Researcher and paleontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga will receive the "Passion for Science" Award at the V edition of #LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival

The Science Museum of the University of Navarra has awarded the "Passion for Science" prize of the international scientific film festival #LabMeCrazy! to Juan Luis Arsuaga, professor of Paleontology at the Complutense University of Madrid and scientific director of the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos, for his excellent career in the promotion of scientific communication and culture. This recognition will be awarded at the festival's awards gala to be held on Tuesday, February 20 at 7 p.m. in the Theater of the Museum of the University of Navarra.

Juan Luis Arsuaga (Madrid, 1954) holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where he is Professor of Paleontology in the Faculty of Geological Sciences. He currently directs the Joint UCM-Carlos III Health Institute Center for Human Evolution and Behavior; is scientific director of the Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos; and co-directs Atapuerca and the excavations of the Neanderthal sites at Pinilla del Valle (Madrid). Most of his scientific career has been spent at the Atapuerca sites, a project that won the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research in 1997. 

Bienvenido León, director of #LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival, wanted to highlight the informative work of this scientist: "His research, his findings, have helped us to better understand where we come from as a species. And that is why he has gained great recognition around the world. But Arsuaga is also an excellent communicator, someone convinced of the importance of communicating science to society as a whole. And all this extraordinary activity has undoubtedly been fueled by his passion for science.

Our body, seven million years of evolution

On the occasion of this recognition, Dr. Arsuaga will give a lecture, open to the public, on"Our body, seven million years of evolution" on Wednesday, February 21 at 12 noon in the auditorium of the Science Building of the University of Navarra. In addition, the Science Museum has organized from February 5, as part of the film festival, various activities and screenings that can be consulted on the web www.labmecrazy.org.

Dr. Arsuaga has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Castilla y León Award, the Community of Madrid Award, the Spanish Cross of Environmental Merit, the Antonio de Sancha Award from the Madrid Publishers Association, the COSCE Award for the Dissemination of Science, and the Concha García Campoy Award for Scientific Journalism from the TV Academy, among others.

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain and of the Royal Academies of Medicine of Zaragoza and Eastern Andalusia. In addition, he is life vice-president of the Atapuerca Foundation, president of the Gadea Science Foundation and Doctor Honoris Causa from the universities of Burgos, Polytechnic of Valencia and Zaragoza.

The paleontologist from Madrid is the author of a large number of scientific publications and author and collaborator of numerous books such as "La especie elegida", "El collar del neandertal", "Los aborígenes", "Al otro lado de la niebla", "Amalur. From the atom to the mind", "Mr. Darwin's watch", "The first journey of our life", "Brief history of the Earth with us inside", "The indelible seal", "Life. The great story", "Life as told by a sapien to a Neanderthal", "Death as told by a sapien to a Neanderthal" and "Our body". 

With this recognition Juan Luis Arsuaga joins other scientists who have reaped a brilliant career, and who have been awarded in previous editions of this festival(Francis Mojica in 2019, Margarita del Val in 2021, Luis Enjuanes, Vicente Larraga and Mariano Esteban in 2022, and Clara Grima in 2023).

#LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival is an international scientific film festival, promoted by the Science Museum of the University of Navarra - with the collaboration of Seguros de Salud ACUNSA-Clínica Universidad de Navarra, the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) / Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Government of Navarra, the City Council of Pamplona, Laboral Kutxa, and the Lilly Foundation.