Michaela Nesvarova
Michaela Nesvarova is a science journalist based in Belgium. With over a decade of experience, she has dedicated a large portion of her career to writing about cutting-edge science, technology and academia, with specific focus on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the broadest sense. After many years as a reporter based in the Netherlands, she relocated to Belgium in 2023 where she has since worked as a freelance journalist for publications such as Horizon Magazine, Science Business and ESMH. She writes about a variety of topics, including health, emergency preparedness, climate and social sciences and humanities.-
‘The lifespan of cells is one of the holy grails of engineered living materials’
What are the possibilities and limitations of engineered living materials? Interview with biomedicine and smart materials expert Prof. Dr Andrés Díaz Lantada (Technical University of Madrid, Spain). He has served as principal investigator in several European projects, including TOMAX, UBORA, INKplant,... -
‘Engineered living materials are adaptive, resilient and self-healing’
What are the most promising applications of living materials? Interview with scientific director at the Leibniz Institute for New Materials and professor at Saarland University in Germany, Prof. Dr Wilfried Weber. He is also involved in the European projects STEADY (funded by the European Research Council)... -
Living materials that can heal themselves - and maybe the planet too
Materials that can grow, adapt, sense, and repair themselves, much like living tissue: however futuristic this might sound, ‘living materials’ are already a reality, and the EU is positioning itself at the forefront of this rapidly evolving field. ‘Engineered living materials’ (ELMs) are composed, either... -
The future of automated vehicles in the EU: Interview with Prof. Michael Botsch and Prof. Werner Huber
Technology can take over an increasing amount of tasks when it comes to driving a vehicle - like braking or steering. The European Union is currently implementing and possibly reviewing some aspects of its regulation in the field of automated, connected and also self-driving vehicles, while vehicle manufacturers... -
Beyond technology: How social sciences and humanities drive human-centric innovation
As the European Union (EU) prepares the groundwork for the next Horizon Europe Framework Programme, many experts have been calling for the human and social dimension of progress to be better integrated into the EU’s research and innovation agenda. The STOA workshop ‘Humanities and social sciences at... -
A scientist's opinion: interview with Dr Gabi Lombardo on the importance of social sciences and humanities
“Social sciences and humanities unveil weaknesses of our societies and allow us to address them” Dr Gabi Lombardo is the Director of the European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities (EASSH), an advocacy and science policy organisation for social sciences and humanities (SSH) in Europe. She... -
A scientist’s opinion: interview with Dr Péter Benczúr on measuring wellbeing rather than economic prosperity
“The ultimate objective should always be to provide a good life and wellbeing to all people” Dr Péter Benczúr is a scientific officer at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), where he is one of the coordinators of the transversal work on ‘sustainable and inclusive wellbeing’ (SIWB)....