He 11 February celebrated International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This is the day to justify the work of women in all scientific disciplines, both today and throughout history. This is also a good time to promote scientific professions among girls. showing them links. However, sometimes we slip into showing mostly foreign references. Not bad, of course, but also interesting to show what is and was great Spanish women scientists in a wide variety of disciplines.
It is true that in Spain the oldest names are much more modern than elsewhere. Does that mean it wasn’t Spanish women scientists before? Maybe not, or maybe their names, like many others, have been erased from history.
In this article, we will look at the history of Spanish women scientists with eleven names. Some are no more, but their careers will forever be remembered by us. Others are in full swing, while others are just getting started. But the names of all will be remembered for their great scientific work. There are only eleven examples, but there are many more references.
First female scientists: Maria Elena Maceras, university pioneer
The history of Spanish women scientists begins with Maria Elena Maceras (1853-1905). She was the first Spanish woman to have a scientific career, especially in medicine. It should be said that the first women scientists in Spain, as in other countries, were mostly medical. It has not been well seen that women devote themselves to science, but medicine is a profession closely associated with caring, which has always been associated with the female sex. Therefore, this race served as a springboard for women to the university.
It should also be noted that although there was no explicit and written prohibition of women from entering the university in Spain, Maria Elena needed the permission of King Amadeo I himself in order to be able to enter. This, logically, did not take into account young women who did not belong to high society.
In her early years, she attended classes privately, separate from her male classmates. However, given his good grades, he eventually could go to class with the otherspaving the way for those who came later.
Felisa Martin Bravo, first meteorologist
Although the first Spanish women scientists were physicians, others soon appeared who devoted themselves to other specialties far from conventional medicine. This is the case Felisa Martin Bravo (1898–1979)who is considered the first woman meteorologist in our country.
She was one of the scientists of the period of cultural and scientific prosperity in our country, known as the Silver Age. Thanks to Research Extension Boardwhich would later become what is now CSIC, she and other women were able to explore scientific careers, dedicate themselves to it, and even stay abroad.
In Felisa’s case, she studied physics. There he met the one who would later become his mentor: Blas Cabrera, one of the most prominent physicists of the time. Thanks to him, he entered the world of research, especially in Physics Research Laboratory, directed by Julio Palacios, became the first woman to work in this group. There he specialized in the study of crystal lattices using X-rays, but over time he discovered that meteorology was his great passion, for this reason he prepared for the confrontation in the State Meteorological Corps.
Thus began work that began in 1929 and continued even after the State Meteorological Agency was divided into two parts due to the Civil War. She continued to work for the Republican side until she had to be purged with the end of the war. However, she overcame this and was able to continue working as a meteorologist until the 1960s.
Jimena Quiros, the first oceanographer
Jimena Quiros (1899–1983) He studied physics, like Felisa. However, in his case, he specialized in the study of the ocean, from physics of ocean currents to the biology of some molluscs.
She is considered the first Spanish oceanographer, both because of her position in Spanish Institute of Oceanography, obtained in competitive examinations when she was only 22 years old, and also for being the first to go on an oceanographic mission. In addition, she was the first Spanish woman to sign a scientific paper on marine science.
also had great social and political commitment, in addition to being a staunch defender of feminism. In fact, she led the women’s caucus of the Radical Socialist Republican Party before women even had the right to vote.
Gabriella Morreale, Italian of the Spanish Women Scientists
In fact, Gabriella Morreale (1939-2017) was born in Italy. However, he settled with his family in Malaga when he was only 11 years old. Also in Spain, she met the man who would become her husband, for whom, after her marriage, she received Spanish citizenship. That is why we have included her in the list of Spanish women scientists who have gone down in history.
And if he went down in history, then for his great role in the field endocrinology. He devoted much of his research to showing that iodine deficiency in the Alpujarra region of Granada and AlmeriaHe was behind the goiter boom in the region. In addition, she was responsible for the promotion in Spain of the famous heel testin which congenital hypothyroidism in infants can be diagnosed very early.
Margherita Salas, one of the most prominent Spanish women scientists.
Definitely, Margarita Salas (1938-2019) She was one of the most famous nationally and internationally Spanish women scientists.
A student of Nobel laureate Severo Ochoa, she has distinguished herself with numerous works in the field of molecular biology. But specifically for patenting the method Phage phi29 DNA polymerase. Because of this, small DNA samples can be amplified to produce millions of copies, allowing them to be analyzed for a variety of purposes, from paternity tests to PCR searches for pathogens such as the COVID-19 virus. His work was so important that the most profitable patent in CSIC history.
Rosa Menendez, first director of CSIC
chemistry Rosa Menendez (1956) known to have been first woman to head the High Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). But this is not his only important position. He also chaired the European Carbon Materials Association and worked in leading international centres.
In addition, for his work as a researcher in the field materials and energycooperates with many companies in the electrical, aviation, carbochemical and petrochemical industries.
Begonia Vila Costas, from Galicia to James Webb
Galician Begona Vila (1963) astrophysicist specializing in study of spiral galaxies. She currently works for NASA, where she has been Chief Engineer of the Fine Guidance Sensor, Near Infrared Imaging and Slitless Spectrograph (FGS-NIRISS) since 2006. This is one of the instruments on board. James Webbthe successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that has given us so much news over the past year.
This even led NASA itself to award him an award. Medal for Exceptional Public Achievement.
Maria Blasco, Spanish scientist who resists aging
molecular biologist Maria Blasko (1965) stands out for its work in the field telomeres and telomerase, and also for the fact that they Director of the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO).
Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes that protect DNA from damage during cell division. The shorter they are, the older the cell is considered, so the work of this scientist is focused mainly on the study of biochemical pathways. aging. This finds application in the study and prevention of a variety of diseases, including cancer.
Spanish women scientists who touched the Nobel Prize: Alicia Sintes
Alicia Sintes (1969) theoretical physicist specializing in study of gravitational waves. He has been part of the LIGO Science Collaboration since 1997 and was involved in the discovery of this first gravitational wave signal in 2016, which earned Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne the Nobel Prize. In terms of her positions in Spain, she is a member of the Space Research Institute of Catalonia (IEEC) and the Menorquin Research Institute (IME), and a Severo Ochoa Research Fellow at the Institute for Theoretical Physics (UAM-CSIC). .
Elena Garcia Armada, Spanish women scientists are also engineers
We couldn’t talk about Spanish women scientists without mentioning Elena Garcia Armada (1971). She is a process engineer and PhD in robotics and currently leads the CSIC Center for Automation and Robotics. Although he initially focused his career on the development of robots for industry, over time he specialized in the development of bionic exoskeletons for kids with walking problems. This led to him receiving the European Inventor Award in 2022. This is the least he deserves for such a commendable job.
Sara Garcia Alonso, first Spanish astronaut
The youngest on this list of Spanish women scientists Sara Garcia Alonso (1989). This biotechnologist focused her research on the study of cancer. Actually it works in National Cancer Research Center (CNIO). However, in 2022, she took another step in her career by being selected for the reserve of the new team of astronauts of the European Space Agency (ESA). She thus became the first Spanish female astronaut. And the fourth astronaut from our country after his newly elected partner Pablo Alvarez and veterans Pedro Duque and Miguel López Alegria.
Source: Hiper Textual
