Ignacio López-Goñi, CSIC-BBVA Foundation Award for Scientific Communication

The journalists of the Science section of the newspaper El Paísand scientists Alfredo Corell, Margarita del Val, José Antonio López Guerrero, Ignacio López-Goñi and Antoni Trilla have been awarded in the 1st edition of the CSIC-BBVA Foundation Science Communication Awards.

The jury awarded the Science section of El País the prize in the category of journalists specialized in science communication "for the extraordinary quality of the science journalism they have carried out since their foundation, which over the last decade has made them a world reference in science communication in Spanish". As for the five scientists jointly awarded in the category of researchers who contribute to the dissemination of knowledge to society, they are recognized "for becoming the voice of science from the beginning of the pandemic, transmitting scientific knowledge about this threat in a language accessible to the general public".

Ignacio López-Goñi is Professor of Microbiology at the University of Navarra. Since 2011 he combines his teaching and research work with an intense activity of science dissemination. As director of the Science Museum University of Navarra promotes outreach activities for all types of audiences and in multiple formats, from cinema to talks and workshops. His blog microBIO is a reference in the communication and dissemination of science and microbiology online, and his Twitter account, with almost 70,000 followers, has almost 70,000 followers. @microbioblogwith almost 70,000 followers, is one of the most popular in microbiology in Spanish. López-Goñi has published four popular science books: ¿Funcionan las vacunas?; Microbiota, los microbios de tu organismo; Virus y pandemias; and Preparados para la próxima pandemia: reflexiones desde la ciencia. Also, together with her daughter, Princesas de cristal, a testimony about juvenile anorexia.

During the pandemic he has become one of the experts most consulted by the media and listened to by the public. One of his articles in The Conversation, Ten good news about the coronavirusreached 22 million readers worldwide; it has been republished in more than a hundred media.

For López-Goñi, "our role has been to try to explain the scientific evidence in a context of tremendous uncertainty. It has been the most difficult thing, because society needs certainty and uncertainty goes down badly". Enormously satisfied with the award, he hopes to have contributed to increasing not only the scientific culture of the population, but also its appreciation of science and the recognition of its role in society.