PROVIDING
The new thing in these tasks usually has the help of destiny. To confess the truth, we don't have much experience, but it was already a second session. That did not reassure us at all, but the other way around: and if no one came? Fortunately, our fears went away as the time of the award ceremony approached or, more specifically, at the time when the number of guests he was heading was impoverished. That meant a calm in us for a long time. Thanks to this, the compañeros and compañeras who were in charge of organizing the event managed to relax and the rest of us noticed in the office the peace that had suffered their displacements and emergencies. What a rest!
As can be seen later, those who gathered at the restaurant Txzain Beltxa in Lasarte-Oria did not realize the squeezes of the previous days. Moreover, one told us that those gathered there were very surprised and gave two reasons for this: to start on time and for once, because we managed to say what we wanted to say without boring anyone and that among those gathered there could be many people more nervous than us. It is a new brand among us. However, and as usual in such events, we weren't all we had to be. Some did it before, but some did not receive the invitation and did not come. With all your heart, forgive.
Step by step award
All papers arrived on time and fulfilled all the requirements established in the rules of the call, were level A, that is, informative articles written by new writers. Let's clarify that Elhuyar is a new writer. The maximum number of articles published in the journal Zientzia eta Teknika was specified in the basis of the contest. So, we received 38 articles that were included in the “hype” of the jury.
As for level B, the reader seems to need to clarify something. As could be read in the bases, the call was addressed to secondary students. They were asked to study the topics of the school and to elaborate didactic material with them, more specifically. Unfortunately this year there has been no call, among other things because we have caught up in the development of the school map.
The jury met on 13 January at the headquarters of Elhuyar Kultur Elkartea. Some of the members might consider them “veterans”, since in the last edition they also worked on the same task. However, all of them had learned well what they had to do and as soon as they met that Saturday morning, they began to talk about the quality and quantity of the work. In order to facilitate the work the comrades were asked to select three of the work received.
The jury meeting is therefore initiated by motivating the decision taken. However, it was difficult to unify all opinions, almost impossible!, and with the passage of time the debate deepened. It took a long time to agree on the final decision, but it was finally achieved. By then it had already been three hours and a lot of discussion sessions.
As we do not dare to say the colors without redness before them, now and through these lines we want to congratulate the team that has formed the jury. And we are proud of their work and, of course, of everything they have opted for the prize. Don’t think that joining a “homogeneous” team from different disciplines was easy. All its members, each in its discipline and specific work area, are professionals with years of experience, which has had great importance in ensuring the level of the Award. And we think it's also worth providing.
Written in own name
In short, these are the works made after this year's contest. Thus, the time came for the awards and the “Honor List” was completed as detailed below.
Starting from behind, the third prize was the article entitled “Pheromones: the surprising language of smells”. At the ceremony of the awards, Jabier Agirre, member of the jury, was in charge of reporting this and said that “it was wanted to reward the journalistic value of the article”. The prize of 25,000 pesetas was awarded for the work written by the eibarrés Asier Sarasua, for the clarity required to an informative article and for the use of language accessible to the public in the exhibition of the subject.
The work selected for the second prize was “With the humiliation of black holes: The Hawking effect.” Its author is the Bilbao jury member José Miguel Campillo and Unai Ugalde, said that “it has rewarded the jury to have worked new paths overcoming the classic vision offered in this interesting topic”. José Miguel came expressly from Bilbao to collect the prize and in his pocket he received a prize of 50,000 pesetas.
At this point, we just need to mention the first prize. Once this story is finished and to complete the prize section, we attach the work that has been the winner of this year, but before we start reading, we want to tell you the reasons why it has been awarded. Offering a global view of possible life, because they have placed the theme of evolution in one of the most attractive contexts of today, offering a wide perception of science, offering the possibility to reflect on living beings and from the approach to conclusions, because the article is round.
These are some of the criteria that the jury has taken into account to award the first prize to the work entitled “Evolution in Artificial Life”. In the conviction that it is in keeping with the spirit that is defined on the basis of the contest, it was emphasized that the projection of the theme for the future is great and that in turn has all the news. Arantza Etxeberria, professor at the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, and computer scientist Jesús Ibáñez have spent a lot of time researching in this field. With joy they received the prize and took 100,000 pesetas. Serve this little help to follow the path traveled to date and with the same order.
For all the above, you can think that the good health of CAF-Elhuyar Sariak is good and that it is ready for the next edition. For example, we are still so scared. In any case, the welcome you have made to the second gives us the courage to organize the third and we are already in it. In any case, while exceeding the next day, in the following numbers you will be able to know some of the articles of this year, starting with the following pages with the work that has obtained the first prize.
JURY
Jabier Agirre, doctor, OEE member and UZEI member.
Josetxo Alvarez, professor and coordinator of CEIDA.
José Mari Rodriguez Ibabe, engineer, CEIT researcher and professor at the School of Engineers of San Sebastian.
Jesus Mari Txurruka, biologist and professor of the UPV at the Faculty of Sciences of Leila.
Unai Ugalde, biochemist and UPV professor at the Faculty of Chemistry of San Sebastian.
They have said it
Inaki Irazabalbeitia* “Elhuyar is an undeniable
reference in the dissemination of science and it can be said that it is almost the only reference. Although this makes us happy at first, being the only referent in such an important field for society as disclosure, cannot be considered a news of congratulations. However, the presentation of many high quality works to this event can be the herald of a future more prosperous to scientific disclosure”.
* President of Elhuyar Kultur Elkartea
Andrés Arizkorreta* Today, as
a year ago, I want to highlight the importance of the normalization of Basque for us. This is part of the management we carry out in the company and the participation in initiatives such as the current one, gives a new impetus to research and science in our language.
Regarding this year, it is worth noting the significant improvement in participation and above all in quality levels. From an advanced perspective, the authors make important contributions, which is what gives true scientificity to the work.
The evaluation we make of the results and the call itself is totally positive. This stage that has been accomplished should serve to reinforce this initiative and for our part, I mean that we are willing to do so. I hope next year we are together here.
* Director of CAF
Zu idazle
Zientzia aldizkaria
