Ester Martínez Martín is a computer engineer and researcher at the University of Alicante. In addition, she is deputy director of the University Institute of Computer Research of said entity. We were chatting with her at the delivery of the first Very Young Scientists Awards, an award created in order to give more visibility and recognize the work of young Spanish scientists , especially those who are dedicated to the disciplines in which the presence of the woman is still a minority.
Technology for active aging
For Martínez, the most exciting thing about his work is being able to apply technology to problems in society. Specifically, his research focuses on lines related to the use of vision in robotic tasks such as object detection and action recognition, with many applications in the field of assistive robotics . “The idea is that robotics can be in people’s homes, helping them,” explains Martínez, who tells us that right now she is dedicated to active aging, looking for solutions that allow people to maintain their autonomy and make them more independent to to be able to reside in their homes with an acceptable quality of life. ” It is gratifying to know that your work makes some kind of contribution to society, ” he reflects. In addition, this young scientist has also participated in different scientific outreach events and for several years organized a fire extinguisher robot competition.
The importance of publicizing this type of research
For the researcher, the awards that recognize the research work of women are, on the one hand, a good way to publicize the work carried out in these disciplines, as it often goes unnoticed by the general public.
In addition, Martínez agrees that female representation in areas of knowledge like hers is very low. “ I have come to be in research groups in which I was the only woman, ” she tells us. “It is very good that it is seen that there are women who do this type of thing and, above all, that young people see that they can also do it.”
The delivery of the first Very Young Scientists Awards took place at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao on December 14, 2019, coinciding with the celebration of the Homo Curiosus scientific dissemination event. Nominees for the awards, aged up to 45, were selected for their work in so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) areas.
