Defenses de tesi

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, May2026 - 12:00h

End date: Wednesday 13, May2026 - 13:30h

Description:

The UAB will be hosting the 8th Teaching Innovation Conference on 14 and 15 May at the conference hall of the Rectorat building. For the first time, the conference will last two days, a change that reflects the growth in teaching innovation initiatives and an institutional will to provide a space for the contributions of lecturers. This year's programme, presented in an expanded and renewed format, will include a variety of activities. The conference will officially begin at 9:00 a.m. with an opening speech by José Luís Muñoz, vice-rector for Training and Teaching Innovation, and Carme Ruiz, academic coordinator of Training and Teaching Innovation at the UAB.

Following the opening speech, the conference "How to incorporate artificial intelligence into university teaching" will take place. The session will be given by Mariona Grané, lecturer of audiovisual communication and education at the University of Barcelona, ​​and presented by Fran Gerez, head of the UAB Training Unit. There will also be a conversation about the new teaching challenges in higher education, with the participation of Mercè Gisbert, director of the Quality Agency of the University System of Catalonia, and Joan Subirats, former minister for Universities. In addition, there will be a round table that will discuss the improvement of teaching and learning processes. The speakers will be: Maria Rosa Buxarrais, professor of education at the UB; Toni Portell, lecturer of paedagogy at the University of Vic; and Mar Carrió, lecturer of optics and optometry at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC). The session will be moderated by Edelmira Badillo, director of the Institute of Educational Studies at the UAB. In the afternoon, a series of round tables will take place at the UAB Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, focused on innovation projects and teaching quality. To confirm attendance, you must complete the pre-registration, open until 8 May, through the Training Portal.

Place: Rectorat building (conference hall)

Date: Thursday 14, May2026 - 08:45h

Description:

The UAB Equality and Diversity Service in collaboration with UAB Culture and the Faculty of Law, has organised the exhibition "20 Years After Equal Marriage: Memory, activism, and future challenges for the LGTBIQ+ community". The exhibition, which forms part of the activities of the International Day Against LGBTIQ+phobia, will be inaugurated in the entrance hall of the Faculty of Law on Thursday 14 May at 1:30 p.m.

The exhibition has been prepared by the Spanish Ministry for Equality and translated by the Department of Equality and Feminism and commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the approval of Law 13/2005, by which Spain fully legalised civil marriage and adoption for same-sex couples. Through photographs, posters and historical documents, the exhibition traces the journey of the LGBTIQ+ movement from the end of the Franco era to the present day, highlighting how collective action has made a profound social and legislative transformation possible. The inauguration will be attended by UAB Secretary General Esther Zapater; Head of Equality Policies at the Faculty of Law Montserrat Pi; and Dean of the Faculty of Law Ricardo Esteban.

Place: Faculty of Law (entrance hall)

Date: Thursday 14, May2026 - 13:30h

Description:

On 15 May, starting at 9:00 a.m., the UAB organises the second day of the Eighth Teaching Innovation Conference, which will be held at the conference hall of the UAB Rectorat building. The day's programme with different activities will begin with an institutional inauguration by Neus Fitó, head of the Area of Technical, Management and Service Administration Staff (PTGAS). Following the inauguration of the second day, the first activity will be held from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., entitled "Round table of educative research and teaching innovation projects". Participating in the round table will be Judith Gifreu, lecturer in public law and legal history studies at the UAB, who will speak on AI-based challenges; Ana Belén Barajas, lecturer in clinical and health psychology at the UAB; Antoni Navío, lecturer in applied pedagogy at the UAB; Víctor López, lecturer in computer science and artificial intelligence; and Georgeta Ion, lecturer in applied pedagogy at the UAB. 

Then, from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m., a group table on teaching innovation will be held. Participants will include Asier González, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the UAB; Marta Martín, professor of cell biology, physiology and immunology at the UAB; Eva Castells, coordinator of the toxicology unit at the UAB; Sònia Casillas, professor of genetics and microbiology at the UAB; Aleix Barrera, professor of applied pedagogy at the UAB; and Silvia Blanch, professor of basic, evolutionary and educational psychology at the UAB. The session will be moderated by Marta Rebull, member of the UAB Training Unit. There will also be a space dedicated to support resources for university teaching with the participation of various UAB services, in the lobby of the Rectorate. And Miguel Ángel Santos, professor of didactics at the University of Malaga, will give the conference “The value of university teaching: teachers as the engine of pedagogical transformation”, which will be presented by José Luís Muñoz, vice-rector for Teacher Training and Innovation at the UAB. Finally, the day will conclude with the ceremony of the 8th UAB Teaching Excellence Awards, from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m., with the participation of UAB Rector Javier Lafuente, Vice-Rector José Luís Muñoz and Montserrat López, president of the Academic Commission of the UAB Social Council. To confirm attendance, you must complete the prior registration, open until 8 May, through the Training Portal.

Place: Rectorat building (conference hall)

Date: Friday 15, May2026 - 09:00h

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, May2026 - 12:00h

Organiser: 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, May2026 - 19:00h