How do you get from the classroom to the laboratory? Is science today really multidisciplinary? Is Artificial Intelligence dangerous?
October 3, 2024
On Friday 27 September, researchers from the seven IMDEA Institutes met in the auditorium of the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid to explain how their work contributes to making science help the Planet.
They did so in “Science that helps the Planet – Science, what would we do without you?”, one of the activities organized as part of The European Researchers’ Night in Madrid 2024, a project coordinated by the Fundación para el Conocimiento madrimasd, framed in the Horizon Europe Programme. In Europe, more than 400 cities are joining the celebration. So did cities in 12 Latin American countries.
IMDEA Institutes have participated in the fifteen editions that have been held in Madrid. And in twelve of these editions we have been able to do so in the incomparable setting of the Residencia de Estudiantes, distinguished with the European Heritage Label, awarded by the European Union for the role it has played in the history and culture of Europe.
José Manuel Torralba, director of IMDEA Materials, and Manuel Carro, director of IMDEA Software, were the masters of ceremonies who introduced Pablo Urrutia (IMDEA Water), Laura Marcos (IMDEA Food), Julio Lado (IMDEA Energy), Lucía Doyle (IMDEA Materials), Sebastián Thompson (IMDEA Nanoscience), Narseo Vallina (IMDEA Networks) and Srdjan Matic (IMDEA Software).
As expected, many topics were on the table, all of them related to the importance of science. These included measuring the temperature inside the cell to help fight cancer, and the importance of diet and lifestyle in preventing the onset of non-communicable diseases. Other topics discussed were the principles behind the concept of ‘planetary boundaries’, the role of electrochemistry in environmental innovation, and how ‘circular design’ is driving current research into new materials. And of course, something that surrounds us today wherever we look: software and communication networks, and that it is essential that they are safe, responsible and efficient, also from a social and environmental point of view.
Questions from the audience brought up other very interesting topics. Gene editing with techniques such as CRISPR, Artificial Intelligence and careers in science were some of them.
On the first point, the IMDEA researchers acknowledged that it is a very complex issue. While it is true that techniques such as CRISPR open up a hopeful path in the field of genetically-derived diseases, there is still a lot of research to be done in laboratories and ethics committees.
When asked about Artificial Intelligence, the IMDEA researchers at the Residence confessed that, although they were not specialists in the field, they were all very interested in it. They consider it to be a very powerful tool for their work, but one that should be used with caution. Its advantages are clear: its capacity to process a lot of information and to do so in a very short time is prodigious. Its disadvantages are also clear and can be summed up in a phrase that has already been said many times: information should not be confused with knowledge. In other words, AI processes huge amounts of data in record time, but it is not always the right data and it does not always interpret it well. In short, it is a very powerful and useful tool, but only in the hands of those who know how to handle it and interpret its results.
Finally, the younger audience was interested in learning about the professional careers of the researchers who were at the Residence to find out how they had started their research careers. The answers coincided on several points: curiosity, wanting to know how things work, multidisciplinary training and, why not, a bit of chance.
It was an immense pleasure for us to meet again with the public at the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid to share a part of our work. Many thanks to the Residencia for offering us this unique setting. Many thanks to the IMDEA researchers who transmitted their enthusiasm to all of us. And, of course, many thanks to the public who accompanied us.
We are counting on you all for the next edition of The European Researchers’ Night in Madrid!
It is very important for us to know your opinion. Please let us know if you liked “Science that helps the Planet (I)” (coordinated by IMDEA Software) by completing the following questionnaire: https://c.madrid/d3isn.
MADRIDNIGHT is a science outreach project, coordinated by the Fundación madri+d and funded by the European Union covered by the Horizon Europe Programme, belonging to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under grant agreement No 101.061.343.
