The 3rd Science Festival of the University of Barcelona, to be held on Friday May 12 during all day at the Historical Building, comes with many new activities. A neuroconcert, a place dedicated to the figure of Sabater Pi, a workshop on the cultural heritage of Mexico and an activity about astronomy to better understand the Milky Way are some of the new activities of the festival, which also includes the most successful workshops from the previous editions.

Neuroconcert with five voices a cappella

One of the distinguished novelties for the festival is the neuroconcert, at 19 h, in the Ferran Soldevila garden of the Historical Building. The aim of this activity, organized by the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB, is to talk about the musical perception and emotions it creates, with a dialogue with musicians and neuroscientists, accompanied by a live concert of five voices a cappella.

This is not the first time La UB Divulga organizes a neuroconcert. In 2013, they programmed ten concerts within the project NeuroUB: Neuroscience, Music and Art, and the experience was a success. To understand the mechanisms through which music creates specific emotional states has been a fascinating objective for neuroscience for years.

A space dedicated to the figure of Jordi Sabater Pi

The expert in African ethology, primatology and anthropology, Jordi Sabater Pi –mainly known for his discovery of the albino gorilla Snowflake, which he gave to the Zoo of Barcelona –will have an own space in the Festival. Sabater Pi studied Psychology at the University of Barcelona and was emeritus professor of the Department of Clinical Psychiatry and Psychobiology since 1987.

Apart from a poster about his most distinguished contributions in his fields of expertize as scientist and researcher, the exhibition will include almost two hundred natural-themed drawings belonging to the extensive Sabater Pi Collection, given to the University’s CRAI years ago. Some of the drawings are taken from Sabater Pi’s field journals, others are notes on animals and plants. Most of these works are painted in aquarelle or crayons.

History and meaning of UNESCO’s world heritage

One of the new workshops proposes visitors to discover and value the properties listed as UNESCO’s world heritage through community participation. After a brief explanation on the meaning of world heritage and the international importance of preserving it, the workshop stresses on the necessary participation from local communities so that this preservation is effective. In these lines, the UB PhD student Amilcar Vargas will talk about his research in several archaeological sites which are world heritage in Mexico, his place of birth. At the end, visitors can play crosswords with words related to the content of the activity and the places of world heritage they know about or would like to discover, with the help of a map and pictures from those places. They will be invited to take part in the collective creation of crossword games.

Three dimensions of the Milky Way

Astronomy lovers are lucky since the team of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB) is exhibiting a large-scale representation of the Milky Way, a project created within the framework of the Gaia Mission, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). The stand will include a workshop to create constellations, which will serve to understand the three dimensions of the 1.000 thousands of stars in the Milky Way.

Activities for all ages

The main aim of the festival is to reach non-specialized audiences from all ages. Therefore, there will be a place with a selection of science-themed children books, tales and comics so that the youngest ones can enjoy some reading too. In the afternoon there will be a play for the kids too, the show Flebotín, un mosquit del Cretaci (Flebotín, a mosquito from the Cretaceous) from the project Pinta’m un conte.

Attendants will have the opportunity to build a DNA double helix, join an introductory workshop on text editing with Ramon Llull manuscripts and medieval scientific texts, or make a Iuris test.

Also, they will discover the relation between chemistry and color, and will be able to try to fool their brains, try virtual reality in first person, or see and touch fossils from unicellular bodies from 40 million years ago, among other activities.

Espai Ciència in Saló de l’Ensenament has a clear aim: to make research attractive enough to promote scientific vocations among youngsters. It is organized by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, and the University of Barcelona is taking part in it once more. This year, the UB participates in the educational fair with two stands, which will be open all day, from March 22 to 26, in Palau 2 in Montjuïc. One of them will be coordinated by La UB Divulga and will offer practical workshops on several fields of knowledge. The other is jointly organized by the Faculty of Earth Sciencesand the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC).

