Dr. Jacint Arnau holds BSc. in Chemistry (1981) and PhD in Veterinary Science from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (1991). He served as Head of the Food Engineering and Technology Unit (1985-2009) and Head of the Food Technology Program at IRTA (2009-2015). With 34 years of experience in meat technology, particularly in dry-cured meat products, he has developed extensive collaborations with food companies and research institutions at both national and international levels. He is the author or co-author of 9 patents and more than 200 publications, including 113 papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He received the Scientific Achievement Award at the 6th World Ham Congress (Lugo, Spain, 2011), the José Flores Innovation Award (Madrid, 2022), and the Llonganissa d’Or Award (Vic, Spain, 2026). He has been listed among the top 2% most influential scientists worldwide according to Stanford University (2022) and among the 20 most influential scientists in the history of the journal Meat Science (2025). He has directed and organized international courses on meat products and has served as a lecturer in this course since its inception.