Fernando J. Ballesteros, PhD in Physics from the Universitat de València, scientific reporter and Chief of Instrumentation at the Astronomic Observatory of the Universitat, will give the conference 50 años en la Luna (50 years on the Moon) on Thursday November 14th at 7 p.m. in the Aula Magna at La Nau Cultural Centre of the Universitat de València.
With this debate, Ballesteros, winner of the PRISMA 2016 Prize for the book Fractales y chaos, la aventura de la complejidad (Fractals and chaos, the adventure of complexity) and the European Prize for Scientific Dissemination General Study 2006 for the work Gramáticas Extraterrestres (Extraterrestrial Grammars), will review man's vision of the Moon during the different periods of human history: from the first pictorial representations to the beginning of the space race, which culminated with the Apollo missions and the landing of Apollo 11 on our satellite, the Moon, an event which, this year, celebrates its 50th anniversary.
This Doctor in physics, besides writing diverse books of general interest, has also script-written several scientific documentaries, two of which received a national award –Eclipse y Tránsitos (2007) and Hágase la masa (2013)– and one of them, an international award –Arco de choque (2016). Co-author of the scientific dissemination programme of Radio Nacional de España Los sonidos de la ciencia (Sounds of Science), he has also written a hundred articles in various media, as well as the magazine of the Universitat de València Mètode, where he has a regular section.
The conference 50 años en la Luna (50 years on the Moon) will reveal some of the secrets behind the first man's journey to the Moon in 1969, based on a simple question: has man set foot on the Moon for 50 years?
The Escola de Pensament Lluís Vives is a cultural project, promoted by the Office of the Vice-Principal for Culture and Sport and with the management of the General Foundation of the Universitat de València, which is shaped as a space for reflection and participatory and critical debate on current issues. The Escola has the participation of other actors from public administration and civil society: Presidency of the Generalitat, Valencia City Council, Regional Department of Transparency and Education, Research, Culture and Sport, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, Alfons el Magnànim Institute, Escola Europea d’Humanitats and Caixa Popular.
