Physics

Gerald Holton, who was unable to attend the awards ceremony in person, received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Humanities and Social Sciences from the President of the BBVA Foundation, Carlos Torres Vila, at his home in Cambridge (Massachusetts). "This award recognizes Holton's great contribution to the understanding of the cultural dimension of science," said Torres Vila.

The BBVA Foundation and the Spanish Royal Society of Physics presented their annual awards to promote scientific culture and recognize high quality research, innovation and the work of young physicists. During the ceremony, BBVA Foundation President Francisco González indicated that: “Physics is a science with an ability like none other to shape our vision of the world while transforming our environment through radical technological innovation.” Furthermore, the President of the BBVA Foundation was named a distinguished member of the scientific organization for “his genuine interest in fomenting science in general and physics in particular.”

The Frontiers of Knowledge Awards presented by the BBVA Foundation every year to recognize scientists and creators, who with their work, contribute to push the limits of human knowledge, and improve the lives of millions of people.

Their survival was one of the greatest achievements in American flight of the 20th Century.  Their mission has been called “the most successful space failure in history.” The Apollo 13 space mission was launched 47 years ago today, on April 11th, 1970. Its crew didn´t know then what their destiny would be, the dangers they would face, or how famous that phrase would become, as it was broadcast and translated – erroneously – around the world. There was even a movie made about their story.

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas”. This is one of the most famous quotes from renowned scientist Marie Curie. IT was, precisely, her interest in the world that led her to become the first woman to ever win a Nobel prize, at a time when women were rarely allowed to pursue University studies, at least in Poland.

Respected Spanish scientist Juan Ignacio Cirac believes that quantum computing could be a reality in 10 year's time. A super machine capable of performing calculations at breakneck speeds that will open uncharted territories in matters such as encryption.

The UN has declared February 11th the International Day of Women and Girls in Science to promote female scientists and engage women in engineering, research, mathematics and technology. In celebration of this day, BBVA explains its passion for numbers in hopes of inspiring new generations.

Dark matter is not black. It is, actually, invisible. It is also everywhere – it is estimated to account for 27% of the universe’s total mass-energy density – but we cannot see it because it is too cold and does not emit any radiation. It is completely different from anything we know. And to find it, an invisible light is needed: Cherenkov’s radiation. It is no wonder that the telescopes trying to detect it are called MAGIC.

The Higgs boson made the Large Hadron Collider and CERN world famous. However, the European Organization for Nuclear Research also conducts many other experiments that are less well known. Two of them  – Neutron Time of Flight (n_TOF) and ISOLDE – are focused on nuclear physics and their findings could be used to treat cancer or produce safer and cleaner nuclear energy, for example.

The presentation ceremony of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards again transformed Madrid headquarters of the BBVA Foundation, into a window from which to contemplate some of the key ideas, insights and challenges that define the modern age.

Optogenetics is a technique whereby light serves to control the behavior of a live animal. The scene might go something like this: the laboratory rat sits peacefully in its box, but with a fiber optic cable emerging from its head. A light comes on and the animal starts to run; the light goes off, and it stops.

“Ideas about cosmology have greatly changed in the last 60 years. At the beginning of this century it was accepted without question that the Universe was essentially uniform and static. […] Most people preferred to believe that the Universe had existed forever, because this avoided awkward questions about the initial data and about what happened before the beginning."

British physicist Stephen Hawking received the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award for his work on galaxy formation. On the occasion of BBVA’s executive chairman visit to Cambridge to hand him the award, Hawking remarked that this was the first recognition bestowed on him for his work on galaxy formation and stated his optimism regarding the future of mankind.

Physicists Stephen Hawking and Viatcheslav Mukhanov have been distinguished with the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences for discovering that quantum fluctuations triggered the formation of galaxies formed during the first phase of the evolution of the Universe. The jury underscored that this insight, now borne out by space telescope observations, is a fundamental result in cosmology.