Dr. Paula Aguirre, Mechanical Civil Engineer, PhD in Astrophysics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Cenia senior researcher is distinguished by the Chilean Academy of Sciences with the Scientific Excellence Award for Young Researcher “Adelina Gutiérrez” 2021, named in honor of the first Chilean woman to receive a PhD in Astronomy. This award is granted annually and seeks to recognize the research work of women under 40 years of age, in order to promote science in the country and inspire more young people to get involved in scientific areas.
The distinction awarded to Dr. Aguirre corresponds to the category of Exact Sciences, and recognizes her career in studies in astrophysics, engineering and disaster science. In this regard, the researcher describes this distinction as a great motivation and incentive to continue developing quality research and advancing in academic careers: “I sincerely thank the Academy of Sciences for this recognition, which helps to make visible the work of the excellent female researchers in our country, and thus also motivate more young people and students to become interested in STEM careers.”
Despite being a PhD in astrophysics, the researcher has worked in other areas such as disaster science at CIGIDEN and artificial intelligence at Cenia, which is why she is grateful that this award recognizes varied research careers: “moving in different areas has allowed me to perform interdisciplinary research and connect different topics and applications of my interest.”
Paula Aguirre is currently part of the team of senior researchers at the National Center for Artificial Intelligence, leading the research line focused on physical science-based machine learning. In our recent Workshop 1, held this month in Talagante, she presented the scope and objectives of the Cenia Scientific Committee, of which she is an integral part. Her clarity and team spirit enhance the rigor with which she has approached the tasks of the Committee, a cornerstone of our Center.
Together with Dr. María Belén Camarada, they will receive their distinction in an extraordinary session of the Chilean Academy of Sciences, which will be convened for that purpose, where they will also have to make an exhibition of their works.
Source: Academia Chilena de Ciencias
