CREAF Talk with Víctor García Font - "Blockchain: The key to save or destroy the Planet?"

TITLE: "Blockchain: The key to save or destroy the Planet?"

DATE: Thursday, 6th February 2025.

TIME & FORMAT: form 12 to 1pm CET - In-person and online.

Seminars will combine in-person and online formats (CREAF, Sala Graus II, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain) but in all cases, talks will be always streamed (not recorded), so they can be followed online.

HOW TO CONNECT: direct link to Víctor Garcia's conference.

SUMMARY OF THE WORKSHOP:

This seminar explores whether blockchain technology could be the key to saving or destroying the planet, examining its potential to drive both innovation and impact. Aimed at non-technical audiences, it provides an accessible introduction to how blockchain works, demystifying its complexities while addressing concerns such as its energy consumption and what “a lot” of energy truly means. The discussion also highlights meaningful applications where blockchain is being used for positive change. Yet to be decided, some possible applications to discuss are carbon-credit marketplaces to support reforestation, food-chain traceability to promote sustainable production, and systems that turn plastic waste into valuable currency. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Víctor Garcia Font graduated from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) as a computer engineer in 2005. He started his professional career working at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) as a software developer. Afterwards, he worked as a research assistant developing environmental information systems for several years at CREAF. In 2014, he started an industrial doctorate thesis focusing on information security.  At the beginning of 2017 he presented his doctoral thesis at  Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) about anomaly detection in smart city wireless sensor networks. Currently, he is a full-time associate professor at the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications at UOC, and an assistant professor at UAB.  He mainly gives lectures on information security and blockchain. Moreover, he is a member of the K-riptography and Information Security for Open Networks (KISON) research group. His current research interests are focused on blockchain, machine learning, and smart cities.