Category: Meta Women @CERN

From time to time, aún arde Madrid en su memoria, as Porretas would sing. Madrid, the capital of the cats and the lighted nights, saw Ana born, enjoyed her teenage years and grew up as a woman.

There she studied engineering in telecommunication technologies and services at the Universidad Politécnica. Also a master’s degree in the same field of expertise, during which she did an Erasmus in Copenhagen, where she remembers being very happy. It was a year full of hygge people and moments. An endless number of unforgettable experiences that she lived accompanied by a bike.

Ana has been living in Geneva for almost two years now. It was a bit of an unusual relationship with CERN that brought her here: she is the Spanish Industrial Liaison Officer (ILO) at CERN. But, what is an ILO? What is their day-to-day life like?

As CERN has many Member States contributing to its budget, CERN tries to repay these contributions in a proportionate manner through different mechanisms, such as contracts with their industries. “We are the link between our country’s industry and CERN’s needs. What we try to do is to get the people at CERN to know the companies in our local regions, what they can do, their capabilities… We facilitate those exchanges”, explains Ana.

As an ILO, she has many meetings at CERN, which means going from one building to another. In pre-pandemic times, when this was possible, Ana used to move around on her faithful bicycle companion. “It was a pleasure, with the views in this area, the mountains, the lake…”.

The nature and the possibility of cycling everywhere is, without a doubt, what she would take with her to Madrid, which is also the capital of traffic jams. But, in addition, it is the capital of missing because it has an enviable social and cultural life. “There are always people, happy people, in the streets, even if it is three o’clock  in the morning”. Ana is a little lacking in that non-stop movida.

When she was a child and asked her parents how to do something (“should I colour this green or blue?”), they always told her, follow your instinct. “To me, that did not sound helpful at all because they were not giving me the solution. But, as I grew up, I realized how that response empowered me to make decisions or deal with difficult situations. It is something I remember very often”.

And that is what Ana will continue to do, to follow her instinct, to trust herself. Here, in Madrid or in any other city, but always close to a bike and higgy people.

Etymologically speaking, Noelia teaches the science of life. She has been a biology and geology high school teacher for almost 15 years. Before that, she did her Ph.D. in immunology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, in early 2005.

Noelia grew up with Carl Sagan’s personal voyage, Cosmos. This TV series left her fascinated by the universe, and our place in it. That passion for science has accompanied her ever since.

Because it is all connected, and because physics and biology are a match, last summer, Noelia had the great opportunity to be part of the CERN Spanish National Teacher Programme. “It is a gift for teachers”, assures Noelia, while she wishes that all major research centers would carry out similar projects.

Noelia talks about this experience like a little girl talks about her birthday presents. The fantasy lasted only one week, but at the end of it, she could understand what people do at CERN and why it is so important, not only for the scientific community, but for us, for society.

Apart from some ideas and activities, the most important learning that Noelia brought from CERN to her students of the IES San Agustín de Guadalix (Madrid, Spain) was the need to make science more attractive and closer to them. On her return, she proposed students in their final year of secondary school to have an extra hour with lab and activities.

It was something completely voluntary because Noelia was aware that not everybody is attracted by science (not everybody has seen Cosmos). But she ended up with a tiny group of five committed teenagers, who did not miss a single lesson. Together they also ventured into the world of podcasting. For Noelia, this has been the most relaxing experience with students.

She always says to them that science is about understanding, not memorizing. They tend to memorize information, but that is far from being a meaningful learning. It hardly solidifies, and on shaky ground nothing can be built.

We are all surrounded by science and especially young people, who have been born and raised in an increasingly technological society. They need science. Noelia thinks that a minimum of scientific culture is essential At least a basic understanding of the subject, a scaffold to create a better knowledge in case we would like to go deeper into specific concepts.

If she looks to the future, she dreams of a better career for Spanish teachers, based on continuous training and in the pursuit of excellence. Also, of a more global learning approach for students and of a reduction of the “sea levels”, since teachers and students are overwhelmed with all the contents they have to teach or learn in about nine months.

Who speaks for Earth? wondered Sagan in his series’ final episode. People like Noelia, capable of transmitting her love for science to her students. A “star stuff” passionately teaching to other “star stuff”.

It was in her early days as a physics student at the University of Valencia (Spain), that she first heard about CERN. Since then, Maite, a former physics teacher born in the Basque Country, has maintained a very special relationship with this huge international lab.

During her university years, Maite met José Bernabeu Alberola, a quantum physics Professor, who became the first Spanish researcher working at the CERN Theoretical Physics division. Under Bernabeu’s assessment, and together with other four classmates, Maite participated in an international conference for students with a paper called: CERN, Physics breaking frontiers. Through it, they wanted to highlight the role of CERN in building peace in Europe, and throughout the world.

The end of Maite’s studies coincided with the birth of the Web by Tim Berners-Lee. She remembers being absolutely fascinated by what CERNies were doing. Many years later, Maite participated in the PopScience poetry 2014, organised by CERN. She was the winner in Spanish. “Only three poems”, she remembers with fun and gratefulness. As a prize, her poems were published under the title, “Niños eternos”, with a prologue by Álvaro de Rújula.

