UAB campus' Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centres of excellence at the 100xCiencia.5 congress
On 26 and 27 November, the five “Severo Ochoa” Centres of Excellence and the two “María de Maeztu” Units of Excellence located on the UAB Campus will be taking part in the 5th edition of the 100xCiencia meeting at the Cidade de Cultura in Santiago de Compostela.
This year’s meeting is entitled “The International Dimension of Science” and is aimed at highlighting the importance of international collaboration in science to face the global challenges of the future. It includes the participation of 60 Spanish research centres and units recognized by the programmes of excellence “Severo Ochoa” and “María de Maeztu”, respectively. The event is organised by the Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), joint center of the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and the Xunta de Galicia, together with SOMMa Alliance.
The “Severo Ochoa” Centres of Excellence located on campus are the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), the Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE-UAB), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB) and the Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre (CREAF). The two “María de Maeztu” Units of Excellence are the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) and the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM).
The “Severo Ochoa” and “María de Maeztu” awards are the most important institutional recognitions to scientific research in Spain; an international evaluation committee selects the awarded research centres and units. These centres cover virtually all areas of knowledge, from physics and mathematics to the environment, biomedicine and the humanities.
The COVID-19 health crisis has revealed the need and urgency for the entire scientific community, industry and society to cooperate to solve problems. The aim is therefore to underscore the importance of the international dimension of science. The meeting is divided into four main thematic areas: Cosmos, COVID, Climate Crisis and Scientific Culture, with different round tables and discussion panels shared by researchers from the Severo Ochoa Centres and the María de Maeztu Units with representatives from the world of industry, technology transfer offices, and the economic policy and administration.
ICTA-UAB researcher Helen Cole will give a talk in the COVID area on “Urban inequalities in Covid-19 vaccine coverage: A comparative multi-scalar and political economy perspective”. Mario Martínez from IFAE-UAB will give a talk on “Future Large Facilities for the Study of Gravitational Waves: The Einstein Telescope Project”.
This encounter is designed as a space for dialogue and exchange of experiences with the aim of strengthening the capacity to transfer knowledge and enhance the social impact of the research work carried out by the centres and units of excellence in Spain.