The Joan Oró Year program, which commemorates the centenary of the birth of the renowned biochemist from Lleida, will focus on bringing the scientific legacy and personal values of this key figure in the study of the origin of life closer to the public. As part of various activities, mainly in the Catalan territory, the goal of the Joan Oró Year is to bring the figure of Joan Oró i Florensa (1923-2004) to all audiences, both for his exceptional scientific contributions and for his life journey, which helps spread key values such as humility, entrepreneurship, bravery, and research as a tool to promote peace in the world.
At the presentation event of the main activities of the Joan Oró Year, held today at the Government Delegation in Lleida, the Minister of Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal, highlighted the cross-institutional commitment, alongside support from companies and private organizations, in the commemoration of Joan Oró’s centenary. For Minister Nadal, the celebration of the Joan Oró Year represents “the sum of very diverse energies that converge in the will to create a comprehensive commemoration and ensure that it is not just a momentary euphoria, but is planned with the intention of continuity and permanence.” In the opinion of the Minister of Research and Universities, it is also important that “we enjoy the scientific and technical contributions of Joan Oró, but also that we try to pass on his spirit to the young people of this country so that they acquire the passion for knowledge and science, which was one of his most defining traits.”
Joan Oró i Florensa made historic breakthroughs in the origin of life on our planet. Among his scientific contributions, he is renowned for the discovery of the synthesis of adenine, a fundamental building block of DNA and cellular metabolism, under the conditions that prevailed on primitive Earth, as well as his advisory role to NASA in the analysis of lunar samples from the Apollo missions and the life-seeking experiments conducted by the Viking spacecraft on Mars.
The Joan Oró Year, promoted by the Joan Oró Foundation and the Department of Research and Universities, also has the support of the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation and broad institutional backing, as well as the collaboration of the “la Caixa” Foundation and the Catalan Railway Corporation. The commemoration aims to attract more than 100,000 people through the various scientific dissemination events scheduled, with the main objectives being:
To raise awareness of the figure of Joan Oró i Florensa.
To bring the public closer to the enigma of the origin of life and the search on other planets.
To awaken the public’s emotion for life and celebrate it.
To encourage scientific vocations.
The commissioner of the Joan Oró Year, astronomer Joan Anton Català i Amigó, explained that the program of activities has four fundamental pillars: a large-scale, itinerant exhibition, various lecture series aimed at all audiences, the educational project “Mission Joan Oró,” and different publications and audiovisual content. “A program that we will keep alive to incorporate proposals from entities across Catalonia to make known a historical and unique figure,” stated Català.
