Three UdeC academics were recognized for being among the ten finalists of the 2022 Ada Byron Chile Award

The dr. Apolinaria Garcia Cancinofrom the Faculty of Biological Sciences and the Doctors Katherina Fernandez Elgueta Y Pamela Guevara Alvezfrom the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Concepción, were the three UdeC academics recognized at the award ceremony of the Ada Byron Chile Award 2022which took place in Santiago.

This recognition arose in 2014 at the University of Deusto, Spain, and aims to make visible the work and contribution to society made by women in areas related to technology and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and who have also had a relevant career, following the path of Ada Byron, a British writer and mathematician who pioneered the participation of women in computing and technology, specifically in programming. The award is already being given in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina, and is now being given in our country, in partnership with Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB).

At the call for this first version in Chile came 110 applications, where 13% corresponded to the Biobío Region. Of the total number of applicants nationwide, 29% work in academia, 15% in industry and 7% in innovation; while 42% of the 110 applicants are under 40 years of age and 74% have a master’s and/or doctorate.

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The UNAB Rector, Julio Castro Sepúlveda, pointed out that the high convocation “clearly shows the level of researchers and scientists that there are in Chile. I think there are still many more, but this is the first contest of many that we are going to do”. While the Vice-Rector for International Relations and Digital Transformation of the University of Deusto, Dr. Alex Rayón Jerez commented on the results of a recent study carried out by his university together with the OECD and which analyzed the response of European girls.

“When girls are 6 years old, 75% of them, when asked to represent a scientist, paint a woman; therefore, they imagine a science with an important participation of women. These girls, when they are 16 years old, 75% of them paint a man, therefore, what happens in those 10 years is where we believe part of the problem lies,” said Alex Rayón, noting that the academy has the role of contribute to the awareness of societies where men and women have the same opportunities.

A scientific committee and a jury were in charge of selecting 55 candidates, naming 10 finalists at the culminating stage, where the winner was the Computer Science Execution Engineer from the Federico Santa María Technical University and social entrepreneur, Barbarita Lara Martínez, co-founder and CEO of EMERCOM, and creator of the SIE project, a system that in the midst of a natural disaster, allows you to send emergency messages even without having an internet connection.

The contribution of UdeC researchers

In addition to making visible the work of women linked to technology, the award seeks that the experience and history of those who apply and win, can serve to motivate new generations to be interested in the world of science.

The work of Dr. Apolinaria García Cancino has focused on investigating the use of probiotics as a way to prevent infection by the bacteria. helicobacter pylori, which has a global prevalence of 50%, and in Chile, 70%. The academic pointed out that she is proud to be among the 10 finalists for the award, but that “she also It is an immense responsibility because without a doubt we are a reflection and a mirror for many girls., teenagers who see that just as we achieve goals, they can do it too, so I feel an immense responsibility in that”. In addition, she valued the initiative pursued by Ada Byron Chile 2022, because “this type of recognition and making women’s work visible seems fantastic to me and should be encouraged because I have no doubt that in a society -for it to be a healthy society- it must have equal opportunities”.

At the ceremony, Dr. Katherina Fernández Elgueta, was highlighted for her specialization and work in areas such as biotechnology, biomaterials, bioactivities of natural compounds, nanotechnology, and recovery of high-value components from waste. The academic herself emphasized that she belongs to chemical engineering, “which is hard engineering, where there are usually few women. So he Being able to demonstrate that it is possible, that one can achieve things in different areas, I think it will also help a lot to strengthen both the University and engineering in itself as a discipline, in terms of what women can, that we are capable of and that we can perfectly reach these areas that have traditionally been areas for men”.

For its part, the work of Dr. Pamela Guevara Alvez has stood out for the use of modern data management technologies and artificial intelligence for problems in the health area, especially in analysis of medical images, structural brain connectivity and scientific visualization. . “It is good to show that in reality we women can still perform very well in these areas and also show that they are very entertaining areasthat is, not only do we have the capacity, but they are also very entertaining areas where creativity, innovation, collaboration are used a lot and I think that it is very good to transmit it to the girls so that they realize that if they they want, they can do it”, said the professor of the Faculty of Engineering.

The value of making research visible

For this award, the Office of Transfer and Licensing OTL UdeC nominated a total of 15 academics, of which three became finalists. In this sense, the Director of Development and Innovation of the UdeC, Jorge Carpinelli Pavisich, indicated that “the conviction that assists us in the importance of making visible the work of women in the area of ​​science, engineering and technology, we has motivated through a work carried out by our OTL to select and accompany a group of outstanding UdeC academics in applying for this award, which by the way, her name reminds us and also recognizes the contribution of another great woman in history in the field of science and technology”.

Regarding the three UdeC finalists for the Ada Byron Chile 2022 award, Jorge Carpinelli pointed out that “with great pride and satisfaction we have received the news of the nomination among the 10 finalists of professors Katherina Fernández, Apolinaria García and Pamela Guevara, who are prominent representatives of a group of researchers from our university community, who day after day manage to fully perform with vocation in the scientific work that the UdeC promotes”.

Claudio Rojas, Technological Transfer Manager of the OTL UdeC, who accompanied the teachers at the ceremony, indicated that the application was “always with the general aim of being able to promote the female presence in the sciences, it is something that we have as one of the objectives in the OTL of being able to close the gender gaps and to be able to make visible the work that they do in the field of science”.