The UAB is sad to announce the passing of Lluís Reales

He was a lecturer in the Department of Media, Communication and Culture at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona for more than two decades, from where he had graduated and he enjoyed the contact with his students.

He was a good communicator inside and outside the classroom. He was attentive, cordial, generous, pleasant, and very knowledgeable about the latest developments in the journalistic environment and communication companies. A wealth of skills and knowledge that he applied in subjects such as Scientific Journalism, Communication Structure or Communication Management and Markets, as well as tutoring numerous final projects and work placements in companies.

Lluís Reales' experience as a communication professional began at the age of twenty, when he took his first steps in journalism in university journals and magazines on urban culture and leisure in Barcelona (Saber y poder, Vivir en Barcelona). For a brief period, in the mid-eighties, he also worked as a creative in an advertising agency.

However, he soon began to specialise in the field of scientific and technological dissemination, with an emphasis on health and the environment. The first media where he began to develop this specialisation was La Vanguardia (1987-1999), where he was editor and coordinator of the science and technology supplement and later editor-in-chief of La Vanguardia Digital. He was also director of the Web magazine, published by the Godó Group. During this period, he was a pioneer in the Catalan and Spanish press when it came to reporting on the internet, when it was still at a very early stage of development and its use had not yet become widespread. A stay in San Francisco in 1993 as a special correspondent for La Vanguardia, allowed him to write an article about this then incipient technology.

In the first half of the 1990s he began an important work as a promoter and founding member of organisations such as the Catalan Association of Scientific Communication (1990), the Catalan Chapter of the Internet Society (1995) and the Group of Digital Journalists (1995).

In the early 2000s his work as a journalist was oriented towards the audiovisual field. At the Betevé television station, he continued to develop his passion for popularising science, technology, health and environmental issues by creating, directing and presenting the programmes Einstein a la platja (2001-2009), Respira (2009-2013) and Deuwatts (2016- 2018). He also directed and co-hosted the daily talk show Terrícolas (2013-2019).

As of 2019 he worked as a freelance journalist and as a business partner in a company specialising in innovation training and consulting. He was a collaborator, among others, of the Catalan Water Agency, Estudi Ramon Folch and the Social Observatory of the "laCaixa" Foundation. He was also a founding partner of Sangaku, a company dedicated to collaborative learning of mathematics online.

Entre els reconeixements rebuts, cal esmentar el nomenament com a Col·legiat d’Honor del Col·legi Oficial de Psicologia de Catalunya (2013) per la tasca periodística en la divulgació d’aquest àmbit de coneixement. El 2019 va guanyar, amb Joana Díaz, el Premi d’investigació periodística Montserrat Roig pel treball “Rostres i rastres del canvi climàtic a Barcelona”. Ha estat organitzador, moderador i conferenciant en nombrosíssims actes relacionats amb la ciència, el medi ambient, la salut i la tecnologia; autor de documentals, continguts audiovisuals i llibres de reflexió i divulgació.

In the field of corporate communication he worked for relevant companies and entities, such as the multinational Epson, where he was director of communication for Spain and Portugal between 1999 and 2001, and the Institute for Catalan Studies, where since 2021 he was Head of Communication.

In the civic, cultural and volunteer field, he was first vice-president of the Ateneu Barcelonès (2011-2014) and coordinator of the “Visions of Science” series organised by the Consortium of Libraries of Barcelona, among other activities.

Among the recognitions received, it is worth mentioning the appointment as Collegiate of Honour of the Psychology Association of Catalonia (2013) for journalistic work in the dissemination of this field of knowledge. In 2019 he won, together with Joana Díaz, the Montserrat Roig Journalistic Research Award for “Faces and Traces of Climate Change in Barcelona”. He also organised, moderated and spoke at numerous events related to science, environment, health and technology; and was the author of documentaries, audiovisual content and books of reflection and dissemination.