The cycle of colloquia In the light of women scientists, organized jointly by Elhuyar and Donostia Kultura, will take place in spring. Three sessions are scheduled: one on 14 March, another on 18 April and the last on 16 May.

The objective of this project is to get to know women scientists, because in the history of science and technology the contributions of women have been relegated and hidden, and even today discrimination against women remains evident in this area.
Through personal interviews, there will be an opportunity to meet three women scientists who work in different fields: Itziar Cortés Etxabe, Marian Iriarte Ormazabal and Aiora Zabala Aizpuru. Answering the questions of Ana Galarraga Aiestaran, Elhuyar's scientific disseminator, will explain the reasons that drive them to research, the questions they seek answers, the things that surprised them and the difficulties they face. Furthermore, they will recommend their favorite books to overcome the stereotype of the “two cultures” (sciences and humanities).

Spring cycle of colloquia 2023

The first colloquium will take place on 14 March. The interviewee will be Itziar Cortés Etxabe, and the title will be as follows: Itziar Cortés Etxabe: languages in the digital age.
Itziar Cortés Etxabe studied computer engineering and is specialized in language processing. At the end of her career, she researched the presence of women in engineering studies, and now she works in the field of artificial intelligence, specifically with language technologies. She has worked in research and development, for example in the project for the automatic translation of Elhuyar, and is currently coordinator of the Language and Technology unit of Elhuyar.

The second interviewee will be Marian Iriarte Ormazabal. Under the title Marian Iriarte Ormazabal: Everyday chemistry will talk about polymers. The talk will be on April 18.

Marian Iriarte Ormazabal is a professor at the University of the Basque Country and since 1991 she has been working at the Faculty of Chemistry of San Sebastián. He is also engaged in scientific dissemination, and is currently dean of the Faculty of Chemistry. Their area of study is polymers. Because polymers are widely used in shipbuilding and their life is short, they have very negative effects on the environment. Therefore, in recent years it has been immersed in the world of biodegradable polymers, in order to be able to replace many polymers or polymer mixtures used in shipbuilding.

The last talk will take place on May 16 with Aiora Zabala Aizpuru, Under the title Aiora Zabala Aizpuru: nature in our hands.

Aiora Zabala Aizpuru holds a degree in Environmental Sciences and a PhD in Ecological Economics. She is a university professor and was an editor of the science journal Nature Sustainability for four years. It is also dedicated to the dissemination of the environment, sustainability and human sciences, and last year (2022) it published the book “Nature in Our Hands”.

The three colloquiums will be held in Basque at 19:00 in the Hall of Events of the Ernest Lluch Cultural Center.
The audios of the colloquiums will also be heard in the posters of DK Irratia and on the website of Elhuyar zientzia.