Margarita Salas (1938-2019), the most recognized scientist in Spain and a true pioneer in our country, has died on November 7, just the day Maria Sklodowska was born, better known as Marie Curie. The French scientist, winner of two Nobel, is a symbol and a role model for many girls and women who want to dedicate themselves to science and that is why it is usual that during the week in which the event is commemorated events and conferences are held to promote female presence in an area where men tend to be a majority, especially in positions of responsibility.
This year, the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) went ahead of that date to pay tribute to the scientists who, along with Margarita Salas, have been pioneers in our country. To hundreds of brilliant women who have taken 80 years to pay tribute despite the importance of their contributions to Spanish science, which in many cases have been carried out discreetly and without them being known to the public.
As highlighted during the tribute Rosa Menéndez, the first woman who chairs the CSIC, "it was time to give voice, name, surname and face to those 250 women who stayed too long in anonymity. We want to settle our debt with you, " said the Chemistry during the event held last October.
There was much talk about the importance of transmitting the passion for science to new generations of girls and also the so-called Matilda effect . Described for the first time by suffragette Matilda Joslyn Gage in her essay Women as Inventors , this is what is called prejudice against recognizing the achievements of women scientists, whose work is often attributed to their male colleagues or partners.
"The role of women in science has gone unnoticed. We have settled for a secondary role, it was enough to know that we were part of the research. No one has been aware of this until now," confessed physics and robotics expert Teresa Pedro, one of the five honored scientists whose contribution we review.
Josefina Castellvi: Adventure in Antarctica
With more than 70 scientific papers behind him and 36 oceanographic campaigns, Josefina Castellví (Barcelona, 1935) was the first director of a scientific base in Antarctica. She was not the first woman on the continent (a distinction held by the Norwegian Caroline Mikkelsen since 1935), but the first researcher and director of a base. She started working at the Institute of Marine Sciences in 1960, where she was director between 1994 and 1995. Meanwhile, in 1984, her passion for the study of bacteria in extreme environments led her to become interested in the frozen continent, encouraging Spanish research .
Between 1989 and 1994 he directed the Juan Carlos I Spanish Antarctic Base on Livingston Island; later, she became manager of the National Research Program in the continent at the state level, coordinating international projects. Professionally retired, it is currently still linked to the dissemination of environmental studies in Antarctica. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the creation of the base, the scientist starred in the documentary The Memories of Ice , directed by Albert Solé, with whom she traveled again to the frozen continent in homage to the pioneer Spanish scientific team of those years.
Tarsy Carballas: Fire Prevention
When they announced his name during the tribute, Tarsy Carballas (Taboada, Lugo, 1934) approached the lectern with a good handful of folios. His first words were: "We finally have a woman!", Referring to the first female presidency of the CSIC. He did not have enough time to list the contributions and awards that swell his curriculum.
The field to which he has dedicated his whole life is as unknown to the general public as his name: the study of the soils of the humid areas of Spain. His contribution has been vital to the fight against forest fires, since it has allowed the development of a prediction system that has been used successfully for years by the Government of Galicia. In addition, he demonstrated how a forest area can recover after the flames thanks to the ashes that work as fertilizer .
"I discovered my vocation thanks to the subject of Soil Science that I studied during the career that my parents forced me to study, Pharmacy," he told EL MUNDO still excited, showing the difficulties and misunderstanding during those early years. "In the 60s, almost nobody knew anything about the floors."
María dolores Cabezudo: The science of wine
María Dolores Cabezudo, (Madrid, 1935), analytical chemistry specializing in food, recalls how, during their first and difficult years in the scientific career, some professors prevented women from entering laboratories. "This claim is fair and necessary but in our time it was unthinkable," he said during the tribute. "I will not mention the obstacles inherent in our status as women, nor the scarcity of resources because even the echo of these truths serve as propaganda to be repeated," he added.
After more than a quarter of a century of work at the CSIC, Cabezudo was the author of the curricular program of the Food Science and Technology career, stage in which he established the basis for the Castilian-La Mancha wine industry to improve the quality of their broths It was his institute that promoted the wines of this region since the ministry of the time "prioritized those of Rioja, Jerez and Cava".
Cabezudo recalled, in addition, to "the pioneers of truth", the first "who were responsible for dissipating the Chinese from our path": the scientists of the Second Republic.
Teresa de Pedro: Artificial Intelligence
When Google was still BackRub, it only worked on Stanford University servers and experiments with autonomous cars were far away, Teresa de Pedro (Malillos de Sayago, Zamora, 1944) was messing with this technology that promises to redefine driving and road safety future. It was 1996 when she graduated in Physical Sciences promoted the Autopia program in the current Center for Automation and Robotics , a mixed body of the Polytechnic of Madrid and the CSIC.
Pedro and his colleagues were not the only ones trying to develop autonomous vehicles; at the time there were projects in Germany, Japan ... But the home team was the only one that did not depend on a manufacturer brand. The first experiments of the project were simulations, but at the end of the 90s analog tests began with an electric Citroën Berlingo van which they dubbed Babieca . Then came the Rocinante van, another van that, this time, was equipped with a computer, leaving behind the rudimentary sensors of the previous version.
"Car insurance will require these autonomous driving systems. In addition, automatic systems are not distracted, the future will be much safer, " said the scientist.
He also developed a program to predict air pollution in Madrid, a simulator of naval battles and was involved in the first artificial intelligence (AI) projects in Spain. In fact, his doctoral thesis was an important contribution to technology.
At that time, the task of tracing the paths of the connections of the printed circuits was done by hand, a labyrinth of silicon and copper that meant a headache. Imitating the pattern of human work. But De Pedro developed a program that traced the roads automatically. "It was one of the first AI programs taken to the practical field," said the researcher.
Ana Vieitez: Forest Cloning
Ana Vieitez has been investigating diseases of forest species such as chestnut, oak or poplar with her husband, Antonio Ballester, for more than 30 years. In 2012, both were distinguished with the Mendel University medal for achieving more resistant species to diseases through biotechnology , increasing their ability to remove contaminants from soils.
"In the case of oak, whose cloning by traditional methods such as grafting is very difficult, we managed to develop a novel in vitro method that ensured the reproduction of identical units," Vieitez explained. The objective of their investigation was the exact cloning, to preserve the positive characteristics that made the specimen resistant against certain diseases.
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