Astronomer Bárbara Rojas-Ayala gives a talk on stellar evolution at Hospital Luis Tisné

Bárbara Rojas-Ayala, Associate Researcher at our Center, gave a talk on stellar evolution at the Luis Tisné Hospital in Santiago. This is the second time that the astronomer attends the hospital as part of an innovative initiative that seeks to bring areas of knowledge closer to health professionals.

The Associate Researcher of the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies (CATA) and academic of the Universidad de Tarapacá (UTA), Bárbara Rojas-Ayala, gave a talk on stellar evolution at the Luis Tisné Hospital in Santiago, as part of an innovative initiative that seeks to bring different areas of knowledge to health professionals during their working day.

The activity is part of a series of colloquiums organized within the hospital, led by Dr. Ricardo Gonzalez. Inspired by an experience lived in a hospital in France, the doctor decided to replicate the model in Chile, convinced of the benefits that scientific dissemination can bring to the wellbeing and integral training of healthcare personnel.

“This is the second time I have participated in this event. Last year I was invited to talk about exoplanets and, thanks to the good evaluation of the talk, I was asked to return with a new topic,” said Rojas-Ayala. On this occasion, the researcher prepared an exhibition entitled “Birth, life and death of the stars”, addressing the processes of formation, evolution and death of the stars in a close and didactic way.

The talk was specially designed for an audience composed mainly of health personnel: doctors, midwives, nurses and technicians, who were able to attend during their working hours. For Rojas-Ayala, this characteristic made the experience different from other usual outreach activities. “In general, one usually gives talks in schools, libraries or cultural centers. But here it was very enriching to share with adults who, although they are not astronomers, have an important scientific background from their training in health. In addition, they showed great interest and curiosity, which led to very interesting questions,” he said.

The researcher also valued positively the modality of the colloquia: “I think it is an excellent initiative, because many times health professionals do not have the possibility of attending external scientific events due to their demanding schedules. The fact that they can have access to this type of event within their workplace and during their working day is something that I hope will be replicated in other centers,” she said.

The success of the activity was reflected in the high attendance and enthusiasm of the participants, who not only appreciated the quality of the exhibition, but also the opportunity to approach areas of knowledge that are not traditionally part of their daily work.

The participation of Bárbara Rojas-Ayala in this series of talks reaffirms CATA’s commitment not only to research excellence, but also to scientific dissemination and the democratization of knowledge, taking astronomy to unexpected places and contributing to awaken scientific curiosity in diverse audiences.

“It was very good, because it is focused on adults who are in a health area, where they also had a lot of questions and it is also useful for them, where they can finally attend, because many times these types of activities are carried out in the afternoon hours. It is a good initiative that perhaps other institutions could copy”, concludes Bárbara.