María del Carmen Llasat and Santiago Álvarez, awarded for their dissemination task
María del Carmen Llasat, professor at the Faculty of Physics, expert on natural risks and climate change, and Professor Santiago Álvarez, from the Faculty of Chemistry and expert on inorganic chemistry, are the ex aequo awardees of the 7th Doctorsʼ Senate and Board of Trustees Award of the UB to the top scientific and humanistic dissemination activities. This award aims to promote the dissemination of scientific knowledge among society.
María del Carmen Llasat, professor at the Faculty of Physics, expert on natural risks and climate change, and Professor Santiago Álvarez, from the Faculty of Chemistry and expert on inorganic chemistry, are the ex aequo awardees of the 7th Doctorsʼ Senate and Board of Trustees Award of the UB to the top scientific and humanistic dissemination activities. This award aims to promote the dissemination of scientific knowledge among society.
Llasat has been awarded for her dissemination task on knowledge and awareness of the climate change and natural risks. Expert on floods and adverse weather phenomena, she carries out an important dissemination activity of social interest. The researcher participates in radio and television programs as well as print media, and takes part in the activities carried out at the Scientific Communication and Innovation Unit (UCC+i) of the UB since its beginnings. She has given many conferences and seminars in civic centers, schools and associations, and has organized dissemination exhibitions in Catalonia, such as the exhibition “Parlem del temps. Història de lʼafició meteorològica a Catalunya”. Among her books and articles is the volume Gota fría and all her contributions to Eduard Fontserè Sessions, organized by the Catalan Association of Meteorology. Regarding the communication of knowledge on climate change, her contribution is crucial. A good example is the presentation (October 2019) of the first report on climate change in the Mediterranean: Primer informe científic sobre lʼimpacte del canvi climàtic i mediambiental a la Mediterrània.
Maria del Carme Llasat is a profesor of Atmospheric Physics at the Department of Applied Physics and coordinator of the Section of Meteorology. She leads the Group of Analysis of Adverse Weather Situations (GAMA), with the support from which she can carry many dissemination activities out, and workshops and citizen science projects, a field in which she has been a pioneer.
Santiago Álvarez has promoted the interaction between sciences and humanities through conferences and articles, and international biennial meetings Not Strictly Inorganic Chemistry (NoSIC), which are regularly held since 2003. In 2019 he took part in several activities on the occasion of the International Year of the Periodic Table. He has published articles such as “La Música de los elementos” (2007), “Tres artistas y su material de laboratorio: George Brecht,Víctor Grippo y Hermann Nitsch” (2018) and “Shape and symmetry in chemistry: new concepts and paradoxes” (2009), and books such as De dones, homes i molècules. Notes dʼhistòria, art i literatura de la química (2017) and 150 anys de taules periòdiques a la Universitat de Barcelona (2019, co-edited with Claudi Mans).
Member of distinguished scientific societies, Santiago Álvarez has received awards such as the Research Award by the Catalan Government. Also, he is a fellow member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (United Kingdom), corresponding member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences and member of the European Academy of Sciences. His research has been focused on the link, structure and magnetic properties of transition metal compounds, and the application of continuous shape measures.