BCAM joins Emakumeak Zientzian 2026 to highlight women’s talent in science

• BCAM is part once again of the Emakumeak Zientzian initiative, a collective project aimed at highlighting the role of women in science, encouraging scientific vocations among girls and young people, and advancing towards a more inclusive and equal scientific ecosystem.
• BCAM's participants in this year's initiative are: Luz Roncal (Group Leader, Ikerbasque Research Associate Professor in Harmonic Analysis; Ana Fernández Navamuel (Postdoctoral Fellow, Mathematical Design, Modelling and Simulations; Irene Gonzálvez Martínez (Postdoctoral Fellow, Harmonic Analysis); and Eva Zabala Sanz de Galdeano (Research Technician, Computational and Applied Statistics); 

Within the framework of this initiative, BCAM women researchers have participated in a range of outreach activities addressed to educational centres and the general public, sharing their professional experience, their career paths in the field of mathematics, and their day-to-day work as scientists. Through talks, workshops and meetings, the researchers have underlined the importance of female role models in scientific and technological disciplines.

BCAM’s participation in Emakumeak Zientzian is part of the centre’s ongoing commitment to gender equality and the promotion of diverse talent in research. BCAM actively works to create more equitable environments and to bring science closer to society, helping to break down stereotypes and to show that mathematics and research are also for women.

Emakumeak Zientzian is an initiative promoted by various agents from the scientific and educational ecosystem in the Basque Country, bringing together every year new organisations committed to outreach and gender equality in science. BCAM’s involvement reinforces its commitment to open, accessible and socially responsible science.

BCAM’S ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE INITIATIVE

• Luz Roncal (Group Leader, Ikerbasque Research Associate Professor in Harmonic Analysis) took part in “Women Scientists of Yesterday and Today” in Bilbao.

Women Scientists of Yesterday and Today is one of the most special activities within the Emakumeak Zientzian programme. It is an event that connects past and present to highlight the role of women in science. Five scientists currently working in research centres in Biscay will take the stage at the Ensanche Building to share their professional experience and explain, in a close and accessible way, what they are researching today and what their daily life as scientists is like.

Each of them will also pay tribute to a woman scientist or technologist from the past, bringing back key figures whose contributions were fundamental but remained invisible for a long time. Through the stories of their lives and discoveries, the activity combines scientific outreach and collective memory.

Women Scientists of Yesterday and Today is, ultimately, an act of recognition and justice: a tribute to the women who paved the way and a window to make visible those who continue to build knowledge today.

• Ana Fernández Navamuel (Postdoctoral Fellow, Mathematical Design, Modelling and Simulations) participates in Emakumeak Zientzian with “Turbine Detectives”, an activity framed within the ORE4CITIZENS project.

Participants will spend a morning exploring how offshore wind turbines can also suffer from hidden “injuries”. Through examples and hands-on activities with mathematics at the centre, they will learn that these structures—located hundreds of kilometres offshore and exposed to extreme conditions—require continuous monitoring to detect any issue before it becomes critical.

During the workshop, students will take control of the investigation through three phases:

1. Experimenting: stepping into the shoes of an engineer working with floating turbine simulators.
2. Inspecting: analysing groups of turbines, several of which present a hidden malfunction.
3. Diagnosing: using observation and mathematical problem-solving to identify the origin of the issue—ranging from excess weight caused by marine organisms to loose components or broken mooring systems.

Through this experience, participants will discover in an engaging and accessible way how science, technology and mathematics help maintain these large generators of clean energy. They will also understand how small variations—such as slight vibrations or barely noticeable tilting—can be key to preventing major failures.

• Irene Gonzálvez Martínez (Postdoctoral Fellow, Harmonic Analysis) and Eva Zabala Sanz de Galdeano (Research Technician, Computational and Applied Statistics) will participate in Emakumeak Zientzian with an Escape Room activity.

Do you dare to be part of a research group for a day? In this escape room, participants will have to solve a series of physical and statistical challenges to unravel the hidden mysteries of BCAM. They will need to find the missing research lines and, to do so, overcome scientific challenges that allow them to progress and unlock the next phase.

By working with logic problems and real-life data puzzles, participants will learn how mathematics is applied to everyday situations.

• Eva Zabala Sanz de Galdeano (Research Technician, Computational and Applied Statistics) will also participate in Emakumeak Zientzian with a talk as part of “Back to School”.

Women scientists and technologists from different research centres return to schools to bring their work closer to students, raise awareness of their professional activity, and inspire scientific and technological vocations among today’s younger generations.