BILBAO, SEPTEMBER 14 — On a day of marked institutional and academic relevance, the University of Deusto hosted this September 14 the official presentation ceremony of the tenth edition of the Acerinox Award, a national prestige accolade aimed at promoting excellence, technological development, and the strategic application of stainless steel among new graduating classes of engineers.

The ceremony was presided over by an outstanding representation from the academic, scientific, and business spheres, comprising:

• Ms. Aitziber Irigoras Alberdi, Vice-Rector of the University of Deusto. 
• Mr. Bernardo Velázquez Herreros, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Acerinox. 
• Mr. Jon M. Molina-Aldareguia, President of the Jury for the 10th Acerinox Award. 
• Mr. Andoni Eguíluz, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Deusto. 
• Ms. Beatriz Achiaga, Coordinator of the Departmental Area of Mechanics and Industrial Design at the University of Deusto and tutor of the awarded project.

The most relevant moment of the event was the presentation of the 10th Acerinox Award to graduate Clara León Manteca for her Final Degree Project (TFG) entitled "Optimización topológica, caracterización de materiales y fabricación mediante tecnologías aditivas". The jury valued the outstanding scientific rigor and industrial applicability of this work, focused on the use of advanced manufacturing and 3D printing techniques applied to stainless steel.

In his speech, the president of the jury, Jon M. Molina-Aldareguia, highlighted the brilliance of the winning proposal and extended warm congratulations to Clara León Manteca. Furthermore, he underlined the high technical quality and rigor demonstrated by all the finalist candidacies, emphasizing the excellent competitive level of the projects submitted in this tenth edition.

During the event, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Deusto, Mr. Andoni Eguíluz, highlighted the significant temporal coincidence of three major anniversaries: the celebration of the 140th anniversary of the University of Deusto, the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Engineering, and the tenth edition of the Acerinox Award. During his speech, he linked the four founding pillars of the University of Deusto (Utilitas, Iustitia, Humanitas, and Fides) with the values that the engineer of the future must possess, whose work should focus on research of practical utility, while always maintaining a human orientation and an ethical framework based on unconditional respect for the dignity of people. Values that, after all these years of existence, remain as unaltered and functional as the best of stainless steels.

During the ceremony, special recognition was given to the work of the university's teaching staff for their involvement in maintaining cutting-edge research lines, in which the student body actively participates, and which give rise to works like Clara's.

Likewise, the university authorities expressed their sincere gratitude to Acerinox and its CEO, Bernardo Velázquez Herreros, for keeping alive the commitment to the university environment and oriented research. In an era where everything proves to be ephemeral and fleeting, Acerinox's 10 years of commitment to this initiative demonstrate the company's important investment in the education of the professionals of the future. Its Chief Executive Officer underscored the value of promoting training in stainless steel to take a material traditionally used in industry to explore new limits in cutting-edge sectors such as additive manufacturing.

With this award, for yet another year, Acerinox reaffirms its commitment to young talent and technological vanguard in the engineering of the future.