Xavier Sáez

Researcher

Celebrating 2024 Sant Jordi

In Catalonia, the 23rd of April marks a special day in tradition and cultural significance: the Diada de Sant Jordi, or Saint Jordi’s Day. This celebration uniquely combines culture and love in a vibrant display of Catalan identity. On this special day, the streets of Catalan cities and villages come alive with the enchanting sight of stalls brimming with roses and books.

On this day, we express our love and affection to our loved ones by exchanging roses and books, symbolizing the timeless values of love and knowledge. But beyond its romantic connotations, Sant Jordi holds a deeper meaning for Catalans—it is a celebration of their rich literary heritage and a tribute to the patron saint of Catalonia, Saint George.

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DIII-D National Fusion Facility Achieves Historic 1,600-Hour Research Campaign

A worker inside the vessel at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility (source: General Atomics)

The DIII-D National Fusion Facility, located in San Diego, California, is the largest magnetic fusion research facility in the United States and is operated by General Atomics for the US Department of Energy. This facility plays an important role in optimizing the tokamak approach to fusion energy production since the mid-1980s and provides valuable data for the engineering design phase of ITER.

DIII-D has recently been in the news because has completed a two-year research campaign that resulted in a record-breaking 1,600 hours of plasma research and 140 groundbreaking studies, leading to many transformative advancements for delivering cost-effective fusion energy.

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Sant Jordi’s Day 2023

On April 23rd, Catalonia celebrates “La Diada de Sant Jordi,” or Saint Jordi’s Day, a deeply ingrained tradition and one of the region’s most cherished occasions. While the original custom involved men presenting women with a red rose and women gifting men a book, it has evolved, allowing anyone to give a book, a rose, or both to anyone they choose.

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Our group at the European Researchers’ Night

The European Researchers’ Night is a Europe-wide public event, which brings research and researchers closer to the public and showcases its impact on citizens’ daily lives in a fun and inspiring way. The European Researchers’ Night attracts each year more than 1 million visitors in Europe and beyond.

All types of public, from schools, families and children to young people or adults of all ages, can learn about and participate in the science of their territory through different activities such as workshops, talks, shows, experiments, astronomical observations and games.

The European Night of Research is a European scientific dissemination project promoted by the European Commission within the framework of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions of the Horizon Europe program.

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