The Rafael del Pino Foundation Chair in Science and Society was created in 2019, led by the scientist and professor at the University of Alicante Javier García Martínez. Its function is to analyse, debate and communicate the impact of science and technology on society, understood in a broad sense, encompassing the economy, employment, security, energy and quality of life in Spain.
This forum has a dual purpose. On the one hand, it connects with the vocation of the Rafael del Pino Foundation to contribute to the training of Spanish leaders and entrepreneurs and to promote freedom and knowledge. On the other hand, it is linked to the university environment, the source of scientific and technological knowledge that radiates to society through research transfer and educational outreach.
But it is also the necessary fruit of a historic moment and of the will of institutions and organisations to ensure that the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution are met for the benefit of citizens. In the face of pressing threats such as climate change, resource scarcity, inequality and the rise of post-truth, science and technology are emerging as a source of opportunity, redefining work, health and well-being, consumption and even the geopolitics of our time.
In short, it is a forum for thinking, discussing and disseminating the main ideas on the impact of new technologies on our society. All this through tools that combine knowledge and dissemination.
Every year, thanks to the collaboration of our panel of experts, a report is published on the new emerging technologies that will have a decisive influence on Spain's development and competitiveness. This initiative takes advantage of the experience of the holder of this chair in the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum and in other areas of knowledge on emerging technologies.
They are currently members of the Committee of Experts:
- Andrés Pedreño Muñoz, Professor of Applied Economics, former Rector of the University of Alicante and former CEO of Universia
- María Blasco Marhuenda, Biologist. PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Director of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO).
- Nuria Oliver Ramírez, Telecommunications Engineer. PhD from the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Director of Research in Data Science Vodafone. Chief Data Scientist Data-Pop Alliance.
- Héctor Perea Saavedra, Industrial Engineer. Director Strategy and Business Development at CEPSA
- Manuel de León Rodríguez, Mathematician and Doctor in Exact Sciences. Research Scientist at the CSIC. Former Director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (ICMAT).
- Pablo Artal Soriano, PhD in Physics and Professor of Optics at the University of Murcia.
- Javier Ventura-Traveset Bosch, PhD in Telecommunications Engineering. Executive Secretary of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Galieleo programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) and ESA Spokesperson in Spain.