La UB Divulga and the promotion of scientific vocations

Like all activities with the participation of La UB Divulga, Espai Ciència aims to promote social interest in science and knowledge, as well as increasing scientific culture of the people and contribute to increase scientific vocations among youngsters and children. “In Saló de l’Ensenyament, what makes Espai Ciència special is that workshops are activity-like and are organized by the researchers, and this enables the visitors having direct access and getting their doubts solved” says Marga Becerra, head of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the UB.

The activities are varied and the fields of knowledge covered in the workshops are totally diverse. For example, the Faculty of Law has an activity on juridical culture and society at the European Union, which consists on assessing attendants on juridical and financial knowledge.

Also, researchers from the research group Freshwater Ecology and Management (FEM), from the Faculty of Biology, will show the functioning of the app RIU.net, which assesses the ecological state of the rivers.

The Faculty of Psychology will offer a workshop on virtual reality with the presentation of a computer program able to create the same physical, psychological, emotional and behavioural reactions that we experience when facing real stimuli.

The Faculty of Physics is organizing four activities. On the one hand, the Group of Analysis of Adverse Meteorological Situations (GAMA) will show the FLOODUP app for phone devices, and visitors will learn about floods and their consequences in recent episodes. On the other hand, the research group LENS-MIND-IN2UB (Department of Quantum Physics) will organize a workshop on electronic microscopic transmission. Also, the Institute of Cosmos Sciences will offer two workshops: one on dissemination of quantum mechanics and ultracold gases, and another in which visitors will see different materials and activities related to sky cartography and measurement of stellar distances, in particular the ones in the Gaia mission.

Last, researchers of the Institute for Research on Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB) of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science, will organize the workshop Els sentits i l’alimentació. With several demonstrations of tastes, smells, colours and textures, they will experiment how the organoleptic traits and our brain influence our selection of foods and therefore, our nutrition and health.

Earth sciences in daily life

The Faculty of Earth Sciences of the UB and the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC) organize together a stand aiming to promote social projection in Geology, Geological Engineering and Marine Sciences, as well as bringing these disciplines closer to high school students and teachers, showing the environmental, social and economic challenges they involve.

The activities and research lines of both institutions are presented in: material characterization, Earth dynamics and structure, exploration and exploitation of geological resources (rocks and minerals, water, fossil fuel), analysis of climate changes in geological records, life evolution, environmental management and prevention of geological risks (earthquake’s, volcanoes, floods, etc.), geology and construction of big infrastructures and geological storage of CO2.

Moreover, the stand will show the functioning of the new app BCNRocks, jointly created by both institutions (with the support from FECYT-MINECO) which allows disseminating about geology, discovering ornamental rocks from Roman times until today, while walking and visiting the most emblematic buildings in Passeig de Gràcia, Plaça Catalunya and the Gothic Quarter.

On the occasion of this ceremony the Centre Cívic Urgell shows the exhibition "Telescopi Assumpció Català" from 4th to 27th April. Francesca Figueras guided a visit around the exhibition after the ceremony.

Video of the ceremony

Catalan Version      Spanish Version

• The results of a study published in Nature Communications allow researchers to progress in the study of the distribution of gravitational waves from distant sources

Barcelona, November 27, 2017. Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the University of Jaén have described, for the first time, the structure of a Z-shaped galactic microquasar. This astronomical object is considered to be a small-scale version of a winged radio galaxy, so far considered one of the distant sources which are potential emitters of gravitational waves. In this sense, the main conclusion of the study, published in Nature Communications, says that not all winged radio galaxies would be sources of gravitational waves, unlike what was thought so far.

A microquasar is an astronomical object fed by a stellar black hole, which is smaller than the ones at the centre of radio galaxies, and produces a radio jet towards opposite directions. In the study, researchers “could determine that the Z-shaped morphology of the studied microquasar, the GRS 1758-258, can be explained with hydrodynamic interactions with the surrounding medium” says Josep M. Paredes, from ICCUB.

