Venezuelan Yarivith González received the Princess of Girona Award 2024

• The Venezuelan is recognized for her research into recycling lithium batteries and for her initiatives on environmental education in Latin American countries | Photo: EFE

On July 10, Venezuelan scientist Yarivith González received the 2024 International Prize from the Princess of Girona Foundation in Spain, in the Research category, which for the first time is aimed at talents from Latin America.

He received or earned this recognition for his research into recycling lithium batteries and for his work in disseminating science in schools in Latin American countries through environmental education initiatives.

González, originally from Barquisimeto (Lara), has a degree in Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences, as well as in Education, Environment and Sustainable Development. According to a publication on the Princess of Girona Awards website, the Venezuelan is currently completing a PhD in Chemistry at the University of San Luis, Argentina.

The chemist is an active member and volunteer of different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that carry out social and environmental work in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Photo: Princess of Girona Foundation

For this 2024 edition of the awards, Guatemalan Susa Arrachea and Spaniards Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros (entrepreneur), Daniel Millor (architect), Vicky Luengo (actress) and Moisés Expósito-Alonso (biologist and ecologist) were also recognized.

Princess of Girona Awards

This is a Spanish award given every year by the Princess of Girona Foundation with the aim of promoting and encouraging initiative, effort, scientific research and artistic creativity of young talents.

These are the categories of the Princess of Girona Awards:

-Social
-Scientific investigation
-Arts and Letters
-Company
-International

Solutions to environmental problems

In an interview with the EFE news agency on July 7, the Venezuelan scientist said that Latin America and Europe, especially Spain, should share their scientific research, since it can provide solutions to common environmental problems that will be more pressing in the future.

What to do with electric car batteries is part of the solutions that the National University of San Luis in Argentina is working on, an institution that is part of Gónzalez’s career as a scientist.

Photo: taken by X

The Extractive Metallurgy Laboratory has a group of researchers who have patented several solutions, led by Jorge González and Lucía Barbosa, through the Institute of Research in Chemical Technology of this university and the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research of the country.

“We are pioneers in Latin America in opening a path to recycle a mineral such as lithium, which is not a renewable resource, but which can be converted into a metal with different uses once used in car or mobile phone batteries,” González emphasizes.

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The laboratory of life

The researcher went into detail regarding the fact that society needs “curious minds” that are more forward-thinking, considering that technology is becoming overwhelming every day and ideas are needed to make this development sustainable.

He said he values ​​this award because, in addition to recognizing scientific achievements, it also recognizes the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in environmental education.

“It is the spearhead for inviting the new generations to do research from an environmental perspective, inviting them to work on a science that is transferable to society and that reaches people from a more practical point of view, to solve environmental problems, shorten deadlines in situations that concern us,” he said.

As an example, González mentioned the work carried out in Venezuela for more than a decade by organizations that go to schools with practices that seek to encourage “inquisition” in science.

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