Can we do something to help save the Earth? Of course we can! At The European Researchers’ Night in Madrid 2021 some IMDEA researchers told us how to do it
September 27, 2021
The European Researchers´Night in Madrid 2021
What Do You Do To Improve The Earth?
Last Friday, September 24, the Residencia de Estudiantes de Madrid once again hosted the activity that the IMDEA Institutes organize within The European Researchers’ Night in Madrid. As in the eleven previous editions, in which we have also participated, the Fundación para el Conocimiento madrimasd has coordinated all the activities prepared in Madrid.
In What Do You Do To Improve The Earth? researchers at the IMDEA Institutes have shown that they take very seriously the need to ensure a more sustained and sustainable development for everyone, and that we all can do small and big things to achieve this.
Starting from very diverse scientific areas and some of their projects, they showed us that science can and should be the best ally on the Earth. How? In many ways.
Determining the maximum safe concentration of pesticides in water, eating what we really need and helps us to improve our health, using software to reduce the energy consumption of transport or the risks of certain catastrophes, using waste to make fuels, customising prostheses made with 3D printers and biodegradable materials, reducing the need for batteries in mobile devices, or investing on new molecular nanomaterials, which are very small but they need very large equipment, to produce CO2-free energy sources.
José Manuel Torralba, researcher and director of IMDEA Materials, and Manuel Carro, researcher and director of IMDEA Software, were the masters of ceremonies, who presented their colleagues from IMDEA Water: Francesco Polazzo, IMDEA Food: María Jesús (Josune) Latasa, IMDEA Energy: Héctor Hernando, IMDEA Materials: Mónica Echeverry, IMDEA Nanoscience: Wojciech Gawelda, IMDEA Networks: Borja Genovés, Sarmad Mir and Javier Talavante (accompanied by Domenico Giustiniano and Dayrene Frómeta, who supported them sitting among the audience), and IMDEA Software: Pedro Moreno, who linked up with two of his collaborators: Marta Centellas and Juan Manuel Copia.
The activity ended with questions from the public, who wanted to ask the researchers if the technologies they were proposing were expensive, if it would be a long time before they could be commercialised, or why they were doing their research. There was a very special question that made everyone smile and that everyone wanted to answer: “I am only ten years old, what can I do to improve the Planet?” And the answer was unanimous: a lot! Every time you recycle, turn off a tap when you don’t need water, don’t waste food, and countless other little things we do throughout the day, you are helping the Planet.
You can watch the highlights in the following video
European Researchers’ Night in Madrid is coordinated by the madri+d Foundation and it is financed by the European Union within Horizon 2020, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions with grant agreement number 101.036.010.