This result can be extrapolated, suggesting that this scenario could work in winged radio galaxies, since these objects follow the same physical laws. So far, it was thought that those radio galaxies were X or Z shaped due the merger of two black holes, a process in which gravitational waves are generated. When these waves are produced at such a long distance from us, it is not possible to distinguish them individually and a gravitational wave background noise is created.

“Our results allow us to reach the conclusion that not all winged radio galaxies would be an origin of gravitational waves, which was commonly believed so far –says Valentí Bosch Ramon, researcher from the ICCUB-, since some of them owe their structure to hydrodynamic processes that would not create these kind of waves. Considering these results, the background of gravitational waves would be weaker than what it was thought so far” concludes the researcher.

In order to determine the Z-shape of the GRS 1758-258 microquasar, several observations have been made with the Jansky Vergy Large Array in New Mexico (United States). The results have been added to all the observations of the same microquasar that were carried out in previous decades. Gathering all these data made it possible to reach the required sensitivity to describe the Z-shape of GRS 1758-258 and deduce the processes that formed it.
This study was conducted by a team of astrophysicists formed by the researchers of the University of Jaen Josep Martí and Pedro Luis Luque Escamilla and the researchers of the ICCUB Josep M. Paredes and Valentí Bosch Ramon

Picture of the GRS 1758-258 microquasar, obtained with the Jansky Very Large Array radiotelescope at 5 GHz frequency radio wave. The white line shows the Z-shape path formed by the relativistic plasma produced in the core region, where the black hole is located.

• This morning Alicante has started the 100xCiencia.2 meeting, which today and tomorrow brings together the vanguard of Spanish research: the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centers of excellence.
• The meeting was opened by Carmen Vela, Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, and she highlighted the importance of approaching science and business
• "Without transfer there is no innovation and without innovation there is no future"

"Co-creating Value in Scientific Research" is the theme of this meeting that is dedicated to the transfer of scientific knowledge to companies. As highlighted by Salvador Palazón, director of the Valencian Agency for Research and Prospective (AVAP), "Innovation is slowed down in the last stage of the process, the transfer of knowledge from research centers. Without transference there is no innovation and without innovation we are endagenring the future ".

The Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, highlighted that the resources put into entities such as the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centers of excellence, "more than an spending are an investment", and expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the extraordinary work that these cutting-edge research centers are doing.

"What we use in research is very well invested and you are doing an excellent job with the limited resources that are put at your disposal. You are 1% of the researchers of the world, but you support 3.2% of the world science and your publications represent 5% of the international scientific community", said Carmen Vela.

The Secretary of State for research noted that the transfer of knowledge between science and business should be a circular concept. "We must be able to use what everyone knows to put it in common, generate knowledge, but also take it to society. You do it very well also with transfer issues, because quality is a call for other sectors to approach", she said in reference to the Centers of Excellence.

For Carmen Vela, research and innovation have to go hand in hand. "With this idea we have tried to break down barriers. We must try to approximate these two sectors, science and business. We must break barriers of thought that still think that companies have to be outside of the University", she said. "As resources are limited, grants now only go to the academic world, and there are no resources for companies, in the private sphere. But I would like to break this, because the research should be funded regardless of where it is done, public or private centers.

Carmen Vela pointed out that in countries like Korea "more than 80% of the dedication to research comes from the business sector. And the most advanced countries science is over 70% dedicated to the private sector. In Spain we have half the doctors in the companies that the rest of the OECD countries. Not all the researchers we train can be devoted to the academic sector. We have to make a circular economy of knowledge, where our scientists also reach companies. "

Co-creation, a new way of innovating

The meeting 100xCiencia.2 consists of three lectures given by three women of recognized international relevance: Krista Keränen, Lita Nelsen and Nuria Oliver.

