Javier Tejada Palacios (January 6, 1948, Castejón, Navarra) is a physicist and scientist specializing in quantum magnetism. He is currently (2020) Emeritus Professor of Condensed Matter Physics at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Barcelona.
Professor Javier Tejada's life-long achievements in magnetism are widely known throughout the world. In 1990s he co-authored a series of works that reported first observation of the resonant spin tunneling in a molecular magnet. Nature magazine called it one of the most remarkable discoveries in spin physics in a century. It has become the basis for quantum computation schemes based upon single-molecule magnets. Prof. Tejada's other remarkable achievement is the discovery of quantum magnetic deflagration (2005) -- propagating front of burning magnetic energy similar to chemical combustion. His is also known for observation of the correlated spin glass phase of an amorphous magnet, spin tunneling in single-domain particles, and quantum tunneling of vortices and interfaces in superconductors. In recent years he has done remarkable work on practical problems that include microwave spectroscopy of metallic stents for cardiology applications and terahertz study of the authenticity of paintings for art museums. During his tenure at the University of Barcelona Professor Tejada supervised dozens of doctoral students (34) that are now occupying leading positions in academia and industries.
