UABDivulga - Barcelona recerca i innovació

Description:

During the Cold War, the tropical rainforests of Latin America—the Darién, the Amazon, the Chocó, the Orinoco plains—were surveyed by aircraft equipped with a radargrammetric technology called SLAR (Side Looking Airborne Radar). This technology could "see" the terrain through the clouds and thick vegetation, which for decades had prevented the creation of maps based on conventional aerial photography. What began as a radar system designed to locate enemy targets ("targeting") ended up producing the first detailed maps of vast tropical regions that until then had appeared "blank" in official atlases.

In this Work in Progress (WiP) seminar, Sebastián Díaz tells the still little-studied history of SLAR. It explores the pioneering projects developed between the 1960s and 1970s in Panama, Colombia, and Brazil, in which Latin American governments, the U.S. military, private companies, and cartographic institutes collaborated to “conquer the jungle” and make it legible. Radargrammetric projects were used to plan new infrastructure, open colonisation roads, inventory minerals and timber, monitor borders, pursue guerrilla groups, and, later, track illicit crops and monitor deforestation.

The central idea of ​​this talk is simple: radar technology never fully transitioned from military to civilian or environmental use. From the outset, SLAR was used simultaneously for warfare, development, resource extraction, and conservation.

And here a final paradox emerges: while from the air these technologies erased people from the landscape, on the ground they demanded enormous verification campaigns—geologists, soil scientists, forestry engineers, biologists, and, at times, anthropologists traversing the jungle for years—which ultimately transformed the paradigms with which the social and environmental sciences understood the tropics. What did not change, however, were the extractive, developmental, and surveillance functions that had given rise to remote sensing, and which have continued to accompany it to this day.

Commentator: Jaume Valentines (UAB)

Sebastián Díaz Ángel is a post-doctoral researcher working on the ERC-SG project "CLIMASAT: Remote-sensing satellite data and the making of global climate in Europe, 1980s–2000s". With a B.A. in Political Science, a B.A. in History, an M.A. in Geography and a Ph.D. in History, Díaz combines environmental history, science and technology studies, and geopolitics, with particular focus on historical geography and the history of cartography. His current research analyzes the politics of remote sensing and satellite data infrastructures in the Americas.

If you are interested in reading the entire text in advance—highly recommended, since the WiP seminar format presupposes prior reading—you can request it from Sebastian.Diaz@uab.cat or Laia.Torres.Casas@uab.cat

Remember that you can bring your lunch on site, as we will have a lunch-seminar format, rigorous and informal at the same time.

Place: iHC Seminar room

Date: Wednesday 13, May de 2026 - 12:00h

Date: Wednesday 13, May de 2026 - 13:30h

Description:

In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the publication of the human genome and coinciding with International Fascination of Plants Day, the Centre for Research in Agrigenomics (CRAG), in collaboration with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Catalan Society of Biology (SCB), is organising a seminar in the conference hall (Sala d'actes) of the Faculty of Biosciences of the UAB.

Several conferences will be held, starting with Iban Eduardo, IRTA researcher at CRAG, who will give the conference "The genomic revolution in agriculture: implications for domestication and crop improvement". Afterwards, Josep Casacuberta, CSIC professor at CRAG, will give the conference "25 + 1 year of plant genomes: from draft to complete genomes and from single genomes to pangenomes".

The day will continue with the talk "One reference genome is not enough: lessons from population-scale studies", given by Josefa González, CSIC researcher at the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of the UAB (IBB-UAB). She will be followed by the conference "From the human genome to the genome of Earth: sequencing life to sustain the planet", given by Aurora Ruiz-Herrera, lecturer in the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the UAB and ICREA Acadèmia researcher.

The seminar will end with a round table presided by researchers Martí Quevedo, from CRAG, and Laia Marin, from the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the UAB.

