He got his Ph.D. degree in the Universitat de Barcelona, where he worked as a teacher from 1950 until 1966. He was Professor of analytic chemistry at the Universidad de la Laguna (1967-1969) and in the Universtiat Autónoma de Barcelona (1969-1976); Professor of analytic and inorganic chemistry in the E.T.S. de Ingenieros Industriales de Barcelona (1969-1976); and Professor of analytic chemistry in the Universitat de Barcelona from 1976.

Lluís Cornudella i Mir was born in Barcelona on September 10, 1936, a few months after the start of the Spanish Civil War. It was the fourth of six brothers.