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Today, the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) unveiled a new mural as part of the activities organised this week to celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The mural pays tribute to Carme Torras, a pioneer in the field of intelligent robotics, both nationally and internationally, and especially in the field of social robotics.

The mural is the work of the Valencian artist Irene Remón. It is located at the IES Benicalap secondary school in Valencia. It is the 42nd mural of Dones de Ciència (Women of Science), a project that this week celebrates five years of paying tribute to and raising the profile of women leaders in their respective fields, always with the help of women artists. The first mural, dedicated to Margarita Salas and painted by Lula Goce, was unveiled on 8 February 2019.

In the mural at IES Benicalap, the portrait of Carme Torras stands out, surrounded by different 'companions' of her research: from a friendly robot to a pile of books, a ball, a basketball hoop and mathematical formulas and elements.

'It has been an honour for me to have the opportunity to portray Carme, an example as a scientist and as a woman, and an honour to be able to participate in a project as necessary as Dones de Ciència, vindicating the presence of women in both the scientific and artistic fields, advocating for visibility and education in equality in primary and secondary schools. A project that is still necessary today; despite the great advances that feminism has achieved, the struggle for the visibility of women in all professional fields is something that we cannot ignore, and, as artists, we must bring this demand to every project we undertake,' said Irene Remón.

'A project that breaks stereotypes'

For her part, Carme Torras has shown her 'enormous gratitude for the tribute paid to me by a university such as the UPV, with a project that breaks stereotypes and, at the same time, makes visible the contributions of women scientists and artists. This union of science and art is a beautiful expression that Sciences and Arts, Technology and Humanities must go hand in hand. Their separation in some educational fields is impoverishing, while together they are mutually reinforcing'.

Torras also emphasised that 'the mural is a good representation of the privilege I have had of being able to enjoy the world of research and literature, sciences and humanities intertwined once again, without forgetting sport, which has also been a balancing factor in my career and has allowed me to enjoy friendships with very different profiles, a very enriching cocktail on a personal level'.

42 murals, 84 leading women

Dones de Ciència is a project that has already become a national reference. In fact, it has been distinguished with important awards: in 2022, she received the award for the best unique project in the Prisms - the most important award in Spain in scientific dissemination; and, in 2019, it was chosen as the best dissemination project by the National Network of Scientific Culture and Innovation Units (UCC+i).

With the mural in homage to Carme Torras, the project now has 42 works created by as many artists. Since its inception, it has received the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.