[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6257\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u2018How one evening changed my career\u2019 and other stories from European Researchers\u2019 Night\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAs the EU-wide event marks its 10\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E year of helping people get an insight into the life of a researcher, we talk to six participants to find out what the event means to them.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe student\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMatteo Iafrati, ENEA, Frascati, Italy\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Image courtesy of Matteo Iafrati\u0022 height=\u0022573\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Matteo.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Image courtesy of Matteo Iafrati\u0022 width=\u0022957\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EImage courtesy of Matteo Iafrati\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2009, Matteo Iafrati\u2019s career path changed when he attended a European Researchers\u2019 Night event in Frascati, Italy. Although he had been interested in pursuing a career in science since he was a child, his first love was particle physics and his ambitions leant towards studying at CERN. It was a meeting with his future supervisor, Professor Giuseppe Mazzitelli, from the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), that changed his mind.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Researchers are the employees of the people.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EMatteo Iafrati, ENEA, Frascati, Italy\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Since I was at school, I wanted to become a physicist. In particular I was attracted by particle physics, and big machines for particle physics like the particle accelerator in Geneva, like LHC (the Large Hadron Collider). But during the European Researchers\u2019 Night in 2009 I met Prof. Giuseppe Mazzitelli at a conference. This conference was about fusion energy and fusion research and a special device for bringing the power of the stars to the earth, called a tokamak. And I fell in love with this fusion research, and one year later I started my physics degree in Rome and I changed my initial career, becoming a plasma physicist, not a particle physicist.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMatteo is completing his master\u2019s thesis and will shortly be embarking on a PhD programme looking at the use of liquid metal to capture energy inside the tokamak. He describes European Researchers\u2019 Night as a \u2018bridge\u2019 that originally gave him an insight into a particular area of science as a member of the public, and now lets him introduce his work to other people as a researcher.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think it is a good way for people to know what we are doing. We want to check (on the) developments in our work with feedback from people. It is a very good opportunity for people to also know how researchers spend public money. Because researchers are the employees of the people. So I think people can learn a lot from the night and the researcher also.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Commissioner\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETibor Navracsics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Image credit: European Union 2014\/ Jacquemart Jennifer\u0022 height=\u0022799\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Tibor%20Navracsics.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Image credit: European Union 2014\/ Jacquemart Jennifer\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EImage credit: European Union 2014\/ Jacquemart Jennifer\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETibor Navracsics, the EU\u2019s Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, says that he hopes that European Researchers\u2019 Night benefits the public by giving them a glimpse into how the European Commission is spending money on research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u2018\u003C\/strong\u003EThe researchers\u2019 community is somehow exotic to \u2026 people. They (researchers) work in the future and for the future, so we have to open up that community and the achievements of that community to ordinary people. Partly because it\u2019s supported financially by their money, i.e. by the people\u2019s money, and partly because it serves their future.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn 25 September, more than 250 cities across Europe will host events that are designed to bring the public face to face with researchers and let them discover the impact of science on everyday life. Commissioner Navracsics says that he thinks that anyone who visits an event would be inspired.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018All the ordinary people who just come here and see the experiments or the stands, or just get some knowledge about the practical and tangible results of research activities will be very enthusiastic about the researchers\u2019 achievements,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommissioner Navracsics says he sees a bright future for events in coming years. \u2018My vision is to make it as open as possible, to go outside the buildings, to make really comprehensive and really popular events and to link all the other events on the same night in every European city \u2026 and to develop it into one cohesive series of events with a single message.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003EThe museum programme manager\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStephen Roberts, Natural History Museum, London, UK\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Image courtesy of Stephen Roberts\u0022 height=\u0022504\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/stephen_roberts_cropped3.