Rodríguez Ibabe, Jose Mª

José Mª Rodríguez Ibabe, (Donostia-San Sebastián, 1958) has been Chair of CEIT (Centre for Technical Research) since 2017 and is a senior researcher in the same organisation. He is an industrial engineer holding a Master of Metallurgy and a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the ESII School of Industrial Engineering at the University of Navarre in San Sebastián. His research training began when he conducted his doctoral thesis under the direction of Professor Gil Sevillano. His thesis looked at the mechanical properties of steels (fatigue and brittle fracture) and drew on fracture mechanics, which was a novel approach at the time. 

Following his PhD, he joined CEIT and also became a part-time professor in the School of Industrial Engineering in San Sebastián. Over time his work has become focussed on the combination of properties, microstructure and process, and he has become a leading international figure on thermomechanical steel treatments. He is the author of the book Thin Slab Direct Rolling of Microalloyed Steels.

Together with his colleagues, Professor Rodríguez Ibabe received the Vanadium Award (2001) and the Charles Hatchett Award (2003) from the Institute of Materials (London). He has also received the Meritorious Award (2000) from the Iron and Steel Institute (USA), is a three-time winner of the Gilbert R. Speich Award (2012, 2013 and 2016) from AIST (Association for Iron and Steel Technology, USA), and won the Henri Meyers 2017 Award on Forming from ABM (Brazilian Metallurgy, Materials and Mining Association). 

His other area of interest is Basque culture and specifically the Basque language. In 1982 he joined Elhuyar and was able to combine his dual interest in technology and Basque. With Elhuyar, he has published five university books in Basque and written several dissemination articles – his most productive period was the 1990s. He has played an active role in the collaborative definition of technical terminology in different dictionaries, and became the first chair of the Fundación Elhuyar board in 2002. 

He has also served as a member of the Basque Advisory Board of the Basque Government (1996). His most significant contribution in that regard was the joint creation of the document titled Euskara Lan Munduan (1997), together with Tere Barrenetxea (Elhuyar) and Andrés Arizkorreta (CAF), which set out steps for normalising the use of the Basque language in the workplace. In addition, he was the first Chair of the Editorial Board at Eusko Ikaskuntza-Society for Basque Studies and served in that position for six years. 

José Mª Rodríguez Ibabe was elected a full member of JAKIUNDE on 8 November 2019 in Bergara.