Mireia Bargalló, IMB-CNM researcher, new character at the books Tria la Recerca by Generalitat
The researcher specialized in memristive devices emerging for neuromorphic computing applications, has participated in the thematic conception of the new book “Chips, semiconductors and sandwiches” promoted by the Departament de Recerca i Universitats from the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Chips, semiconductors and sandwiches is the new story of the collection Tria la Recerca, a series of informative books aimed at children from 8 to 10 years old coordinated by the Generalitat de Catalunya. The researcher Mireia Bargalló, from the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC), appears as a character in the book and has contributed to the revision of the contents.
The book, available online and in physical format in Catalan and English, is part of the collection of stories and projects Tria la Recerca, coordinated and produced by the Servei de Programes from the Direcció General de Recerca i Universitats, which aims to promote scientific vocations among children through the dissemination of the research that is done in Catalonia. The content was written by Salvador Ferré and Beatriz Cordero, specialists in scientific dissemination of the company Eduscopi.
Mireia Bargalló appears in the book as a researcher invited to a class of boys and girls eager to learn electronics and robotics. In the story, Mireia explains her work, how neuromorphic computing works and invites the children to visit the CSIC's Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room.
"I have enjoyed collaborating with the team and being part of an initiative that brings science and research closer to the youngest children. Awakening curiosity from an early age is essential to open the doors to a world full of discoveries. Often, a small question can be the starting point of a great learning or a challenge that accompanies us all our lives!", she explains about her participation.
We hope this book is the seed for more scientific curiosity!
On neuromorphic computing
Mireia Bargalló is a researcher in the MESSI group at the IMB-CNM, where she focuses her research on memristors, an emerging type of electronic device with a combined capacity for demagnetization and data processing. Memristors are resistors with “memory”: they function in a way more similar to human neurons, and this is where an area of research and a path to the future opens up.
They are particularly relevant in the field of neuromorphic computing, an area that seeks to replicate the functioning of neural networks in the brain using electronic architectures. They are also being studied as promising alternatives for the development of non-volatile memories, capable of retaining information without electrical power, with potential applications in high-density, low-energy systems.
Tria la Recerca
The objectives of the colleccion «Tria la recerca» are to disseminate the research that is carried out in Catalonia and to awaken scientific vocations. The stories propose narratives in which children can choose the reading route of the story, choose between different options and live a different adventure depending on what they have chosen. They will also learn about the research project, the objective and which research institutions are involved.
Chips, semiconductors and sandwiches is the third issue of the collection, the previous one was Meteorits, algae and life in space where another CSIC researcher, Josep Maria Trigo from the Institute of Space Sciences, also participated.