José María Albareda Herrera (Caspe, 15-4-1902-Madrid, 26-2-1966) was a Spanish soil scientist and science administrator. From its 1939 creation by the francoist regime to his 1966 death, he was the Secretary General and head of the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC), the main Spanish scientific institution. He was one of the first numerary members of the Opus Dei, and he was a close friend of its founder Josemaría Escrivá. He was eventually ordained a priest in 1959,