More information:
https://www.cragenomica.es/events/25-1-years-genomes-evolution-agriculture-and-biodiversity-reimagined

Place: Faculty of Biosciences (conference hall)

Date: Monday 18, May de 2026 - 12:00h

Promotor: CRAG, Catalan Society of Biology (SCB) and the Faculty of Biosciences of the UAB

Description:

On May 18, 19 and 20, the "Pint of Science" Festival will take place in three bars in Sabadell: L'Estruch Bar (Carrer Sant Isidre 140), The Wild Geese (Plaça de l'Angel 4), and Lamotta (Carrer Església 3). This edition will offer 43 scientific talks on current topics such as energy efficiency, mental health, nanomedicine, climate change, and the impact of artificial intelligence in different areas of our daily lives. Some of the sessions will be given by UAB lecturers and research staff, thus promoting research, the exchange of knowledge, and debates.

Among the UAB members participating are: 

• Albert Bonillo, lecturer in methodologies of behavioural science. 
• Laura Casas, lecturer in the history of law and institutions.
• Ivan Díaz, lecturer in animal health. 
• Carol Galais, lecturer in political science and public administration. 
• Isabel González, researcher in East Asian studies.
• Reyhaneh Sohrabi, researcher in translation and interpreting. 
• Antonio Miguel, professor in theoretical physics. 
• Alex Pérez, researcher in physical chemistry.
• Marta Riba, researcher in physical anthropology. 
• Ester Carreras, researcher in zoology. 
• Arturo Blázquez, lecturer in food technology. 
• Arnau Vilas, lecturer in nutrition and food science. 
• Idoia Codina, lecturer in food technology. 
• Adam Vallés, researcher in optics. 
• Joaquim Ripoll, technician in prehistory. 
• Jordi Rodó, lecturer in English studies. 
• Francesc Gòdia, professor in chemical engineering. 
• Roger Deulofeu, lecturer in logic and the philosophy of science.

Place: L’Estruch, The Wild Geese and Lamotta bars, Sabadell

Date: Monday 18, May de 2026 - 19:00h

Description:

The Catalonia RNA & RNase Salon network, coordinated by the UAB, the University of Girona and the ALBA Synchrotron, is organising the "RNA & RNase Day", which will be held on 19 May at 10:00 a.m. The event will take place at the Sala Josep Vendrell i Roca of the UAB Faculty of Biosciences. Its goal is to promote the exchange of ideas and debate within the field of RNA biology and ribonucleases. 

The programme will begin with the opening lecture, entitled "Decoding the tRNA epitranscriptome and its dynamics at single molecule resolution using nanopore sequencing", which will be given by Eva Maria Novoa, researcher at the Centre for Genomic Regulation. Also participating will be Nicolas Bologna and Ignacio Rubio, researchers at the Centre for Agrigenomic Research; Jiraui Li, researcher in biochemistry and molecular biology at the UAB; Mireia Alegre and Nuria Matas, members of Isogen Life Science; and Adrián Torres, member of Aptadel Therapeutics.

Place: Faculty of Biosciences (Sala Josep Vendrell i Roca)

Date: Tuesday 19, May de 2026 - 10:00h

Description:

The Seminaris a l’Abast series is a dynamic and participatory training space where current topics of interest are discussed. The series includes eight 2-hour sessions, independent of each other, with a total duration of 16 hours. Registration can be made for the entire series or for individual sessions, virtually or in person.

On 20 May, the conference “Can science and technology help improve the functioning of politics?” will take place, which will reflect on the role of scientific and technological knowledge in political decision-making and in strengthening contemporary democracies. The event will feature the participation of Joan Subirats, professor emeritus of political science at the UAB and former minister for universities.

Place: UAB Auditorium (Faculty of Arts & Humanities)

Date: Wednesday 20, May de 2026 - 17:00h

Description:

The Research in Sociology of Religion (ISOR) group of the UAB organises a new session of the ISOR seminar entitled " Religion in caricature: populism and artistic freedom". The activity will address the relationship between the satirical representation of religion, populism and the limits of artistic freedom and expression in today's societies.

The session will be led by Daniel Gamper, lecturer in moral philosophy at the UAB. Gamper will reflect on the tensions between religious sensitivity, public debate and contemporary artistic creation.

Place: Faculty of Political Science and Sociology (Boardroom)

Date: Tuesday 26, May de 2026 - 15:00h