Ricard Solé is a professor at the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies, currently working at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, where he is head of the Complex Systems Lab. He completed degrees in both Physics and Biology at the University of Barcelona and received his PhD in Physics from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He is also External Professor of the Santa Fe Institute (New Mexico, USA), Fellow of the European Centre for Living Technology (Venice, Italy) and external faculty of the Vienna Complexity Hub.
Ricard's current research focuses on understanding the evolutionary origins of complex systems, using both mathematical models and experimental approaches based on synthetic biology. He has proposed the concept of Synthetic Major Transitions as a unifying framework to explore the origins of innovation in evolution using a parallel approach, namely our potential for building or simulating synthetic systems that can recreate past evolutionary events. This includes the origin of protocells, multicellular systems, symbiosis, cognition and language. Ricard created a novel field of research ("liquid brains") to explore the possibility of cognitive networks, from standard brains to "liquid" ones (ant colonies, slime molds or the immune system) including plants and artificial swarms. Finally, he is also pushing forward a research initiative of terraformation of endangered ecosystems as a potential scenario for preventing tipping points in a future warming planet.
