International Day of Light celebrated by INL with a webinar
Over 60 participants from four distinct corners of the world attended the online seminar promoted by INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory on the occasion of the International Day of Light (celebrated yearly around the May 16th) and learned about the increasingly relevant role that light has to science, technology, and our daily lives.
This Wednesday, May 20th, the relevance of Light in the fields of Biology, Energy, Computing, and Health were presented. Aspects of light technologies to foster climate-neutral technology solutions were discussed and further participants learned about Light’s technology impact in Health sciences, as a tool for diagnosis and to assist therapies.
The participants could get to know the INL via a virtual tour, learn how to request access to the advanced state of the art facilities, or obtain dedicated spectroscopy and imaging services from the Nanophotonics and Bioimaging Corporate Laboratories, and relevant contacts for industry projects or traineeships. Collaborative programs between scientists and artists were presented, such as the residency programs #scaletravels, culminating in inspiring and engaging artworks, and fostering interdisciplinary synergies.
According to INL Ultrafast Bio- and Nanophotonics Group Leader, Jana Nieder, scientific organizer of the event, “the yearly celebration of the UNESCO – International Day of Light was triggering truly inspiring discussions about the importance of Light. The diverse panellist’s contributions allowed us to rethink Light in a chameleon-manner from being a source of energy to a carrier of information, a tool for fabrication, for diagnostics, or to assist therapies. The example of photosynthetic microalgae that produce advanced nanostructures, possibly involved in the light management on the nanoscale, showed impressively, how much we can still learn from nature, where organisms are the record holders in light energy conversion technologies.
This yearly celebration allows highlighting Light as an inspiration. Both artists and scientists share their fascination with Light. The International Day of Light traditionally triggers such cross-disciplinary discussions; This makes the yearly Day of Light celebration so special, and therefore it remains to be one of our favourite outreach events organized throughout the year!”.