CAF-ELHUYAR 2022 awards: science and imagination, the keys to the future

2022/04/28 Agirre Ruiz de Arkaute, Aitziber - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Sariak

The award-winning works of CAF-ELHUYAR in 2022 have been:

“The death of women’s libido: the time of judgment,” by Ane Portillo Blanco. [Award to the general information article].

“To follow dance in the frantic peace of the night,” by Amaiur Esnaola Illarreta. [Prize for the disclosures based on the doctoral thesis].

“What do apples say to yogurt?” by Fatima Villa González. [The Neiker prize].

“The well of Etxerre and the treasures of Sur-Uribe”, by Jon Villapun Arbide, Maider Ibañez Espinosa and Jon Goikouria Larrabeiti, published in the journal Geuria. [Prize for Journalism in Science].

“Submissive landscapes. Anthropocene remains on the Basque coast”, by Arantzazu Luzarraga Iturrioz. Creation.

The authors of the Elhuyar have received the merchants of CAF – Elhuyar: Iñaki Azkune Mendia, Felix Azpiroz Arrillaga, Juanjo Gabiña Carrera, Jesús Mari Goñi Zabala, Andoni Sagarna Izagirre and Mikel Zalbide Elustondo.

 

Travel proposal

Yesterday afternoon the ceremony of the CAF-ELHUYAR awards was held in the Kutxa Cultural Square in Tabakalera (Donostia). As this year Elhuyar is 50 years old, the act has been very special: to begin with, four young scientists travel to the future of science to announce what science will look like in 50 years. Itziar Irakulis Loitxat, in the hand of his satellites, has analyzed the environmental field and possibilities that the network of public satellites of the future will entail; Maia García Vergniory, of materials and physics, and recalling the prominence of materials in the great revolutions of history, of the revolutionary materials of the coming years; Gorka Azkune Galparune, necessary ingredients for Santa Health.

Tabakalera has returned to travel in time and has remembered, between the applause, the time and the protagonists of the creation of Elhuyar 50 years ago and of the scientific dissemination in Euskera.

The theme of this year’s award ceremony has been “Science and imagination, the keys to the future”. In fact, our society faces the problem of climate for the future, the elimination of social inequalities, the recognition of diversity… To do this, science and imagination will be essential tools. This year's winners are well equipped with two components:

Death of female libido: judgment

The winner of the award for the general disclosure article has been the berangoztarra Ane Portillo Blanco, with the article entitled The death of the female libido: the trial. Portillo talks about sexual desire. And it puts on the table that hormonal contraceptives can prevent it. Since science has not yet been able to fully demonstrate its relationship, it gives the form of a judgment to the article. In his hand, he recognizes that it is difficult to talk to the doctor about the loss of sexual desire, which has led him to write the article.

To continue dancing in the frantic peace of the night

The informative article, based on the doctoral thesis, has been awarded by the donostieta Amaiur Esnaola Illarreta, for her work of continuing to dance in the Frenetic Night Peace. He says that in the Basque Country we have a small treasure, the desman of the Pyrenees, who lives in the rapids of clean streams, but he confesses with regret that it is absolutely unknown. He has guided research to generate knowledge about this small animal and has now pointed out that what he knows about it is to share it with society so that Basque society knows which precious stones will lose if it does not take care of them.

Etxerre Well and Sur-Uribe Water Treasures

In the category of Science Journalism, the work The well of Etxerre and the treasures of the waters of Sur-Uribe, published in the journal Geuria de Bizkaia, has been awarded. The authors have been three: Jon Villapun Arbide, Jon Goikouria Larrabeiti and Maider Ibañez Espinosa. The prize consists of a special copy of the Etxerre well, which, in the judgment of the Jury, can serve as an example to other places for its quality and scientific and testimonial data. This type of work helps to awaken the desire to preserve the ecological treasures of our environment.

The director of the journal Geuria highlights the path that journalism and science can take together. The methodology-journalistic binomial indicates that it has great potential to improve our lives and that it can be key to the future.

 

 

 

What do apples say to yogurt?

The Neiker prize, which aims to reward the work of the primary sector, has been for this year Fatima Villa González, what do you say the apple of yogurt? thanks to work. Villa is in Boston performing a research stay at MIT and thanks virtually the prize. The methodology Villa proposes for food in the future is based on digitalisation. The Court considers that the proposal meets a current need. Moreover, it is feasible and highly applicable. Villa has taken a valuable study.

Landscapes Subtracted. Signs of anthropocene on the Basque coast

In addition to the awards, the CAF-ELHUYAR award has provided a grant of EUR 5 000 to support projects that bridge science and society. Landscapes Subtracted this year by the bilbaíno Arantzazu Luzarraga Iturrioz. [The creation of a project on the Basque coast involving signs of anthropocene].

Luzarraga talks about the Anthropocene, a geological era known as the human era: “It’s about mapping the traces that this time has left in our environment. On the Biscay coast, on the coastal cliff of Puntagalea, traces of industrial activity have been accumulated. The Vizcaya blast furnaces poured 30 million tons of waste into the sea, of which 1 million waves have brought us back to the coast. These wastes have been accumulating on their beaches and becoming cemented black. [Blacks due to the abundance of iron slag in waste]. So much iron, the sand that easily attracts a magnet.”

“Also on the sequence of the sedimented flishas for billions of years, cemented waste has accumulated: bricks, iron… But the sea level is increasing and this coastal zone will disappear completely within 100 years. The remains cemented by our human action will also disappear,” says Luzarraga. “Before it’s late, we want to highlight the influence of anthropocene on the Basque coast, representing and mapping this invisible part of the imam.” The jury has pointed out that, addressing a scientific topic of full relevance, Luzarraga proposes an exciting creation.

CAF-ELHUYAR Merchants

Finally, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Elhuyar, the creators of Elhuyar have been given emotional recognition. The contribution of the nine Donostiarras students to the normalization of the Basque language and to the dissemination of science and technology made 50 years ago is mentioned. Thus, Iñaki Azkune Mendia, Felix Azpiroz Arrillaga, Juanjo Gabiña Carrera, Jesús Mari Goñi Zabala, Andoni Sagarna Izagirre and Mikel Zalbide Elustondo have received the tribute between the applause and Luis Mari Bandres Unanue.

Azpiroz recalled passages from the time of censorship that conditioned Elhuyar’s performance. And he has also confessed that they are surprised to see the Elhuyar today, seeing all that has been given the seed they have put.

Creation -scholarship 2021

Finally, the creation in the same Tabakalera has provided an opportunity to know the projects of the winners of the two scholarships of the previous year. One was picked up by Itxaso Navarro Celestino, for his project Sonata 00001011-Spam, concert of sound transduction, which the public has been able to listen and see live. Navarro wanted to imagine how future scientists would interpret our society if we found remains that reflect our society. Future scientists will meet with virtual junk, which has decoded the binary code of these spam remains and turned them into music. The hearing faces have been visible from the point of view of the “music” generated by our trash.

Another scholarship was for Ander Gortazar Balerdi and Jac for Markusiewicz. City of 15 minutes, 45 minutes of territory. [Contemporary Basque cartography for work]. The award has generated a different view of the cartography of the Basque Country shown during the event. Today, the exhibition that will be displayed in the UPV/EHU begins. Cartography and original music have completed the event, while the public has been eager to see what will be the creation of this edition.