarship for Introduction to Research from the Spanish Scientific Council (CSIC). As a CSIC fellow, he has participated in a research project on Computer Vision at the Institute for Robotics and Industrial Informatics (IRI). He has also worked as an Information Systems Analyst (1998), participating in systems integration tasks for the Deutsche Bank. In July 1998 he was awarded a Balsells Fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Computer Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). His research interests are in computer networks.

 

fellows1998_cristianCristian de Haro was born in Barcelona in 1974. In September 1998 he graduated from the Polythecnical University of Catalonia with a major in Mechanical Machines. In September 1997, he began studies in Industrial Organization which he finished upon his return to Spain. Prior to his graduate studies, he worked for Nissan Motor Iberica S.A. for two years in the Maintenance Department of the Body Plant. He also worked as a teacher in Labor Insertion Courses for maintenance technicians. In July 1998 he was awarded the Balsells Graduate Fellowship in Engineering to pursue a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UCI. His research interests are in robotics. He likes grass hockey and played on the first Catalonian grass hockey league. He also likes soccer, submarine fishing, fronton and all kinds of sports.

 

fellows1998_cesarCesar Alvaro Mercadal was born in Barcelona in 1969. He spent a year as a High School junior in Houston, Texas in 1985-86. In 1987, he entered the School of Industrial Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, where he finished his undergraduate courses in 1992. From 1989 to 1991, he was awarded a two year Erasmus Scholarship to attend the Ecole Centrale Paris, France. He obtained a double degree, Spanish and French, in Mechanical Engineering in 1997. He also completed two years of college in Business Administration. From July 1992 to August 1998, he worked for S.A. de Hornos Automaticos, an engineering company dedicated to designing and manufacturing furnaces and ovens, where he held various technical and administrative positions. In 1998, he was awarded a Balsells Fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UCI in the thermal and fluids area, with specific emphasis on combustion and heat transfer. He likes swimming, biking, traveling, and cinema.