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Image courtesy of Stephen Roberts\u0022 width=\u0022854\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EImage courtesy of Stephen Roberts\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EAs a member of the public programmes team at London\u2019s Natural History Museum, Stephen Roberts is used to working to generate public interest in science, but he says that Researchers\u2019 Night offers a great opportunity to get the scientists involved too.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018We bring together 300 or 400 researchers and scientists who normally work in the field or in laboratories, and connect them with a large and diverse public audience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018Let\u2019s say one of our scientists might be studying mosquitoes. When chatting with that researcher, visitors often realise that actually they are not the stereotypical scientist, but also that what they\u2019re doing is actually highly relevant to people\u2019s lives. Because suddenly we\u2019re thinking about mosquitoes not just as an irritation on holiday but as a critical pollinator as well. It\u2019s about connecting human beings and understanding the relevance of that scientific work to all of us.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018We\u2019ve had some wonderful feedback from visitors. Some of them make me chuckle, but \u201cThey\u2019re just like normal people\u201d, is the kind of headline quote we want to see. People realise that scientists are people doing really amazing, relevant work and they\u2019re not obscure, bearded boffins.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EHe points to events such as a live link-up with researchers in a fjord in Sweden where the public got to ask researchers questions as they embarked on a night dive as a particular highlight of the museum\u2019s last six years\u2019 involvement in European Researchers\u2019 Night. He also says that they focus on getting as broad an audience as possible, including working with schools to engage disadvantaged children in science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018It\u2019s also exciting to think beyond the individuals that take part, that more broadly it\u2019s about the attitudes to what a scientist is and what a career in science might look like that are being shaped, that\u2019s important as well.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe organiser\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGiovanni Mazzitelli, Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics, Frascati, Italy\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Image credit: ThelmaCesarano\u0022 height=\u0022480\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Giovanni%20Mazzitelli%20credit%20Thelma%20Cesarano.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Image credit: ThelmaCesarano\u0022 width=\u0022720\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EImage credit: ThelmaCesarano\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EA decade ago, Giovanni Mazzitelli got together with a group of researchers to open up their nuclear physics lab, which contains one of the five particle colliders running in the world. This year he is coordinating DREAMS, an EU-funded project to set up events in 10 cities throughout Italy that include lab visits, science cafes and artistic performances.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018Our most popular thing is the visit in the laboratory. We are very large research laboratories which are surrounded by gates that are three metres high, on which is written everywhere it is forbidden to access. So at any time it is the thing for which there are most participants. The fact that you are able to be in contact directly with the researchers is one of the added values of the events.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EHe says that 10 years of science events in Frascati, which is home to a number of scientific institutions, has created a sense of pride among residents and a desire to participate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018Today, what happens is, if you read our social media pages on Facebook or Twitter or on our website, people really want and expect something to happen. They know what happens in the researchers\u2019 centre, they know who the researchers around them are, they ask to organise events because this is something that they feel part of, the area. This is part of the context in which they live.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018We organise typically a lot of stages (internships) every year for high school students and five years ago we were able to accept all the requests we received. Now we have double the number of requests we can accept.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EHe also says that independent monitoring has revealed that the Italian public know more about science than 10 years ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018Most of these people are saying that direct contact with researchers is clearly making a change because they feel part of the system, they don\u2019t feel separate. This, for me, is a great success of what we do because it means that it is a good way to change something with respect to science communication.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie grantee\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDr Olatz Lopez-Fernandez\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Image courtesy of Olatz Lopez-Fernandez\u0022 height=\u0022709\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Olatz_cropped.JPG\u0022 style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;\u0022 title=\u0022Image courtesy of Olatz Lopez-Fernandez\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EImage courtesy of Olatz Lopez-Fernandez\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EFor Dr Olatz Lopez-Fernandez from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, events like European Researchers\u2019 Night present a rare opportunity to get out of the lab and meet the public.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018As a researcher I am always in my lab, in my office, doing research. I share this research with my colleagues in the university, we have seminars, and also I am doing the dissemination in our scientific meetings, conferences, journals and books, but we don\u2019t have too much opportunity to disseminate our research with the public, which is the most important.