In this interview, the UDC CITIC researcher, Ricardo Cao, reviews his 35-year career in the service of science. Mathematics and statistics have brought him great achievements in his career, with more than 200 research papers and the opportunity to have collaborated with numerous researchers from around the world. Of these, the most recent COVIDBENS stands out, with which it has fulfilled the double objective of public service at a critical social moment, on the one hand; and the scientific challenge, on the other, of having generated a highly efficient statistical model applicable to other health problems such as influenza.

Since 2008, the CITIC of the UDC has been a magnificent platform for Ricardo Cao so that his team has been able to develop unique projects on statistical functionality. Recently the INE has recognized the versatility of his career with the National Statistics Award, a “collective” distinction that honors and overwhelms him at the same time and reminds him that “research is not done alone.” It is precisely the human factor that is the main value that defines Ricardo Cao’s work; also the focus when addressing current issues such as Artificial Intelligence. For him, “a tool with enormous possibilities” to which we must seek a solution to the enormous problem of “bias” that it poses with “more complex algorithms and more refined analysis” and with control.

In your more than three decades of experience you have participated in more than 200 investigations. Which has been the one that has marked you the most?

Due to its social impact and its collaborative aspect, I would highlight the COVIDBENS project, in which 20 researchers from different fields worked for a long time without even getting to know each other physically to contribute in the fight against the pandemic. It was an interdisciplinary work, in which we were able to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic through the analysis of wastewater, predicting possible outbreaks up to 18 days in advance with respect to the data reported by the sanitary system.

But not only that, from a research point of view, this project allowed us to look foward to more efficient statistical models of epidemiology based on wastewater, which should not be forgotten, because they were extremely useful and could be used in a similar way to other EU countries applying it to diseases such as the flu.

Precisely, these and other projects have earned it the 2023 National Statistics Award, the highest national distinction that can be obtained. How have you received this recognition?

First of all, I feel very honored and grateful for the award, which I consider also belongs to the more than 60 researchers with whom I have worked over the years. It is important to emphasize that research is not done alone; collaboration with scientists from other areas is essential because this is interdisciplinary work.

“Statistics is a fundamental tool, also to promote a critical spirit in society”.

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Statistics plays a fundamental role in today’s society, and its importance is increasing in various fields, from science and research to decision-making in business and government.

I see statistics as an indispensable tool for many things, not only for research but also to foster a critical spirit in society, to know how to interpret where the data comes from.

Statistics has existed since ancient civilizations, but the foundations of the modern discipline were laid more than a century ago. What was seen a century ago was the power that the use of mathematical techniques such as probability theory has in data analysis. What happened then is that the data was very scarce. Methods had to be used that would allow the greatest amount of information possible to be obtained with the little data available.

Currently, however, it’s quite the opposite, in some cases we have such enormous amounts of data that we cannot use classical techniques because of how computationally slow it would be to make those calculations. For this reason, flexible techniques are incredibly popular, but they require the use of high-performance computing, so that the data can be analyzed more quickly, which we do by working with our CITIC research colleagues in this area.

And another challenge that we have to face today are the problems of bias in data analysis, that is, ensuring that the sample we use is representative and not partial. In fact, in our group we are now working specifically on this aspect, to eliminate data bias problems.

You mentioned the collaboration that takes place between the different areas of CITIC: AI, Data Science and Engineering, High Performance Computing and Cybersecurity. These are fundamental disciplines for technological progress and the well-being of today’s society.

Yes, CITIC began its activity in 2008 and I joined the centre three years later, which has had a very interesting journey. On the one hand, from a collaborative point of view, by promoting interaction and joint work between IT groups, for example. A work that has allowed us to participate in major projects such as the one recently awarded to us by the National Institute of Statistics.

And not only with other researchers but also with the company. CITIC has a long history as a bridge between science and business and as a competitive platform in international projects. Precisely, partnering with companies allows us to position ourselves in the market.

In fact, one of the priorities of the University must be to strengthen the collaboration of the UDC with companies and administrations. Also encouraging participation at all levels is essential in a globalized world and to open the University’s horizon to internationalization. It is about generating joint research units that allow us to compete on the global stage. Its strategic commitment to unique centres such as CITIC, with ICT professionals highly in demand today, constitutes an excellent driving force.

“CITIC has encouraged collaborative work among researchers, which allows us to participate in major projects”.

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A Coruña, with the headquarters of Aesia or a Cidade das TIC, is very well positioned

Yes, we are certainly very well positioned. On the one hand, a Cidade das TIC is a great project that will promote the interaction between research and business. We will be able to have a space with high-level training, where companies will also be and this will bring important initiatives to the city of A Coruña, which will also be very good for the business community and not only the locally, but at the regional and even state level.

On the other hand, we also have the headquarters of AESIA, the first agency of this type in Europe. The fact of being in A Coruña will allow us to work closely with citizens and also do informative work, while contributing to the regulation of data processing.