• The winners are Alaitz and Iraia Etxabide Etxeberria, Miguel Querejeta Pérez, Iñaki Odriozola Larrañaga and Josu López Gazpio.

• Ander Gortazar Balerdi and Jacek Markusiewicz have been awarded scholarships to develop the project “Bastartak!” and the Prize has been for the journal of Science and Technology of the UPV Ekaia.

• 71 papers have been received, with a gender balance among participants.

Today the ceremony of the CAF-Elhuyar Awards took place at the Kutxa Cultural Square in Tabakalera (Donostia). This year the slogan of the contest, “Take the leap and create expansive waves”, has been an act of recognition to the daring. The objective of this award is to recognize the work of people who make an effort to integrate science and technology, as well as to promote projects aligned with this objective.

In the lower row and from the left: Asier Vallejo Ruiz and Olatz Arregui Uriarte (from Ekaia magazine), Arantza Aldezabal Roteta (representing the award-winning Iñaki Odriozola Larrañaga). Standing and left: Ander Gortazar Balerdi, Miguel Querejeta Pérez, Iraia Etxabide Etxeberria and Josu López Gazpio.Ed. : Iñigo Ibáñez

This year the jury has had to analyze 71 works, among which have been awarded by category:

The sisters Alaitz and Iraia Etxabide Etxeberria have been the winners of the award for the general disclosure article, with the article entitled “A circular solution against garbage from anywhere that is swallowing the world”. Alaitz researches solutions to the problem of plastics and sister Iraia illustrates the article she has written. They are lesakarras and the award-winning work has been the result of collaboration between the two.

The award for the publication article based on the author’s doctoral thesis was for Miguel Querejeta Pérez with the work “Symphony of black holes”. Querejeta is from San Sebastian and comes from Germany to collect the prize, as Max Planck investigates at the Institute of Astrophysics. He has done his thesis on the interaction between giant black holes and galaxies, and it is not the first time he wins a CAF-Elhuyar prize: He also received it in 2013 in the category of general article.

This year the Neiker Special Prize has been distributed for the second time. Through it the works of the primary sector are awarded, and this year’s winner is Iñaki Odriozola Larrañaga (Zestoa), for his work “The Basque mountains carved by herbivores”. He has also written the article based on his thesis.

On the other hand, the category of scientific journalism work has not been won by a journalist, but by a chemist, the tolosarra Josu López Gazpio. Its informative work is very important and proof of this is the award-winning article: “The health impact of Christmas holidays.” He published in the Science Hall, just before the Christmas holidays began.

All of them have received a prize of 2,000 euros and a sculpture by Imanol Andonegi Mendizabal.

In addition to the awards, the CAF-Elhuyar competition offers a grant of 5,000 euros to promote projects that serve as a bridge between science and society. In this edition he has won a project that combines reflection and technology on architecture: “Bastartak!” Author(s): The Donostian Ander Gortazar Balerdi and the Polish Jacek Markusiewicz, architects (RAZ cooperative).

Finally, the Board of Trustees of the Elhuyar Foundation awards the Elhuyar Award of Merit. Through it, it recognizes the work done in the normalization and socialization of Basque. This year Ekaia has been for the journal of Science and Technology of the UPV. In a course of almost 30 years, Ekaia magazine has shown that the quality of scientific journals in Basque is the same level as many international journals.

After the awards ceremony, the authors have shown the result of the project that last year received the creation scholarship in Science Society: Animated short film “Miraila”.

Organizers and sponsors of the Award. From the left: Marian Uriarte Ormazabal (jury representative), Bittor Oroz Izagirre, Josune Zabala Alberdi, Igor Arrondo Esnaola, Joxe Begiristain Aizpurua, Leire Cancio Orueta, Jose M. Pitarke de La Torre, Leire Baraño Orbe, Eva Ugarte Sagastizabal. Ed. : Iñigo Ibáñez

Among the attendees, in addition to the winners and their friends and family, members of the jury and representatives of institutions such as José Mª have been present. Iñaki Pitarke de La Torre, President of the Elhuyar Foundation and General Director of CIC nanoGUNE; Leire Cancio Orueta, Director General of Elhuyar; Igor Arrondo Esnaola, Director of Human Resources of CAF; Bittor Oroz Fisheries Advisor and Food Policy Advisor

The jury, for its part, has judged the articles of dissemination and the works of journalism: Leire Cancio Orueta, General Director of Elhuyar; Arturo Elosegi Irurtia, ecologist and researcher at the UPV; Marian Iriarte Ormazabal, chemist and researcher at the UPV; Alberto Barandiaran Amillano, journalist and writer; and Uxune Martínez Euskamaga, responsible for the scientific diffusion of the Foundation of the Basque.

In the NEIKER Special Award for Best Work in the Primary Sector, Eva Ugarte Sagastizabal, Director of Technology and Innovation at NEIKER-Tecnalia, has also served as a judge.

Finally, the projects presented to the creation scholarship in Science Society have been judged by: María Gil Rodriguez, head of the scientific unit Elhuyar; Josu Rekalde Izagirre, professor of Art and Technology at UPV and Koldo Almandoz de La Cruz, film director.

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