2023-11-07 14:49:20
Updated Tuesday, November 7, 2023 – 13:49
“I love to remember the place that the human being occupies in this cosmos that is so vast, so complex and so ancient,” said the astronomer in his acceptance speech.
Rafael Bachiller during his speech after receiving the award.BBVA Foundation
The astronomer and collaborator of EL MUNDO Rafael Bachiller yesterday he received one of the CSIC-BBVA Foundation Awards, in the researchers category, for his “long career of sustained dedication to the dissemination of knowledge,” according to the jury minutes.
“In Spain we have a scientific community that, perhaps, because it has been more difficult than in other societies around us, has understood very well the importance of combining work in the laboratory or at the table with the projection of knowledge to society,” he noted. the director of the BBVA Foundation, Rafael Pardo.
Communication, Bachiller noted after receiving his award, is “what allows science to be made into an infinite thread of Ariadne that, extending through centuries and civilizations, makes it possible for each generation to build more science on the results it receives.” his predecessor generation communicated to him. For the award-winning astronomer and popularizer, “particularly important is communication to society in general, which You have the right to know how we scientists spend the funds they entrust us with when they pay their taxes.“. From this perspective, the director of the National Astronomical Observatory and the Royal Observatory of Madrid (IGN) has dedicated a good part of his career to the dissemination of knowledge, “not only of his own field of specialization, but of scientific culture in general”, as highlighted by the jury that awarded him the CSIC-BBVA Foundation Prize.
To highlight the importance of scientific communication in our society, Bachiller cited in his speech the results of a recent public opinion study carried out by the BBVA Foundation, which confirmed how “The Spanish today has more interest and more respect for scientific results than our European neighbors.“. However, the astronomer highlighted that the same study “revealed to us that this interest is not accompanied by the minimum essential knowledge: a good proportion of Spaniards continue to confuse viruses with bacteria, others think that the ozone hole is what creates climate change, etc. “That is why scientific communication is so important in our country and awards that, like these, stimulate communication, are extremely timely.”
Bachiller is a prominent researcher in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, who He has published more than 350 scientific articles in specialized reference magazines, mainly about his area of specialization: the formation of solar-type stars. But, in addition, he has always considered that the dissemination of knowledge to society is “an obligation of the scientific world.” For this reason, over the last 15 years, he has also dedicated a great effort to bringing astronomy closer to the general public, mainly through the innovative multimedia sections that I created on the website of the newspaper EL MUNDOas well as the Opinion Tribunes of the same newspaper in which he addresses not only topics from his own field of specialization, but also current scientific and informative news in general, from the environmental crisis and debates in the field of biotics to the risks of artificial intelligence.
Family photo of all the winners.BBVA Foundation
“We astronomers,” declared Bachiller, “are excited to tell the wonders of the cosmos to everyone, and everyone likes to feel fascinated. In fact, this fascination with the wonders of nature is the seed of science. “
“I also love to share scientific results, I love remembering the place that human beings occupy in this vast cosmos“, so complex and so old, a place that may seem modest, but that can be considered great when we realize that we are capable of thinking and explaining at least part of the mysteries of this great universe,” he concluded.
The CSIC-BBVA Foundation Awards claim the value of scientific communication to expand society’s opportunities and guide decision-making in the face of the great challenges of the present.
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Rafael Bachiller, astronomer: “Whoever does not know science will not be able to participate in the great debates of our time”
Editor: TERESA GUERRERO MadridRafael Bachiller, astronomer: “Whoever does not know science will not be able to participate in the great debates of our time”
In the category of journalists, the prize was awarded to the SINC agency, for “an exceptional 15-year career” in which they have managed to “reach massive audiences” with quality scientific journalism, capable of combining “the most reliable sources with attractive and accessible narratives for the general public”, in the words of the jury
In the category of researchers, in addition to the Bachelor’s degree, “the exemplary work carried out in the context of an emergency” by the researchers of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC) who dedicated themselves to informing society about the volcanic eruption on La Palma.
“Scientific culture not only expands individual opportunities, but also collective ones, being the envelope or structural foundation of our institutions and our social interaction,” highlighted the director of the BBVA Foundation.
Two CSIC-BBVA Foundation Scientific Communication Grants have also been awarded to the young scientific journalists Jon Gurutz Arranz and Iole Ferrara, who thanks to the program are carrying out training stays in CSIC centers to know directly the entire scientific research process
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