The inaugural conference was given by Krista Keranen, director of innovation at the Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland and an expert in co-creation. Why co-create? Karenen asked himself: "Because the world is constantly changing. And the worst in times of turbulence like this is to continue acting with the logic of past times", said Keranen.

The 'Severo Ochoa' and 'María de Maeztu' accreditations are the highest official recognition of the scientific research granted in Spain. To achieve this accreditation, the centers are selected by an international evaluation committee. These centers and units cover practically all areas of knowledge, from physics and mathematics to the environment and biomedicine.

Recently the 25 centers and the 16 research units accredited with the distinctions "Excellence Severo Ochoa" and "excellence María de Maeztu" have formalized the creation of the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu Alliance (SOMMa).

ICCUB Participation at 100xCiencia.2

The ICCUB became a María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence in 2015, after being awarded in the first call of this modality of the award. Devoted to research on cosmology, the ICCUB has also played an important role in the development of technology for space missions and particle physics experiments, such as Gaia, CTA and LHCb. At present, ICCUB expertise in instrumentation, electronics and data processing is also being applied to other fields such as medical imaging and nanosatellites, including services for the private sector.

During the event, ICCUB researcher Ricardo Graciani presented the research and technological development carried out at the institute, along with its strategy for technology transfer to attract interest of companies

• The Secretary of State for R&D+i, Carmen Vela, chaired the kickoff meeting of the new Severo Ochoa and Maria Maeztu Alliance of Excellence.
• The alliance’s target is to internationally promote and strengthen the centres and units accredited with this distinction, to give their research a higher profile.

The 25 centres and 16 research units accredited with the “Severo Ochoa” and “María de Maeztu” excellence distinctions formally established this afternoon the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu Alliance (SOMMa) in their first official meeting. Chaired by the Secretary of State for R&D+i, Carmen Vela, the gathering was attended by directors and representatives of all centres and units that have approved creation of the Alliance and defined the strategic and working plan for the coming months.

The Spanish “Severo Ochoa Centres” and “María de Maeztu Units” Excellence Program promotes excellence in scientific research. Their goal is to promote Spanish science through the recognition of research efforts at the forefront of their fields, help them increase their impact, and international scientific leadership and competitiveness.

“Excellence attracts excellence, and therefore this alliance is another step toward generating synergies and strengthening the quality of the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centres and research units,” states Carmen Vela, Secretary of State for R&D+i. “The future of impactful research and innovation in Spain and Europe lies in the convergence of technologies, methodologies and disciplines, capable of carrying out ambitious projects performed in cooperation among centres, units and teams from different organisations. This alliance is a major step forward in this direction, as it will let us strengthen the links of cooperation among existing research centres and units that we have in Spain,” says Vela.

The excellence program is one result of the consolidation. The Severo Ochoa centres and María de Maeztu units propose reaching new lines of cooperation with the creation of the Alliance of Severo Ochoa and Maria de Maeztu Centres of Excellence (SOMMa). Luis Serrano, director of the Centre for Genomic Regulation, will head the alliance over the next two years, while Teresa Garcia-Milà, director of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics will be its vice-president.

“In science, alliances are always positive. Joining forces at all levels enriches the R&D+i ecosystem,” explains Luis Serrano, director of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and president of the new SOMM Excellence Alliance. According to Serrano, “We hope that this union of centres and units of excellence in Spain will generate a long-term synergetic effect, and will have an exponential impact on talent recruitment and the advancement of research in Spain and beyond our borders. Such projects are fundamental to guarantee stimulating, creative environments of excellence.”

SOMMa aims to raise the national and international profile of science in Spain; promote the exchange of knowledge, technology and best practices among its members, the international scientific community and the main stakeholders; cooperating with other research centres in Spain to strengthen the R&D+i system; and having a voice in Spanish and European science policy.

