The Aerospace Engineering Department’s Professor, ManuelSoler Arnedo, becomes Spain’s National Champion at the 4thedition of the Frontiers Planet Prize

Today, April 22, 2026, Manuel Soler Arnedo, professor of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and director of the PhD program in Aerospace Engineering, has been announced as Spain’s National Champion at the 2026 edition of Frontiers Planet Prize, which rewards 25 scientists presenting scalable, evidence-based solutions to help humanity live within Earth’s planetary boundaries. By taking part in the final cut, professor Manuel Soler Arnedo is shortlisted for one million dollars Frontiers Planet Prize to tackle planetary crisis.

About the Frontiers Planet Prize and the Selection Process

The selection process followed several distinct phases. At the national level, the Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de España evaluated domestic submissions and selected three candidates to represent the country. Among these nominees was Professor Soler Arnedo. Following this stage, the Frontiers Research Foundation jury selected the group of 25 global finalists (National Champions), with Spain successfully making the final cut.

From these 25 finalists, three International Champions will be selected and announced in June. The winners will receive a prize of one million dollars per research project to fund and develop their work, facilitating the implementation of solutions that help mitigate climate change.

About Manuel Soler Arnedo’s recognized research

Manuel Soler Arnedo has been recognized for his research on measuring and mitigating aviation emissions. The research article that secured him the National Champion award, “Climate-optimized flight planning can effectively reduce the environmental footprint of aviation in Europe at low operational costs” (published in Communications Earth & Environment, 2025), was developed in collaboration with Professor Abolfazl Simorgh. The study proposes a flight trajectory optimization model to predict and avoid atmospheric zones where the greatest global warming is generated.

The research focuses on the environmental impact of aviation beyond carbon dioxide (CO2). While the industry has historically focused on CO2, non-CO2 emissions, such us contrails and nitrogen oxides, account for roughly two-thirds of aviation’s net radiative forcing, according to the IPCC.

The research highlights the economic and operational feasibility of mitigating aviation’s climate impact without restructuring existing fleets, focusing instead on optimizing flight trajectories. By adjusting only 5% to 10% of flights—specifically those responsible for the majority of contrail formation—the total climate footprint of European aviation could be reduced by 12.5% to 21.3%. This significant reduction requires only a minimal increase in airline operating costs, between 0.2% and 2%, emphasizing that targeting a small fraction of “hotspots” in climate-sensitive regions represents the most effective short-term opportunity to stabilize the industry’s environmental impact.

Press Release from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid: https://www.uc3m.es/ss/Satellite/UC3MInstitucional/es/Detalle/Comunicacion_C/1371472943268/1371215537949/Los_premios_internacionales_Frontiers_Planet_Prize_nominan_al_catedratico_de_la_UC3M_Manuel_Sole.

25 National Champions Powering Transformative Science for Healthy Lives on a Healthy Planet: https://www.frontiersplanetprize.org/news/4theditionchampionannouncement.

Recognized Research Article: Climate-optimized flight planning can effectively reduce the environmental footprint of aviation in Europe at low operational costs. Abolfazl Simorgh and Manuel Soler. Communications Earth & Environment 6, 66 (2025).