"Why I am a Scientist” event makes its mark in Researchers’ Night

29 September 2010

Institute IMDEA Networks has thrown its support behind Researchers’ Night, held in different European Union cities to bring science to the people.

---

On September 24 Researchers’ Night was held for the sixth consecutive year, with a series of activities designed to make the public aware of the advances made in different scientific fields. Two hundred events took place in the most important European cities, with a total budget of 3.5 million Euros. 18 activities were held in 13 different venues in Madrid over the six hours that the scientific late-nighter lasted.

The IMDEA Institute (Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies) played an active part in this year’s program by organizing the “Why I am a Scientist” event, a roundtable debate open to the public in which directors of the eight IMDEA institutions discussed the reasons why they chose to work in science with the audience. Thanks to the presence of speakers specialized in different areas, from water, food, social sciences and materials to networks, nanoscience and energy, the scientific world was spotlighted as a fascinating industry, free from stereotyping and able to make a huge impact on society.

Particular mention should be made of the intervention by Dr. Albert Banchs, Deputy Director of Institute IMDEA Networks and a leading European figure in the field of new technologies. Dr. Banchs highlighted the importance of the research carried out by IMDEA Networks in the area of Information Technology, and in particular the study of network technologies that will be used to develop the Future Wireless Internet, a key factor for change in the Spanish economic model.

Attendance was high and the “Why I am a Scientist” debate was received enthusiastically. This underlines the interest that the scientific community inspires in general and how aware the public increasingly is of the way that research impacts daily life. The success of each session in this sense has provided a high benchmark for the organization of activities for the next Researchers’ Night.