With the hall packed to capacity and in the presence of the new regional secretary for universities, Esther Gómez, we celebrated European Science Night with two talks given by Juan Fuster, the CSIC’s representative in the Comunitat Valenciana, and Amparo Querol, scientific director of the Severo Ochoa Centre at IATA-CSIC.

For Professor Fuster, who spoke on the topic of “Accelerators: tools for research and for society”, “science is no longer about the future. It is the present”, and he warned that “countries without science do not prosper”. Despite this, Fuster acknowledged that “Spain ranks 11th in the world, well above what one might expect given our resources. “And in terms of innovation,” Fuster continued, “we rank 26th; we’re not in a bad position,” he acknowledged, “but we’re not among the leaders”.

Fuster also spoke of particle accelerators as tools for research and stated that “they are essential for understanding the first moments of the universe”

For her part, IATA-CSIC researcher Amparo Querol spoke of the impact of science on the productive sector, particularly in her field of specialisation, the wine sector, and acknowledged that “the wine sector provides vital support for depopulated areas of Spain, as it creates wealth and jobs”.

For Querol, “it is essential to attract and retain talent, and we scientists must reach out to engage with industry, the productive sector and society to address their challenges”.

As the scientific director of the Severo Ochoa Centre, she added: “We must provide scientific evidence as tools for politicians to make decisions that, in turn, improve society.”

The evening concluded with a reception in honour of science and everything associated with it.