Dialogues on the Border: Talk & Discussion by Javier Argüello, Pilar Hernández Gamazo & Juan José Gómez Cadenas

What could the relationship be between two forms of knowledge that may seem so different – physics and literature? This will be one of the main issues that will be dealt with at the second “Dialogues on the Border” programme, which will take place on 26 September at 7pm at Bidebarrieta Library in Bilbao.

With the aim of creating a space for dialogue between the arts and sciences, the event has invited speakers like Argentinian writer Javier Argüello, Theoretical Physics professor Pilar Hernández Gamazo and physicist and writer Juan José Gómez Cadenas, who will be in charge or moderating the discussion.

Javier Argüello’s novel, “A propósito de Majorana” (Regarding Majorana), which is about the unexplained disappearance of physicist Ettore Majorana in 1938, known for his particle physics studies, will be the starting point for the second “Dialogues on the Border”. In this case, science and literature will work together to show the how they connect in many ways when offering an answer to the uncertainty and questions around us.

This event is part of the “Scientific Bidebarrieta” series, a monthly initiative organised by the Chair of Scientific Culture of the UPV/EHU and Bidebarrieta Library to discuss current scientific issues.

Participants

Pilar Hernández Gamazo is a Theoretical Physics professor at the University of Valencia and an expert on elementary particle physics. She gained her PhD from the Autonomous University of Madrid and has been working since then at important international centres like Harvard University and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). She currently works at the Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), run by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Valencia.

Javier Argüello is a prominent Argentinian writer living in Barcelona since 2001. Some of his most important books include “El mar de todos los muertos” (Lumen, 2008), “La música del mundo” (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2011) and the book which will initiate the discussion on 26 September, “A propósito de Majorana” (Literatura Random House, 2015), a novel about the unexplained disappearance of physicist Ettore Majorana, who was famous for his work on neutrinos. He currently works with newspaper El País, several advertising agencies and as a teacher in the Arts School of the Ateneu Barcelonès.

The physicist, scientific promoter and writer from Murcia, Juan José Gómez Cadenas, worked at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) for eight years, as well as at Harvard and Massachusetts Universities. He currently works as a professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and at the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC). He is also the Director of a Neutrino Physics group at the Instituto de Física Corpuscular and is working on an international neutrino experiment called NEXT at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory. He writes for Jot Down magazine and has published stories and novels like the scientific thriller called “Materia Extraña” (Espasa, 2008), and “Los Saltimbanquis” (Encuentro, 2018).

All of the talks are free, subject to available seating. However, attendees must request an invite at the library, from 21 to 26 September. Invitations can be collected from 10am to 2pm and from 4pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

For those who are not able to attend, the talks are streamed live here.