La Jornada: “Science is dynamic, it is alive, it evolves at every moment”

“When I measure chemical elements, I am being a kind of archaeologist.” This is how the Mexican astronomer José Eduardo Méndez Delgado described his work of studying the chemical composition of galaxies to reconstruct their history.

In a video released by the UNAM after the ceremony, Méndez Delgado explained that “during the first minutes after the beginning of the universe, only light elements were formed, while the others were formed later with the life and death of the stars.

“When I measure chemical elements, I am being a kind of archaeologist, since from chemical evidence I reconstruct the past of galaxies and better understand how the universe was formed,” he stressed.

For Méndez Delgado, the most important thing today is to change the paradigm that science is done locked in a cubicle by a person with many decades of experience.

“In reality, science is dynamic, it is alive, it is evolving at every moment and at an increasingly faster rate and there are young people who are directing many of the scientific revolutions that we are experiencing.”

In a context dominated by the rise of artificial intelligence and space telescopes, he called on young people to consider a path in science. He highlighted that UNAM is a space that opens its doors wide to all young people to get involved in scientific tasks.

“At UNAM we are in a very good position, we are at the frontier of science, we are involved in many scientific projects.”

Regarding his return to Mexico, Méndez Delgado said that he made that decision because part of his responsibility is “to build something from our territory that benefits Mexicans who want to follow a path in science and in the area of ​​knowledge.”

The Mexican astrophysicist highlighted UNAM’s leadership in three-dimensional mapping of the Milky Way and the Magellanic clouds, through the Sloan Sky Digital Survey project.