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EDr Lopez-Fernandez was awarded a grant to run a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/189961_en.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETECH USE DISORDERS\u003C\/a\u003E, which investigates addictive online behaviour such as excessive internet, gaming or social media use. On 23 September she took part in an event in Brussels to mark the 10\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary of European Researcher\u2019s Night.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018I brought two computers for people to test themselves to see if they have some form of addiction related to video games or to the internet in general. It was quite interesting because we see that (most people) have a normal usage pattern but a few of them had excessive usage.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EShe says she spent the morning being quizzed by teenagers who thought they might be addicted to the internet. \u2018They were worried and asking, \u201cWhat can we do in order to control our video game behaviour?\u201d I was giving them some advice in order to manage themselves better, like to do other activities in their real life not involving technology.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EDr Lopez-Fernandez said that events such as European Researchers\u2019 Night were a good opportunity to meet the people who her research is designed to help. \u2018For me it has also been really interesting to be with these young people and help them in some way and explain a little bit about the research to them.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe young scientist\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003EJo\u00e3o Pedro Est\u00e1cio Gaspar Gon\u00e7alves de Ara\u00fajo\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Image credit: EUCYS\u0022 height=\u0022800\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Joao%20at%20stand.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Image credit: EUCYS\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EImage credit: EUCYS\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMathematics does not easily lend itself to public demonstrations, as Jo\u00e3o Pedro Est\u00e1cio Gaspar Gon\u00e7alves de Ara\u00fajo was well aware when he was invited to present a hands-on project for the public at the Science is Wonder-ful event in Brussels to mark the 10\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary of European Researchers\u2019 Night. In 2014, he won first prize at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/article\/snail-inspired-pollution-test-wins-2014-eu-young-scientist-award_en.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EEuropean Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS)\u003C\/a\u003E for his work in a branch of mathematics called semigroup theory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018From the national science show, I have the experience that people come to my stand and I explain to them my abstract work and they don\u2019t understand a thing. For example, two years ago in the national science show that sent me to EUCYS, there was a young scientist that returned five times to hear my explanation. In the end he came to me and said, \u201cI have already been here five times and I still don\u2019t understand your project.\u201d\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EHowever, with the help of his father, he came up with a solution. First, he expanded his previous work to show that his result always holds true, and wrote a scientific paper to show this. Then, he created computer software that allows people to generate their own version of his paper, where they show that the result holds true in specific cases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u2018What\u2019s nice about this programme that I implemented was that it generated completely valid scientific articles which could then be submitted to scientific journals and would probably be accepted,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EHe says that he enjoyed thinking of practical applications of his work that he could present to the public. \u2018It was a very rewarding exercise because for the first time I had something which had an application.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd even if (people) didn\u2019t understand the mathematical details involved, they could already get a grasp of what it could be used for.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe says that the benefit of European Researchers\u2019 Night is that it also allows him to find out about other areas of science and make contact with people. \u2018I have already learned that I can cook an egg at room temperature using only ethanol.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EEuropean Researchers\u2019 Night\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EEuropean Researchers\u2019 Night is a set of simultaneous events that take place each September across more than 250 cities in Europe. The idea is to bring science closer to citizens and more than one million people attend the events each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2015, European Researchers\u2019 Night is taking place on 25 September. Events include a workshop to make masks to prevent the spread of African swine fever in Tallinn, Estonia, a scientific quiz to fund language courses for refugees in Braunschweig, Germany, and a garden full of artificially grown glass in Iasi, Romania.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe European Commission allocates a budget of EUR 8 million over two years for the events. The funding comes via the Commission\u2019s Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie actions, which are designed to provide training and career development opportunities to talented researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-dvblpthuej83inl2crh229swq2jsxx-h3aax0aq9epo\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-DVBLpThuej83iNl2crH229SWQ2jsXx-H3AaX0aQ9ePo\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]