The conference will be opened by the vice-rector for research of the UB, Jordi Garcia Fernández. Leading researchers will analyze the contributions of the Catalan scientist in fields such as chemistry, physics and biology at the morning session organised by the UB. Joan Anton Català, curator of the Oró Year and science communicator, will give the lecture "Joan Oró, the dream of searching for the origin of life". Carme Jordi, professor at the UB Faculty of Physics and researcher at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the UB (ICC-UB), will give the lecture "Search for life beyond the solar system". Andrea Butturini, lecturer at the UB Faculty of Biology, will give a talk titled "Controversies surrounding methane on Mars". Josep Maria Ribó, lecturer in the Faculty of Chemistry at the UB, will speak on "The origin of biological homochirality".
Xavier Palau, representative of the Joan Oró Foundation, will then explain the connection that the Catalan biochemist had with the Montsec Mountain. Xavier Molí, from the Montsec Astronomical Park, will give the talk "Montsec Astronomical Park: discovering the best sky in Catalonia". Finally, Marc Ribó, lecturer at the Faculty of Physics, will give a talk on "The Montsec Observatory and research with the Joan Oró Telescope". The morning session will be moderated by Xavier Luri, professor at the Faculty of Physics and director of the ICCUB.
The year 2023, officially declared Joan Oró Year by the Catalan Government, has been the setting for various activities, talks and workshops in tribute to the figure of the biochemist from Lleida.
Joan Oró i Florensa studied biochemistry at the UB and devoted his career to studying the origin of life, a field in which he made major contributions that have inspired later generations of scientists.