What did you study? And what has your professional journey been like so far?

I studied Physics at the University of Barcelona. Afterwards, I moved to Bilbao to complete a Master's degree in Quantum Science and Technology. During that time, it became very clear to me that, while I wanted to understand physics, I was increasingly interested in doing so from a historical and philosophical perspective—understanding how scientific concepts are formed and developed.

That led me to the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, where I completed a PhD in the History of Science.

Could you tell us a bit more about your PhD?

Of course. It's actually quite fitting that I'm here now, because my research focused on the history of solid-state physics from roughly the 1950s through the 1970s. That's one of the disciplines represented here, and it's closely connected to Materials Science and Condensed Matter Physics.

People are sometimes surprised because the history of these fields is still relatively underrepresented within the History of Science. Historians often focus on areas that are considered more "fundamental," such as Particle Physics, Cosmology, or Relativity.

However, I found that Materials Science and Solid-State Physics raise fascinating historical and philosophical questions that really captured my interest.

Let's talk about your work at ICMAB. You're the Institute's first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer. What attracted you to this position?

First of all, the fact that this role even existed immediately caught my attention. I had seen similar positions starting to appear when browsing for jobs, but I hadn't yet come across a scientific research centre in Spain that had created such a role. I found that very exciting because it's exactly the kind of work I wanted to do.

Secondly, I was also drawn by the fact that ICMAB conducts research in the very field I had been studying from a historical perspective during my PhD.

And what interests you most about doing this job specifically at ICMAB?

In a way, it's like moving from studying the history of a scientific discipline to working at a centre that's helping shape its future. During my PhD I was looking at the past of Materials Science, whereas now I'm at a leading European research centre that's at the forefront of the field. It's almost like making a complete 180-degree turn, and I find that really exciting.

You've now been at ICMAB for a couple of months. What has surprised you the most since you arrived?

First of all, the size of the Institute. It's much larger than I expected.

At the same time, there's an incredible diversity of research projects, disciplines, subdisciplines, expertise and techniques. Yet despite all that diversity, there's a strong sense of cohesion around the study of materials, which gives the Institute a very distinctive identity. I really appreciate that.

Another thing that surprised me is what seems to be a long-standing tradition of strong female leadership. As far as I understand, this has been a characteristic of the Institute almost since its foundation. I get the impression that this has contributed to creating a very open, inclusive and collaborative environment. From the conversations I've had over the past few weeks, I think many people here feel the same way and really value it.

One of your main responsibilities will be implementing the Equality Plan, the 3i Plan. It's a comprehensive and ambitious plan. What do you think of it? Is it realistic?

I think it is realistic, provided we give it enough time. That's also why I'm here: to have someone dedicated to following up on the implementation of the plan. As you said, it's a very comprehensive document, but it's also been extremely useful for helping me understand ICMAB's current situation in terms of equality.

The plan includes very concrete measures covering communication, gender balance, data monitoring, talent attraction and many other areas. What it needs now is someone to ensure that these measures are actually implemented and followed through.

Like any living document, it will evolve over time. It should remain open to incorporating new measures whenever necessary so that it reflects the full diversity of the Institute and addresses all the different dimensions of diversity that exist within ICMAB.

The next two questions are a bit more theoretical. How can a gender perspective be integrated into research?

That's a complex question. I think the first thing to do is distinguish between applying a gender perspective to research itself and ensuring diversity within research teams. Both are extremely important, and the 3i Plan addresses the latter by promoting the recruitment and retention of women and other underrepresented groups in STEM.

However, integrating sex and gender analysis into research means understanding how these categories influence the scientific process itself—from the very beginning. It affects the research questions we ask, the hypotheses we formulate, the methodologies we choose, the samples we select, the way we collect data, how we interpret our results and even the societal impact of our work.

People often assume this only applies to health sciences, where the relevance is perhaps more obvious. But even in Materials Science there are many ways to incorporate these perspectives.

For example, we can think about where the materials we use actually come from. The extraction of materials such as lithium involves complex social, political and economic dimensions that affect different communities in different ways, including through gender.

We can also consider the impact of the technologies developed here. If we're working on batteries that consume less energy, we should also think about energy poverty and how its effects differ depending on gender, place of residence or socioeconomic background.

There are countless ways of integrating these perspectives into research.

That brings us nicely to the final question. This is no longer just about gender, but about intersectionality.

Exactly. There's actually a common thread connecting many of the things I've studied, from the history of solid-state physics and Materials Science to the way scientific knowledge itself is constructed. It's the idea of emergence.

Whether we're talking about a material, a society or a scientific institution, their defining properties are not simply the sum of the properties of their individual components.

I think intersectionality works in much the same way. The experiences of someone who belongs to multiple social groups cannot be understood by simply adding those identities together and considering each one separately.

Take, for example, an international researcher who is a woman, belongs to the LGBTQ+ community and has a disability. The important question is not how each of these characteristics affects her independently, but how their combination shapes her particular experience.

For me, intersectionality is about understanding the experiences that emerge from the interaction of multiple identities.

Here at ICMAB we have tremendous diversity in terms of culture, language, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, social background and disability. The real challenge is not to look at each of these dimensions separately, but to understand how they interact and to build an environment that truly embraces that complexity.

Best of lucks, Núria!