The Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE) is a joint research center of the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Autonomous Government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia), created in 1999. The Institute performs frontier research in High Energy Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics, Astroparticle Physics, and related areas as Astrophysics, Medical Physics and Instrumentation. The theoretical section is also internationally reputed.
One of the cornerstones of the Institute is a coordinated and long-term planned participation in the international experiments carried out in large international infrastructures such as CERN, GSI/FAIR, Pierre Auger Observatory and LIGO at present
The main elements that define the recent activity of the IGFAE are a good performance in terms of scientific production, talent attraction and fundraising, an intense international activity, especially within large experimental collaborations and the activation of a new framework to organize the research in terms of Strategic Research Areas (SA).
In 2016, IGFAE was accredited “María de Maeztu” Unit of Excellence, integrating the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu alliance (SOMMa). This award is an opportunity to boost the scientific performance of the Institute in the quest of some of the most fundamental questions in Physics.