Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics
Ernst W. Hamburger's optimism: a NeuroMat video
Apr 02, 2018
The NeuroMat scientific dissemination has recently launched a short movie on physicist and science popularizer Ernst W. Hamburger, a NeuroMat PI. The video --which was produced by LAICA and supported by FAPESP-- is a development of an event on Hamburger's contributions that was organized at the University of São Paulo in 2016.
Hamburger was NeuroMat's first science dissemination coordinator, responsible for envisioning and substantiating the dissemination proposal on the RIDC project to FAPESP. This document --that is at the origin of NeuroMat-- claimed, "Neuroscience is expected to lead, in the near future, to radical changes in the way humankind conceives learning, aging, mental disorders, healing from neurological trauma, mind-machine interfaces and other foundational neural issues. These changes depend, inter alia, on the building of new conceptual frameworks based on mathematical approaches and open discussions and interchange of information among scientists. A research enterprise of such an ambitious scope crucially requires public awareness, both to justify the necessary support in resources and to attract young researchers to enrich and perpetuate the flow of ideas. It is, therefore, important to bridge the gap between scientific production and knowledge dissemination."
Hamburger's foundational claim remains a compass point for NeuroMat's science dissemination initiatives. This is particularly true as the RIDC prepares its five-year renewal project and is therefore mandated to review its original proposal to FAPESP. Hamburger has conceived public awareness as a moral principle, and to some extent providing resources for this remains a mission to be fulfilled in all dimensions of the work NeuroMat engages with. Dissemination was also perceived as having the potential of creating a NeuroMat community, establishing bridges within different stakeholders in the process of creating a new understanding of how the brain functions, and fostering a new language, culture to make sense of high-end science.
The movie that the NeuroMat science dissemination team presents today brings forefront Hamburger's moral principles, in which human bridging and bonding remain the pillars of a scientific enterprise. When asked what he wanted to speak on, Hamburger did not hesitate: "My mother." Each component of Hamburger's story, as he presents himself to the camera, connects and relates to a general engagement and commitment to move science forward by connecting his, our stories to this moving-forward process.
The movie was shot on September 16, 2016, at NeuroMat. The script was produced by Hamburger himself with support from his family. It remains consistent to Hamburger's talk at the roundtable on “Challenges of Scientific Dissemination,” at the University of São Paulo, on June 9, 2016; this event was set up in praise of Hamburger's contribution to science dissemination.
This piece is part of NeuroMat's Newsletter #50. Read more here
