The Director General of Research visits CREAF to learn first-hand about its scientific activity

The Director General of Research of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Teresa Sanchis , and the Deputy Director General of Research, Eva Pérez , visited CREAF to learn first-hand about the scientific activity of the center. They were received by the Director of CREAF, Joan Pino, and the Head of Communication, Anna Ramon.

The visit began with a tour of the center's laboratories. In the dendrochronology laboratory, the research staff showed how the climate of the past is reconstructed from the study of tree growth rings. During the visit, Guillem Lloberas, a member of the group led by researcher Laia Andreu-Hayles, presented both samples from living trees and historical wood recovered from cultural heritage, a line of work that allows us to extend the climate record many centuries ago.

Subsequently, the delegation visited the microscopy laboratory, where pre-doctoral researcher Judit Rodrigo, from the group led by Sandra Nogué, showed how the analysis of fossilized pollen preserved in sediments allows us to reconstruct the vegetation and ecosystems of the past, as well as understand the environmental changes that have taken place over thousands of years.

The day ended with a working meeting with the center's management and leadership team and representatives of the research staff. During the meeting, the CREAF organizational model, the main lines of research and some of its strategic assets were presented, such as the recruitment of projects from the European Research Council (ERC) and ICREA talent, the collaboration with the Generalitat to generate knowledge applied to territorial management and the Severo Ochoa accreditation of excellence, which the center has maintained for six years.

For Teresa Sanchis, "CREAF is a very active center within the Catalan research ecosystem and has been a driving force for the scientific community, especially through the participation of its managers and teams in working groups of the CERCA system, contributing to promoting better policies, shared practices and forms of management within the research community. Its research is of great value and stands out especially for its contribution to public policies and decision-making based on scientific evidence."