Sara Cazzoli
Biography
Sara Cazzoli is a Scientific Researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC, Spain), with a consolidated career in astrophysics and a strong commitment to public engagement. Her work combines cutting-edge research in galaxy evolution with innovative approaches to science communication with interdisciplinary and creative formats. Her scientific research focuses on the impact of outflows in the host galaxy evolution within cosmic time. She has extensive experience in the design and execution of observational campaigns using major international facilities. She has co-authored more than 50 scientific publications, including over 30 papers in high-impact Q1 journals, accumulating more than 1300 citations. Throughout her career, she supervised PhD and MSc students, mentored early-career researchers, and actively contributed to international collaborations, and scientific committees. Her work is characterised by a multidisciplinary perspective and the ability to transfer advanced methodologies across different areas of astrophysics, including collaborations in stellar physics and Planetary Nebulae. In parallel, Sara Cazzoli has developed an extensive and innovative trajectory in science communication and outreach. Over more than a decade, she has evolved from public speaker to creator and principal investigator of outreach projects funded through competitive national calls. Her work stands out for integrating science with performing arts, creating multidisciplinary formats that engage diverse audiences and promote critical thinking with also special emphasis in inclusivity and gender perspective. Her last outreach work has been recognised with the First Prize of the CSIC Outreach Awards (2025), highlighting both its innovation and creativity.
Plenary Talk
The term Big Bang evokes a deafening sound. Yet in the Universe, it is not sound but light that serves, so far, as the most powerful messenger of information. Our eyes were the first instruments through which humanity began to understand the nature of our Universe.
Today, telescopes are our eyes to the cosmos, and they are coupled with a wide variety of instruments capable of collecting, manipulating, and transforming the light that we can ultimately study in order to unravel the secrets of the Universe. Thanks to them, we obtain information as distant and ancient as the Cosmic Microwave Background and as close and young as the whims of our own star, the Sun.
What stories do the different forms of light tell us? Whether through “simple” photon counts, spectra, or even the absence of light, its many forms reveal different information about our Universe.
Light is also a fundamental element in the arts. In the performing arts, it is crucial for creating emotions—often becoming a narrative language—in photography, it builds atmospheres, from the depth of black and white to the intensity of the most vivid colors; and in architecture, it defines spaces and highlights textures.
Light is an essential element both in the artistic experience and in our understanding of the Universe.
The Shape of Light is, more than a talk, a journey through light across astronomy, physics, and art.