The Argentine physicist Karen Hallberg won the prestigious prize "For women in science"

Argentine physics Karen Hallberg was honored today with the international award L & # 39; Oreal-Unesco of the Latin America region which aims to highlight women who excel in the scientific world and to draw attention to the low presence of women in this activity.

Hallberg, professor at the Balseiro Institute and director of research at the Atomic Center of Bariloche, has been awarded for the development of advanced computing approaches to understanding quantum physics, in a statement by Unesco and the L Oréal Foundation.

He also received the award for his contribution "fundamental to the understanding of nanoscopic systems and new materials" with "innovative and creative" applications.

The chemistry and director of the Nature Conservation Center of the American University of Beirut, Najat Aoun Saliba, of the African region and the Arab States, and the general director of the Institute of Molecular Sciences of Japan have also been awarded in Argentina. Maki Kawai, from the Asia-Pacific region.

Also, Professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering from Duke University, USA, Ingrid Daubechies, from North America; and the mathematician and professor at the Collège de France Claire Voisin, a native of Europe.

"Each will receive 100,000 euros and their achievements will be celebrated with those of 15 promising young scientists from around the world at an awards ceremony to be held on March 14, 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris" adds the statement.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the L 'Oréal Foundation have also put forward the names of the 15 most promising scholars among the fellows.

Among them are Latin America and the Caribbean, Maria Molina, specialist in chemistry and molecular biology at the National University of Rio Cuarto, Argentina; and Ana Sofía Varela, attached to the Institute of Chemistry of the Autonomous University of Mexico.

Biola María Javierre Martínez, Spanish, genomics expert at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute.

The two promoters of these awards recalled that, in the world, only 29% of researchers are women and occupy only 10% of the positions of increased responsibility in the universities. The proportion is even lower if we consider the percentage of women who received a Nobel Prize in a scientific field (3%).