The central event of the Maria Assumpció Català i Poch year, which commemorates the first female astronomy professor in the State, was held this Monday at the Montsec Astronomical Park with a round table that reflected on the state of women in the scientific sector. The event was organized by the Catalan Women’s Institute, which promotes the commemoration; the University of Barcelona -where Català i Poch taught- and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), which manages the Astronomical Park, located in Àger (La Noguera).
The event aimed to remember the figure of Català i Poch through a traveling exhibition that the ICD has prepared to coincide with the 100th anniversary of her birth. The exhibition will be available on free loan to associations, local bodies and other institutions, as it is included in the ICD’s catalog of traveling exhibitions with a gender perspective, with 50 titles that make visible the contributions of women to history.
The president of the Catalan Women’s Institute, Sònica Guerra López, gave the institutional welcome together with the president of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Carles Ruiz Novella, and the vice-rector of Culture, Memory and Heritage of the University of Barcelona, Agustí Alcoberro Pericay. The closing was given by the Minister of Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor Cantador.
During the event, hosted by journalist Mariví Chacón, three scientists from different generations debated the current situation of women in science: Nadejda Blagorodnova, professor at the Department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics of the UB and member of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB); Margarita Hernanz Carbó, professor at the Institute of Space Sciences of the CSIC, and Raquel Salvia Cos, member of the educational team of the Astronomical Park and master’s student in Astrophysics.
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Català i Poch’s career was discussed by her nephew, Ramon Català i Pou; Francesca Figueras, professor at the Department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics of the University of Barcelona and member of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the UB (ICCUB), and Dr. Trinitat Cadefau Surroca, who was her student. The event ended with a guided tour by the director of the Astronomical Park, Salvador Ribas Rubio, of the telescope named after Maria Assumpció Català i Poch. It is the largest in the park and was named after the astronomer in 2016.
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Català i Poch (Barcelona, 14 July 1925 – 3 July 2009) was the first woman to obtain a doctorate in Mathematics at the University of Barcelona (UB) in 1970 and worked as a professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at the UB. She carried out systematic observations of sunspots for more than thirty years and represented the State in the International Astronomical Union.
Year of Assumpció Català
As part of the milestones of the commemoration, the Park will also dedicate the Astronomy Festival to the astronomer, which this year reaches its 11th edition. In addition, the Catalan Women’s Institute is preparing a publication on her career.
The centenary of the Catalan Assumption is part of the Government’s commemorations for 2025, which annually agrees on the events and personalities that will be commemorated by the Generalitat de Catalunya. The objective is to highlight, recover and disseminate the memory of these events and personalities that have left their mark on the collective heritage of Catalans.
The telescope of the Montsec Astronomical Park
The largest telescope of the Montsec Astronomical Park, where this central event took place, has been named Assumpció Català since 2016, in homage to the astronomer who is a benchmark in research but also in scientific education. The Assumpció Català Poch telescope is a catadioptric telescope of Dall-Kirkham configuration with a diameter of 50 centimeters and is located in the Observatori-Aula, an area that combines observatory functions with a space equipped for 84 seated people to enjoy astronomical observation. This telescope is fully automated and contains the necessary equipment to obtain high-quality astronomical images.
Quotes
Minister for Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor Cantador
“The centenary of M. Assumpció Català is not just a commemoration: it is an act of reparation and of the future. It is an opportunity to look back with justice and look forward with responsibility. We must make her milestones visible, but we must also ensure that today’s girls can write their own history, without the limits that she had to break.”
President of the Catalan Women’s Institute, Sònia Guerra Lopez
“At the Catalan Women’s Institute we work to recover and make visible figures like Assumpció Català, a pioneering woman who history has silenced for too long. We claim her career not only as an act of justice, but as an essential pedagogical tool. Girls and young women need female role models to look up to, and Assumpció is light and inspiration for new scientific vocations.”
President of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Carles Ruiz Novella
“The Montsec Astronomical Park is an extraordinary center for observing the sky, possibly the best observatory in the world, and where its most important telescope is named after Dr. Català Poch, the first female astronomy professor in the State who achieved a very important challenge for science and for women”.
Vice-Rector for Culture, Memory and Heritage of the University of Barcelona, Agustí Alcoberro Pericay
“Institutions must preserve our history, but also our memory, that is, the memory of those who have helped us to be who we are. Assumpció Català was a great example of work, dedication and perseverance put at the service of an enormous talent. And now that we are in the midst of preparing for the 575th anniversary of the University of Barcelona, we will vindicate the enormous human capital of the UB, where Dr. Català plays a prominent role”.
