Qué sabemos de… 2025

For the ninth consecutive year, the CFM, in collaboration with Donostia Kultura and the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of the Basque Country, presents the talk series “Qué sabemos de…” (What do we know about…) in Donostia/San Sebastián. This unique series of educational talks, promoted by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), is inspired by the intrinsic curiosity of human beings and features professionals from the fields of science and science communication.

This edition features five events focusing on the cutting-edge science that is shaping the present to transform the future. The talks also aim to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of the Basque Country in Donostia/San Sebastián, which is why they will all focus on chemistry, giving us a first-hand insight not only into the most advanced science in this field, but also into the people who carry it out

FREE ADMISSION UNTIL FULL CAPACITY IS REACHED

The vacuum: the philosophical pipe dream that has changed the way we live

Jose Ángel Martín-Gago

Director of ICMM

November 18

19:00

Venue: Ernest Lluch Kultur Etxea (Amara)

The vacuum is one of the most fascinating stories in human knowledge. The concept of “nothingness” began as a philosophical paradox and evolved into a tool that has transformed our way of life. The vacuum is not a hole. It is the stage on which atoms and the universe are held together, while also being essential for the most ambitious scientific projects and our everyday technology. In this talk, we will journey through its evolution to understand how the vacuum allows us to explore the smallest—the quantum world—and the largest—the cosmos—and why knowing about nothing changes everything.

Jose Ángle Martín-Gago

José Ángel Martín Gago is director of the Madrid Institute of Materials Science (ICMM-CSIC). He specializes in studying interdisciplinary problems using vacuum techniques. He has published more than 200 articles in international journals. He was president of the Spanish Vacuum Association (ASEVA) from 2016 to 2021 and principal investigator of a European ERC-Synergy project: nanocosmo. He is actively involved in scientific outreach and has written popular science books: El nanomundo en tus manos (The Nanoworld in Your Hands, Editorial Crítica), El vacío (The Vacuum, Editorial Catarata), science fiction novels (Ádvent, las puertas de un nuevo mundo (Advent, the Gates of a New World)), and narrative novels (Dios juega a los dados (God Plays Dice)).

the Chemistry of Metals

Zoraida Freixa Fernández

Ikerbasque researcher at EHU

November 25

19:00

Venue: Ernest Lluch Kultur Etxea (Amara)

Metals are the most numerous elements in the periodic table and give rise to many different chemical compounds, depending on their oxidation number and the ligands to which they bind. Depending on these bonds, different compounds can be formed with such diverse properties that they can give rise to different areas of chemistry. In this talk, Dr. Zoraida Freixa will review the most relevant aspects in this area.

Zoraida Freixa Fernández

Zoraida Freixa is an Ikerbasque researcher at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of the Basque Country (Donostia), where she studies different organometallic compounds as catalysts applicable in various chemical reactions of interest.

Smart Polymeric Materials

Ester Verde Sesto

Ikerbasque and Ramón y Cajal Researcher at CFM

December 2

19:00

Venue: Ernest Lluch Kultur Etxea (Amara)

Smart polymers are “magical” materials capable of responding to stimuli such as light, temperature, pressure, or pH by changing their shape, color, or properties in a controlled manner. Just as our bodies react to cold or heat, these plastics “sense” their environment and adapt. Their applications are very diverse: from capsules that release a drug only in the appropriate organ, to fabrics that regulate temperature or coatings that repair themselves after damage. Their development combines chemistry, physics, and materials science to create innovative solutions that impact everyday life.

Ester Verde Sesto

Ester Verde holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and a PhD in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). She has developed her career at research centers such as the Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP/CSIC, Madrid) and the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid (ICMM/CSIC), the Adolphe Merkle Institute (Switzerland), POLYMAT, and the Center for Materials Physics (CFM-MPC, Donostia), where she is currently an Ikerbasque Research Fellow and Ramón y Cajal researcher. Her research focuses on the development of smart functional polymers with a special interest in catalysis

Catalysis for a sustainable and emission-free energy future

Antonio Chica Lara

Instituto de Tecnología Química UPV-CSIC

December 9

19:00

Venue: Ernest Lluch Kultur Etxea (Amara)

The transition to a sustainable energy system requires technologies capable of reducing the carbon footprint and addressing the challenges posed by renewable energies. This conference will present recent advances in molecular sieve catalysis, highlighting its central role in various areas of clean energy. It will review advanced desulfurization processes for cleaner fossil fuels, as well as the development of innovative catalysts applied to the production of biofuels and hydrogen within sustainable biorefineries. These examples highlight how catalysis is a key tool for driving a more efficient and emission-free energy future.

Antonio Chica Lara

Antonio Chica Lara is a CSIC Research Scientist at ITQ-UPV-CSIC, where he was Technical Deputy Director (2023-2024). He has coordinated PTI-TRANSENER+ since 2021 and the CSIC Global Materials Area since 2024. He has been President of the ACCUA Materials Science and Technology Commission since 2023. He holds a PhD in Chemistry (UPV-2002), was a Fulbright scholar at UC-Berkeley (2002-2004), and also has degrees in Psychology (UNED-2016) and Medicine (UV-2021). His research focuses on catalysts for sustainable energy, pollutant removal, and flow batteries. Co-founder of Vanaflow Energy System S.L. (2024)

New generation drugs

Fernando P. Cossio Mora

Ikerbasque´s Scientific Director

December 16

19:00

Venue: Ernest Lluch Kultur Etxea (Amara)

Organic chemistry has developed and continues to develop tools and synthetic routes for the development of a large number of drugs. Drug design strategies have also evolved over the years, in line with the emergence of new needs and the creation of new techniques and advances. In this talk, Prof. Cossío will review all these strategies and explain the most relevant aspects of this important area of chemistry.

Fernando P. Cossio Mora

Fernando P. Cossío Mora is a Professor of Organic Chemistry and Scientific Director of Ikerbasque, the Basque Foundation for Science. Winner of the 2020 Euskadi Research Award, he has been involved in the creation of various spin-offs in the field of biotechnology.