José Mª Bermúdez de Castro, Paleobiology Program coordinator at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana  (CENIEH) and co-director of the Atapuerca, has been elected by the Plenary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) as an academic in its session Thursday, December 16, to occupy the "K" chair, vacant since the death of Federico Corriente in June 2020.

His candidacy was presented by Carmen Iglesias, José Manuel Sánchez Ron and Pedro García Barreno. As established by the statutes and regulations of the RAE, the new academic will have to read his speech of entry into the corporation to take possession of his position.

"For me it is a great honor to be part of the RAE, and it is also a great responsibility. I hope to be able to contribute to enriching our language from my experience as a researcher and as a popularizer of science", says the new academic.