Nature, Noise, and New Loops: Rethinking Our Changing World

In this talk I will cover how organic waste, like the one generated at your own household, can be transformed into valuable products, for example, fertilizers for your plants or components for face creams, among others. I will give an overview on the potential of organic waste in a world that is changing towards new economy models based on circularity. Join me in this exciting talk about economy model change.

Ankylosaurs, also known as armored dinosaurs, were an herbivorous and quadrupedal dinosaur lineage. Its more remarkable feature is the extensive development of bony plates and spikes all along the upper section of the body, whose purpose was probably protective against predators. In Europe, a new lineage of ankylosaurs evolved, distinct from those in other regions worldwide. Despite most ankylosaur occurrences being dispersed across Europe, most known species are recognized in the Iberian Peninsula and its surroundings, including species endemic to this area. A new graduate research project is looking to determine the number of ankylosaurian species from Southern Europe and some aspects of their biology.

This presentation explores voice-based artificial intelligence through the ALFIE project, focusing on a commonly overlooked issue: most AI systems assume a single “standard” way of speaking. In reality, human speech varies across accent, age, health, mood, and context, and these narrow assumptions lead to misrecognition, interaction failures, and reduced access. The talk shows how language-based analysis can reveal these hidden biases and why ALFIE matters for building more inclusive and fair AI systems.

Forests across Europe have expanded drastically across Europe in recent decades, making it one of the most common ecosystems on the continent. Most of Europe's forests are used for commercial use and we harvest it for wood. These harvests have increased strongly as our interest in sustainability and consumption of wood-based products has increased. This has affected biodiversity across the continent. I have used over 16 million bird sightings and 40 years of satellite data from 25 European countries to study how birds respond to our increasing demand for wood.