Outreach

Dr. Itziar Aretxaga, INAOE researcher, new member of The World Academy of Sciences

Santa María Tonantzintla, Puebla, July 5. Dr. Itziar Aretxaga, a researcher at the Astrophysics Coordination of the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), has been included this year in The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

This was announced a few days ago by the TWAS, which belongs to UNESCO. On its website, TWAS added that this year a total of 50 Fellows who live and work in 21 different countries have been accepted. 23 of them are women.

The TWAS Fellows, indicates the international organization, "represent the scientific apex in their respective fields and play a crucial role in shaping the future of scientific research and innovation in their countries."

In an interview, Dr. Itziar Aretxaga commented that TWAS is promoted by UNESCO and co-financed by the Government of Italy, and is aimed at promoting the development of science in developing countries and promoting the sustainability agenda promoted by the UN as one of its many goals.

“It was founded in 1983 by Abdus Salam, Nobel Prize in Physics, and was established in 1985. Its first name was The Third World Academy of Sciences, and now it is called The World Academy of Sciences for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries. It is made up of more than 1,200 academics from all over the world, who have an impact on the development of science in developing countries”.

Dr. Aretxaga expresses that it has given her great joy to join the TWAS: "It is an honor for me that they consider that my work is at the level of what is required from the reaserchers, all of whom are very renowned scientists, and also that they have considered that my work supports the advancement of science in the developing world and contributes to making the world more just”.

Dr. Itziar Aretxaga

Dr. Itziar Aretxaga is a researcher at INAOE and a member of the National System of Researchers level III and of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. Her lines of research are extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. She is the project scientist of the TolTEC camera of the Large Millimeter Telescope and director of the International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA) of the International Astronomical Union.

She teaches courses at the postgraduate level training the new generations of scientists. She is the author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed articles published in international journals, with more than 8,000 citations. She regularly participates in international scientific and evaluation committees and in outreach activities.