Today, Maite works as a researcher at Ibercivis Foundation, a Spanish private non-profit foundation located in Zaragoza, from which they develop and promote Citizen Science. She likes very much how Francisco Sanz, the current executive director of Ibercivis, sometimes summarizes the definition of this methodology in just three words: People doing science.

Maite is working in her doctoral research at the University of the Basque Country. The topic? It is based on two central ideas: a better understanding and practice of citizen science, together with the vision of scientific knowledge as a common asset.

From her time as a high school teacher, Maite misses teaching physics, being in the classroom with her students and at recess with her mates. Also, the bond with teenagers and their families. It was “smiles and tears” (as the Spanish title of The sound of music), but most of all, smiles.

In her years of teaching Maite had the pleasure of visiting CERN with her students. Four times. And she came back on another special occasion accompanied by one of her physics students, Ana Villanueva, who was one of the winners in a contest organized by CERN together with the Prince of Asturias Foundation.

She used to tell her students: Let’s do everything, not only with the necessary effort, but with enthusiasm! This is a key word for Maite, who recommended her students not to apply it only to nice moments, such as a birthday party or a basketball game. Also when taking an exam. They laughed together because enthusiasm seemed incompatible with that.

Always share knowledge was another of her advice. It is not about giving to be given, it is about cooperation. In the end, scientific research is not carried out in isolation. One must be fair and generous at the same time.

She remembers with special affection a Proffesor of her who said, “Don’t get discouraged”, which in Spanish would be “¡No hay que descorazonarse!”. Do not set aside your hearts, even in difficult times.

The Spanish writer and physicist, Agustín Fernández Mallo, once said that “the attitude of the poet and the scientist is the same: to redefine what we thought was stable and closed”. Maite, who totally agrees with him, would even add the philosophers. In her opinion, every one of us has a bit of a scientist, a poet and a philosopher. We are obliged to rethink those issues that seem to be closed. For her, that is science. And that is life.

She wishes the general culture to grow. Also, to foster education and non-formal education, so that anyone can access it. Maite is convinced that knowledge calls for knowledge, and culture does not only live in museums and academies like Plato’s.

Culture is in the street, where Maite can learn from the fruit seller about agriculture, market prices, thermodynamics or the Generation of ‘27. Again, people sharing knowledge.

During her university years, Maite met José Bernabeu Alberola, a quantum physics Professor, who became the first Spanish researcher working at the CERN Theoretical Physics division. Under Bernabeu’s assessment, and together with other four classmates, Maite participated in an international conference for students with a paper called: CERN, Physics breaking frontiers. Through it, they wanted to highlight the role of CERN in building peace in Europe, and throughout the world.

The end of Maite’s studies coincided with the birth of the Web by Tim Berners-Lee. She remembers being absolutely fascinated by what CERNies were doing. Many years later, Maite participated in the PopScience poetry 2014, organised by CERN. She was the winner in Spanish. “Only three poems”, she remembers with fun and gratefulness. As a prize, her poems were published under the title, “Niños eternos”, with a prologue by Álvaro de Rújula.

Today, Maite works as a researcher at Ibercivis Foundation, a Spanish private non-profit foundation located in Zaragoza, from which they develop and promote Citizen Science. She likes very much how Francisco Sanz, the current executive director of Ibercivis, sometimes summarizes the definition of this methodology in just three words: People doing science.

Maite is working in her doctoral research at the University of the Basque Country. The topic? It is based on two central ideas: a better understanding and practice of citizen science, together with the vision of scientific knowledge as a common asset.

From her time as a high school teacher, Maite misses teaching physics, being in the classroom with her students and at recess with her mates. Also, the bond with teenagers and their families. It was “smiles and tears” (as the Spanish title of The sound of music), but most of all, smiles.

In her years of teaching Maite had the pleasure of visiting CERN with her students. Four times. And she came back on another special occasion accompanied by one of her physics students, Ana Villanueva, who was one of the winners in a contest organized by CERN together with the Prince of Asturias Foundation.

She used to tell her students: Let’s do everything, not only with the necessary effort, but with enthusiasm! This is a key word for Maite, who recommended her students not to apply it only to nice moments, such as a birthday party or a basketball game. Also when taking an exam. They laughed together because enthusiasm seemed incompatible with that.

Always share knowledge was another of her advice. It is not about giving to be given, it is about cooperation. In the end, scientific research is not carried out in isolation. One must be fair and generous at the same time.

She remembers with special affection a Proffesor of her who said, “Don’t get discouraged”, which in Spanish would be “¡No hay que descorazonarse!”. Do not set aside your hearts, even in difficult times.

The Spanish writer and physicist, Agustín Fernández Mallo, once said that “the attitude of the poet and the scientist is the same: to redefine what we thought was stable and closed”. Maite, who totally agrees with him, would even add the philosophers. In her opinion, every one of us has a bit of a scientist, a poet and a philosopher. We are obliged to rethink those issues that seem to be closed. For her, that is science. And that is life.

She wishes the general culture to grow. Also, to foster education and non-formal education, so that anyone can access it. Maite is convinced that knowledge calls for knowledge, and culture does not only live in museums and academies like Plato’s.

Culture is in the street, where Maite can learn from the fruit seller about agriculture, market prices, thermodynamics or the Generation of ‘27. Again, people sharing knowledge.