Mari Tõrv, Kadri-Ann Pankratov and Marju Himma awarded with the Baltic Women in Science fellowships
Within the fellowship programme Baltic Women in Science, co-organised by the Baltic National Academies of Sciences and National Commissions for UNESCO, fellowships were awarded to University of Tartu researchers Associate Professor of Archaeology and Research Fellow in Analytical and Physical Chemistry Mari Tõrv, Junior Research Fellow in Technology Kadri-Ann Pankratov, and Associate Professor of Journalism Studies Marju Himma. All three women received the fellowships of €7,000 in recognition of their research so far and to support further research in their scientific fields.
Mari Tõrv was awarded with the fellowship for Doctor of Sciences in science, engineering and technology, and medicine. Her research delves into the biological and cultural diversity of ancient humans, emphasising the duality of human body. “The body is both a historical and cultural construct as well as a biological and physical object. As an archaeologist, I study the way of life and the culture of death in the past, primarily through human remains. Although biomolecular archaeology has provided a wealth of knowledge about past ways of life, it has been poorly applied to the study of burial customs. At the same time, without an understanding of the rituals of the end-point of the lifespan, capturing human nature in time-space remains incomplete. This is why in today's Western world it is essential to study death, which is considered a taboo subject,” said Tõrv.
Kadri-Ann Pankratov was awarded with the fellowship for Doctor of Science Candidate in science, engineering and technology, and medicine. At the heart of her pioneering research is the science of bio-inspired soft robotics. While robots are conventionally thought of as mechanical machines connected to bundles of wire, her aim is to develop an artificial circulatory system for moth-inspired robots that mediates communication and energy transfer and enables growth. “In the future, this would allow us to expand the range of applications for robots and give them the ability to adapt to changing situations, such as search and rescue operations in unknown environments or disaster sites,” Pankratov said.
Known as a populariser of research and public engagement, Marju Himma was awarded a fellowship in the category of Doctor of Sciences in social sciences. In her research, she tests the theoretical concept of deliberative science communication and applies a model that research teams and science officials can put into practice. For a long time, she said, science communication has been mainly media-centric and has followed a ‘deficit model’, where scientists communicate the results of their research to fill knowledge gaps in society. “As a result, communication is one-way, which has eroded trust between science and society and possibly contributed to alienation from an evidence-based worldview. It is therefore important to move towards argumentative communication. The latter puts the needs and interests of the recipients of information at the centre and conveys knowledge in a more dialogical, meaningful and impactful way,” said Himma.
Twenty-nine researchers applied for the three fellowships, 21 in the fields of science, engineering and technology, and medicine, and 8 in social sciences. The endowments aim to support and encourage women in their research careers. The fellowships awarded to Estonian laureates are funded by the Ministry of Education and Research.
The joint award ceremony for the laureates of the three Baltic countries will take place next Tuesday, 12 November, in Vilnius. You can watch the live stream on https://www.lma.lt/live-broadcast.
Read more on the website of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.