Nominations for the II Malaspina Award are now open

 en Malaspina Award  Etiquetado 2019 / Malaspina Award por

On the occasion of the 5thAustralia-Spain Research Forum, the Association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific / Investigadores Españoles en Australia-Pacífico (SRAP-IEAP) in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Canberra are pleased to announce that the nominations for the II Malaspina Award are now open.

The Malaspina Award is an honour bestowed by the Spanish Embassy in Canberra and the Association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP) awarded to individuals who have made an important contribution to the advancement of the scientific and/or cultural relationships between the two countries. This year, the price will be awarded on November 7th in Canberra.

This award is named after Alejandro Malaspina who led the Spanish World Scientific Expedition 1789-1794 that carried out studies in natural history, cartography, ethnography, astronomy, hydrography and medicine in Latin America and the Pacific.

The prize is awarded annually. This year we are delighted to announce that the award will be designed and handed over by famous and successful Spanish artist Óscar Martín de Burgos, well known for his designed sculptures for different national awards.

Nominations are open to any Australian or Spanish citizen regardless of the Country of residence, with the condition that the prize-winner should be able to attend the Prize Award Ceremony on November 7th in Canberra. Nominations should be forwarded to the Embassy and to the SRAP mailbox from now until September 30ththrough the following e-mails:

  • canberra@maec.es-    srap.ieap@gmail.com

The letter of nomination should include the full contact details of the nominator, the nominee and the reasons for the nomination, including the following nomination criteria:

  • Significant contribution to the cultural and/or scientific links between Australia and Spain
  • Demonstrated excellence in their field
  • Personal, academic and/or cultural and professional achievements
  • Demonstrated impact of the contribution
  • Availability and commitment to promote bridging and to enhance cultural and/or scientific exchange in the future

Additional documents should include a list of two contact references (preferably one from Australia and one from Spain), the candidate’s CV and a list of other relevant sources of reference to be considered. Self-nominations are not considered.

 

Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

Acerca de Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

A/Prof Ángel R. López-Sánchez is an astrophysicist and science communicator working at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University (MQ). He is a recognised expert in the study of how the gas is converted into stars in galaxies and how this affects galaxy evolution. He graduated in Theoretical Physics at the University of Granada (2000) and completed his PhD Thesis in Astrophysics at the prestigious “Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias” (IAC, Spain) and the University of La Laguna (Spain) in 2006. He moved to Australia in 2007, joining CSIRO “Astronomy and Space Science” to perform radio-interferometric observations of gas-rich galaxies at the Australian Telescope Compact Array. In 2011 he joined the Australian Astronomical Observatory and Macquarie University combining instrumentation support, research, lecturing, and outreach. He was appointed as a full-time research academic at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Macquarie University in May 2023. He is the president of the association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP), the vice-president of the Astronomical Association of Córdoba (AAC, Spain), representative in the Andalusian Astronomy Network (RAdA), and member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Spanish Astronomy Society (SEA), and the Australian Astronomy Society (ASA). He is a globally-recognised science communicator, with visibility in Spanish and Australian printed, broadcast, and social media. He is also a passionate amateur astronomer that uses his own equipment for capturing the beauty of the Cosmos. His stunning astronomy time-lapse videos and photos have received +1/2 million views in YouTube and have been seen in TV channels in USA, Australia and Spain, science museums worldwide, and textbooks.