Under the title ‘CSIC is calling you tonight’, the CSIC centres at the Cantoblanco Campus are celebrating European Researchers’ Night 2024 on 27 September at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Madrid. The ICMAT is organising ‘A mathematical look at superheroes’, a workshop on the mathematics that make computerized axial tomography (CAT) possible, led by two researchers from the centre: María Ángeles García Ferrero (ICMAT-CSIC) and Alba García Ruiz (ICMAT-CSIC).
The European Researchers’ Night, organised jointly by the centres of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) located on the Cantoblanco Campus and the surrounding area, is back. On 27 September, the Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Madrid will be welcoming people interested in learning more about science throughout the day. At ‘CSIC is calling you tonight’ there will be activities for schoolchildren in the morning and for the general public in the afternoon. There will be workshops, exhibitions, scientific demonstrations and monologues showing the science being done at these centres.
The ICMAT is taking part in the activity with a workshop in which people of all ages will discover the mathematics behind X-ray tomography. In ‘A mathematical look at superheroes’, María Ángeles García Ferrero, CSIC scientist at the ICMAT, and Alba García Ruiz, pre-doctoral researcher at the ICMAT, will pose a mathematical challenge to the participants: Europe is in danger and, in order to save the continent, they will have to discover the hidden superheroes using computerized axial tomography (CAT), a tool for viewing the inside of the human body used in medicine. The workshop will last 40 minutes and will run from 17:00 to 20:00 in four shifts. Admission is free until all places are taken.
‘CSIC is calling you tonight’
From 11:00 to 13:30, there will be a big science fair for Primary, ESO and Baccalaureate students where they can explore the secrets of glass and ceramics, discover the surprising superconductivity, check the antioxidant power of fruit, or play with catalysts, hydrogen cells and the periodic table. They will also have the opportunity to meet the women scientists from all over the world who are collected in the Escape Road: in search of Nobel and non-Nobel women. For this time slot, it will be necessary to apply for places from 16 September at 9:00 in the morning: there will be 40 spaces for Primary and 80 for Secondary (between 3rdESO and Baccalaureate).
In the afternoon, from 17:00 to 20:00, the doors of the science fair will be open to anyone who wants to find out about the science being done at CSIC centres. There will be stands where you can see and experiment, and there will also be workshops behind closed doors – with stipulated times and capacity control – to extract DNA, investigate plant biotechnology, learn about the properties of algae as an alternative food, test the antioxidant power of fruit and train our X-ray vision with the ICMAT workshop. Entry to these activities is free until full capacity is reached.
Scientific monologue competition
In addition, this year a scientific monologue competition has been added. The contestants will be staff from CSIC centres and the winner (or team) will be chosen by the audience using the ‘applause meter’ method. There will be two performances, with different participants in each, for which a free ticket must be purchased from 16 September.
Participating CSIC centres
This activity is organised by the following CSIC centres located on the Cantoblanco Campus of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the surrounding area: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM) (coordinator), Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica (ICP), Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación (CIAL), Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio (ICV), Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas (ICMAT), Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT), Instituto de Micro y Nanotecnología (IMN), Centro de Biología Molecular (CBM), Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale (IIBM).
NIGHTMADRID is a science outreach project, coordinated by Fundación madri+d and funded by the European Union within the Horizon Europe Programme, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions with grant agreement no. 101.162.110.
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