Category: Awards

• Indira Ocampo Justiniano, a predoctoral researcher at the Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT UAM-CSIC), has been selected as a recipient of one of the prestigious grants from the European Space Agency’s Visitor Program.

The ESA Archival Research Visitor Programme provides a unique opportunity for scientists at all career levels affiliated with institutes in ESA Member States and Collaborating States.

Ocampo has been chosen to participate in the program, which aims to maximize the scientific output from ESA’s space science missions. Indira’s research area focuses on “Machine Learning the cosmological large-scale structure of the universe with Planck and Euclid.” During her three months residence, Indira will conduct her research at ESTEC (Noordwijk, Netherlands).

The program offers visiting scientists the opportunity to interact with archive and mission specialists for questions on the retrieval, calibration, and analysis of archival data. All areas of space research covered by ESA science missions can be supported, and applicants are encouraged to consult the table of expertise and contact relevant scientists in their field of interest.

Congratulations to Indira Ocampo for this achievement!

• Belén Gavela, a foundational member of the Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT) since its inception, affiliated with the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has been honored with the distinguished Julius Wess Award 2023 by the KIT Center for Elementary Particle and Astroparticle Physics (KCETA) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Belén Gavela’s groundbreaking research has fostered our understanding of the fundamental nature of particles and their interactions. Her investigations into CP violation and flavor physics in quarks and leptons have unveiled critical insights into the asymmetry between matter and antimatter, one of the profound mysteries of particle behavior.

Moreover, her exploration of the dynamics of neutrino oscillations has been pivotal in comprehending the elusive properties of neutrinos, shedding light on their oscillatory nature and oscillation probabilities, which are crucial in the study of neutrino masses and mixing and their CP properties.

Belén Gavela is also one of the founders of the subfield of weak matrix elements on the lattice, the latter being a theoretical framework used in particle physics to discretize spacetime into a grid-like structure, enabling calculations and simulations of quantum field theories on a finite grid.

In addition, Belén Gavela’s work in investigating effective field theories associated with electroweak symmetry breaking stands out. Her theoretical insights into the fundamental forces and the mechanisms underlying the breaking of electroweak symmetry have significantly enriched our understanding of the building blocks of the universe.

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• Anamaría Font, SO(IFT) Research Associate, has beeen awarded in the 25th annual L’Oréal-UNESCO International Prize ‘Women and Science’

The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards are presented every year to five outstanding women scientists – one per each of the following regions: Africa and the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America – in recognition of their scientific accomplishments. Each scientist has had a unique career path combining exceptional talent, a deep commitment to her profession and remarkable courage in a field still largely dominated by men.

In the field of Physics, Prof. Anamaría Font has been awarded this year for her important contributions in theoretical particle physics, in particular to the study of String Theory. Her research has furthered the theory’s implications for the structure of matter and quantum gravity, which is also relevant to the description of black holes and the first instants after the big bang. L’Oréal-UNESCO chose Anamaría Font, from the Central University of Venezuela, among Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Prof. Anamaría Font is Professor of Physics at the Central University of Venezuela and IFT Severo Ochoa Associate Researcher.

In addition to Prof. Font, 2023 laureates include:

• Professor Suzana Nunes – Professor of Chemical and Environmental Science and Engineering, Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
• Professor Lidia Morawska – Distinguished Professor, School of Earth Sciences and Climate, Queensland University of Technology, Australia and Director of the International Laboratory for air quality and health
• Professor Aviv Regev – Executive Vice President and Global Head of Genentech Research and Early Development, Genentech/Roche, San Francisco
• Professor Frances Kirwan – Savilian Professor of Geometry, University of Oxford

¿Cuál es la mejor manera de empaquetar esferas ocupando el menor espacio posible?

Los fruteros saben muy bien cómo hacerlo en tres dimensiones. Pero para dimensiones altas —mayores que tres—este sigue siendo un problema abierto: solo se han encontrado las configuraciones óptimas en dimensión ocho y en dimensión 24.

En 2016, la matemática ucraniana Maryna Viazovska, que acababa de terminar el doctorado, resolvió el problema del empaquetamiento en dimensión ocho. Un año después, junto con otros colaboradores, lo resolvió en dimensión 24. Esto supuso un hito muy destacado de la matemática reciente, que le valió la obteción de la Medalla Fields en 2022.

Los métodos de Viazovska simplificaban enormemente los que usaba Hales para demostrar el caso tridimensional. Lo cual no quiere decir, ni mucho menos, que la demostración fuera fácil: el trabajo aúna herramientas y técnicas del análisis de Fourier, de la teoría de números y del campo de la optimización. Además, con su demostración no era necesaria la ayuda computacional.

En esta charla, el investigador del ICMAT Pablo Hidalgo Palencia nos explica cómo se produjo la consecución de este hito en homenaje al legado de Viazovska.

[Más información]

Conferencia acogida por la Facultad de Ciencias de la UAM y organizada con motivo del Día Internacional de la Mujer y la Niña en la Ciencia por la Comisión de Igualdad Intercentros UAM + CSIC

Grabación y edición: Laura Marcos

Organiza: Comisión de Igualdad Intercentros UAM-CSIC

Con motivo del 11 de febrero, Día de las mujeres y las niñas en la ciencia, Fernando Herranz, del Instituto de Química Médica – CSIC, impartirá el coloquio titulado “Carolyn Bertozzi: cuando la química hace click”. La charla tendrá lugar el 9 de febrero a las 12:30 en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

En esta charla descubriremos a la reciente premio Nobel de Química 2022, Carolyn Bertozzi, aspectos de su carrera profesional y, sobre todo descubriremos la química que ha desarrollado, los antecedentes, qué ha aportado de nuevo y qué aplicaciones esta permitiendo este nuevo tipo de química.

Fecha: 9 de febrero a las 12:30pm

Lugar: Sala de Conferencias Módulo 00, de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Organiza: Comisión de Igualdad Intercentros UAM-CSIC

El poster de la actividad puede descargarse aquí.