Ready for first actions

SOMMa will have a number of working groups to achieve its goals. Among them are raising the profile, increasing cooperation, furthering scientific policy, results dissemination or project sustainability, among others.

Soon, the www.somma-excellence.es web platform will bring together all of the information on SOMMa. This website, in addition to being a window into the world of the science of excellence being conducted in Spain, will also be a unique resource for the scientific community, policy makers, journalists and the general public.

Another of SOMMa’s activities is the organization of future runnings of the 100xCiencia conferences, thus continuing the series that began in 2015 in La Palma, the second running of which will be held in Alicante on November 2 and 3. The SOMMa centres and units will meet again in this second running of 100xCiencia which, under the title “Co-creating Value in Scientific Research”, will be focused on the transfer of knowledge generated in the centres and research units, and facilitating society’s appreciation of its value.

About the Severo Ochoa Centres María de Maeztu Units of Excellence

The centres and units of the alliance cover a broad range of scientific disciplines, from biology and medicine, to mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering, economics and social sciences.

According to their classifications by scientific area, the accredited organizations participating in the alliance are:

Life Sciences

• Centres
  • Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) - www.cnic.es
  • Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) - www.cnio.es
  • Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) - www.irbbarcelona.org
  • Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) - www.crg.eu
  • Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (CBGP) - www.cbgp.upm.es/
  • National Center for Biotechnology (CNB) - www.cnb.csic.es/
  • Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante (IN) - in.umh.es/
  • Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) - www.ibecbarcelona.eu
  • Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) - www.cragenomica.es/es
  • Centre for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE) - www.cicbiogune.es/
• Units
  • Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS) - www.upf.edu/cexs/
  • Structural Biology Unit (SBU) - www.sbu.csic.es/
  • Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) - ictaweb.uab.cat
  • Departamento de Regulación Génica y Morfogénesis (GEM) - www.gem.es/

• Centres
  • Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) - www.bsc.es
  • Institute of Mathematical Sciences - www.icmat.es
  • Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) - www.bcamath.org/es/
  • Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) - www.iac.es
  • Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) - www.icfo.es
  • Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT) www.ift.uam.es
  • Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE) - www.ifae.es
  • Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) - http://webific.ific.uv.es
  • Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ) itq.upv-csic.es
  • Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) - www.iciq.es
  • Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) - www.icn.cat
  • Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB) - www.icmab.es
  • Nanoscience Institute (IMDEA) – http://nanoscience.imdea.org
• Units
  • Barcelona Graduate School of Mathematics (BGSMath) - www.bgsmath.cat/
  • Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) - www.uam.es/ifimac/
  • Particle Physics- www.ciemat.es
  • Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB) - http://icc.ub.edu/
  • Institute of Molecular Science (ICMOL) - www.icmol.es
  • Information and Communication Technologies Engineering Department (DTIC-UPF) - portal.upf.edu/web/etic/inici
  • Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (IRI, CSIC-UPC) - http://www.iri.upc.edu/
  • Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE) (IGFAE) - www.usc.gal/es/institutos/fisica_ae/index.html
  • Signal Theory and Communications Department (COMMSENSLAB) - www.upc.edu/
  • CIC nanoGUNE Association - www.nanogune.eu

Social Sciences and Humanities

• Centres
  • Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE) - www.barcelonagse.eu
  • Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (BCBL) - www.bcbl.eu
• Units
  • Department of Economy - www.eco.uc3m.es/
  • Center for Monetary and Financial Sid (CEMFI) http://www.cemfi.es/

Press release (Catalan)

The measurements have been coordinated by technicians of the Direcció General de Qualitat Ambiental i Canvi Climàtic of the Catalan Government, in collaboration with the Montsec Astronomical Park and the Regional Council of La Noguera, and with the participation of members of the IEEC University of Barcelona (Dept. FQA & ICCUB).

Read more

• Generalitat de Catalunya, Press (Catalan)
  
• University of Barcelona, Press (Catalan)