"The atom is very playful, sometimes we also get to make some case"
I am very happy. It is an important recognition for both me and the work team and the UPV/EHU Faculty of Science and Technology.
Nothing has changed me every day. But I am very happy because it is a recognition of the work done and a hard trajectory. And when we got here there was nothing. The prize has excited me and fulfilled.
We had a very close relationship with the students, since at that time they were very small groups. Everything was to be done: we wrote the notes on the machine and then made photocopies... I remember it was cold: we brought the house heating so that our eight students would not go cold. But at the same time it was very enriching. I have always had a very good relationship with the students, now it is. I have always had very involved students. Now, many of them are directors of companies, institutes... I think we have done a good job.
We work with materials of multiple uses with energy and environmental applications, with energy exchange materials. We do basic science: we are on the first step of the long road that has to go to think, create a product and reach society. And that's what we're working on, in border research.
Yes, we always look for an application. Funding now reaches a proven and useful evaluable product. The money invested by society in research must be returned increased. And we try. We first designed the material and then analyzed the characteristics and possible applications. Later, others continue to work with this possible product.
A university professor has to work on teaching, research, innovation, management and, subsequently, the dissemination of knowledge in society. In 2002 I was offered to design and start working at the university general research services. Although some groups already existed, the aim was to unify and strengthen research services. We presented ourselves to the call of the Ministry and got sixteen technicians. That was the embryo of general services.
We have 23 service units and all those responsible are doctors, specialists in your area. They teach researchers how to use technical infrastructures. Therefore, the technician who will accompany the researcher in the research is, in turn, doctor, so he will immerse himself in the research with great knowledge. We are very happy because everything works very well. We also provide many training courses, all under quality certification. We want a good level and quality, as all data must be checked.
Yes. The key is to organize your head well. I don't have a time for research and another time for management; I organize the day according to needs. And I have a team that responds well. Only in life can do nothing: you have to be good and creative people around, and above all know how to get the best of each person.
Everything is to be investigated. It is very important how atoms are ordered in materials. I'm going to give you an example: graphite, diamond, fullerene, graphene... all are composed of carbon atoms but with a different distribution. Be it the cubic or hexagonal distribution of carbon, you will have diamond or graphite, that is, you will have a gem or the pain of the pencil. And in this sense, much remains to be investigated. Now we have to encourage young people, that is our duty and our illusion.
The atom is very playful. And that is enriching. Atoms and materials do what they want, not what you want. You try to get some features and sometimes they will attend to you, but others don't want to know anything about you. But well, in the end we also managed to make some case and we got the electrical, optical, chemical characteristics... we want.
According to studies conducted in recent years, there are three main blocks. On the one hand is graphene. On the other hand, there are metal-organic structures of multiple uses, in which we are working. Finally, scaffolds are molecular structures that serve implants and tissues.
We have very good teams and that helps us a lot. The most advanced areas in recent years are computer detection and calculation. This is very important, for example, for DNA analysis. It helps us analyze thousands of data and goes very well. We can go so far…! But we will always have travel materials.
We have very prepared and very creative young people. They will have to know how to face the challenges, but with effort and passion, and with the collaboration between different disciplines… it is unthinkable how far we can get. We will be able to create very small devices of multiple applications and functions.
Thank you very much for not asking for your status as a woman. Journalists ask me many times about the career path and the status of woman, but I think it is something I should have overcome.
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