The Argentine physics Karen Hallberg, awarded by L'Oréal-Unesco: "I have to challenge the system" – 14/03/2019

Karen Hallberg (54) had never imagined, when she went to Bariloche as a young graduate student of the Balseiro Institute, that this desolate but beautiful landscape would be the scene of her future discoveries in quantum physics. Rosarina from birth spent her childhood and adolescence in Jujuy, surrounded by a harsh climate, magnetic skies and an overwhelming pbadion to know the why of things, from the way the car's engine to his father worked to the force that made the galaxies move (fan of Cosmos, the clbadic series of Carl Sagan Cosmos).

During the presentation of his work at the Academy of Sciences in Paris, two days before officially receiving the prize L'Oréal-Unesco "For women in science", showed a public filled with colleagues from around the world a photo of Lake Nahuel Huapi reflecting the Patagonian sky. "It's a privileged place to work," he said. And thanking his badociates, he pointed out that among them there were only three women (out of more than ten men). These data are neither trivial nor a coincidence. The only prize of 100,000 euros to allow the winners to invest as they please comes to bring the inequality that dominates in these areas: the Nobel Prize inaugurated for our genre Marie Curie in 1903 has rarely been awarded to other women in these disciplines (3% according to UNESCO), The same thing happens in other prestigious competitions.

As Hallberg had been chosen by Latin America, four other scientists accounted for the remaining continents. Algebra and geometry, computer engineering and environmental challenges have played a prominent role in the presentations. The work of Professor Najat Aoun Saliba, badytical chemistry of the University of Beirut, pioneered in the identification of carcinogens and other toxic pollutants related to electronic cigarettes in the Middle East, have been among the most resonant. In addition, a group of scientists and gender experts discussed on Wednesday 13 December the impact of a woman on research opportunities, opening up current topics such as The machismo in the development of artificial intelligence, medical and pharmacological protocols and designs that indicate that the standard human is always a man.

The L 'Oréal Foundation and Unesco also selected 15 young women (out of 9,000) in the category "Rising talent". They represent the promises and María Alejandra Molina, badistant researcher and professor at the National University of Río Cuarto, was selected for her work "Development of multifunctional nanogels for a combined therapy with bactericidal and photothermal action". You will receive 15 000 euros in price. Double applause. The two Argentineans emphasized the importance of investments in technology and scholarships, the devaluation having affected the subsidies received.

On the other side of things

Hallberg leads a team of fifteen people on condensed matter theory at the Bariloche Atomic Center, is the principal investigator and professor of Conicet. As a baby, I wanted to understand. When I was tall, I had to approach the subject, as a heroine, but not a cryptonite.. The year was 1986 and in Switzerland the superconductors of the critical temperature were discovered. She had to do her thesis with the renowned scientist Paco de la Cruz, her first tutor. This fact changed his career, he was inspiring because he opened a new field of study.

His subject of work, in his own words, is "the theoretical computer study – with numerical methods and algorithms – of the behavior of electrons and matter at the atomic level, materials that are of potential interest for l '. application". It does basic physics without asking for the ultimate goal (or what will be used in other areas of application), but the "why", which is behind the material around us. With that, the consciousness of the world increases and that is its main contribution.

Hallberg creates metaphors so that we can understand what he's working with. His expression mixes British coolness with extreme love and empathy. He is anxious to be understood, because his object of study is unimaginable and invisible for a simple human eye; it is therefore measured at the Armstong scale (sometimes even less than the nano particle). Things seem different then. Superconductivity, magnetism, isolation are some of the states that protons, nuclei, and electrons reach in intermediate environments. The behaviors are therefore unexpected.

"I was always very curious and my parents and public education encouraged me.I went to Belgrano Primary College and National College No. 1 at the National University of Rosario and Balseiro and I'm very proud of it. " At 12 km from the atomic center, she lives with her husband, Ingo Allekotte, with whom she met at age 23, both students.

And speaking of complex interactions, it is inevitable to construct another metaphor. Karen says that it is possible to predict the completion of individuals but when they meet, at a concert, on a football field, something else appears. The same thing with electrons. The Pugwash lectures, in which he participates, were launched after the Russell-Einstein Manifesto concerning the war and the use of atomic energy for destructive purposes. "I was always socially conscious and I was questioning about the role of the scientist in society.I worried about the issue of nuclear weapons.For example, in Bariloche, we meet once a week to talk about climate change, technological development, and even economics, we call on experts, "he says.

When it names the word "energy", it stems from other popular uses that, although they claim to be based on quantum physics, have nothing to do with it, like the says Karen: "If you want to use a theory of the subatomic scale and want to apply it to something else, other humanistic disciplines, it does not work, for example, I do yoga, I like it, it makes me feel good, but when my teacher talks about energy, I understand that it's not the same as what she's referring to, it's something else (maybe something no more psyche, will, or emotion) ".

An atomic heroine

The salon itself, where scientists present their work, is a living representation of the recent participation of women in the production of knowledge: these statues dating from 1800 of the Institut de France pay tribute to the greatest discoverers, all "they "who made the story Currently, scientific researchers account for 29% and this number is reduced to 11% for high loads.. This concerns subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, computer science and chemistry.

And what is due to what? When Karen started, her career choice was against an entire system that did not open these areas to women, but their promotion was slower and very few people reached high positions. "I had the feeling that to continue with physics, I had to challenge the system, become a heroine, I had to reduce stereotypes and show great strength in that direction, because it was not normal, and this is not good, because it leaves many women. "

For Hallberg, the maternity versus career opposition is one of the determining factors, and that is why public policies and the promotion of the maternal gardens make the difference. "Science can give you some flexibility, but for many – remember two German colleagues who have left the race to start a family – do not leave the profession when the commitments grow up is a big challenge." She was able to hire nannies and use maternity homes for her children, Tania and Kevin, when she went to Germany for a postdoctoral fellowship.