Alejandro Ángel Escobar Awards, which honor the country’s best research in the field of science and solidarity, was presented on Wednesday night at the National Museum in Bogotá, where three categories were awarded: exact, physical and natural sciences; Social and human sciences. Environment and sustainable development. In addition, two awards were given in the Solidarity category.
So, There were two investigations born at the National University (UNAL) worthy of the Exact, Physical, Natural and Environmental Sciences Awards. The first received Professor Carlos Alberto Vargas Jiménez, from the Department of Geosciences at ONAL University, and his working team, for their research “Contributions to the knowledge of the thermal structure of the Earth and some applications of geothermal energy”.
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This study used global geophysical measurements that allow the study of Earth’s structure and composition to estimate thermal anomalies in the first 20 kilometers of depth. The study was published in high-impact journals such as nature.
Professor Vargas noted: “Three objectives with global impact were achieved: first, a new method for tracing the history of the ocean floor was proposed; second, the distribution of geothermal sources was determined, and third, areas with the highest probability of containing hydrocarbons were mapped.”
For the Environment category, the winner was Professor Jesús Orlando Vargas Ríos, from the Department of Biology at ÚNAL University, who together with his team from the Ecological Restoration Group conducted a research entitled “Ecological and Social Foundations of Paramos Restoration”. The work seeks more effective strategies for marsh restoration in different scenarios.
In this regard, the researcher said: “Currently, the paramos receive a lot of attention, but in reality the efforts made to preserve and restore them are scarce, and not enough efforts have been made. In Colombia, we have had the National Reform Plan since 2012, and in 2018 the Paramos Law was approved, but there still seems to be no will to turn this intention into public policy.“, he expressed during his speech.
For its part, in the Social Sciences and Humanities category, the award went to the book “When the Birds Did Not Sing: Stories of Armed Conflict in Colombia,” a volume of testimonies of the final report of the Truth Commission headed by Alejandro Castillejo. Cuellar.
Finally, in the Solidarity category, the non-profit organizations won were the Battuta National Foundation (which works on musical training to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents), and the Alma Foundation (an environmental protection organization).
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