With the Research Projects Awards in Chemistry for high school students, the SCQ wants to contribute to the promotion of the experimental work in secondary schools, and especially, in the chemistry area. Experiments are a fundamental in the students learning process and contribute to achieve a high educational quality. 

One of the finalists was Arnau Garcia Labaila, from the Institut Creu de Saba (Olesa de Montserrat), who did his high-school research project on nanomedicine to fight cancer (the title of the project was “Nanomedicina: un (r)evolucionari camí per combatre el càncer” (Nanomedicine: a (r)evolutionary way to fight cancer). The same project also won a prize at the Universitat de Vic contest "Osona against Cancer Awards". 

Dr. Mar Abad Merino, who was one of the first PhD fellows of the ICMAB, supervised the project. Mar Abad is one of the first PhD fellows from the ICMAB: she carried out her research thesis entitled "Carboranildifosfinas como agentes complejantes", based on the chemistry of boron, with Prof. Francesc Teixidor at the Inorganic Materials and Catalysis Laboratory (LMI) between 1991 and 1995.

Now, she is a high-school teacher at the Institut Creu de Saba d’Olesa de Montserrat, and she is passing her knowledge on boran-based chemistry for nanomedicine to her students. 

The prize for the awardees (First Prize and Finalists) is a research stay in a research center or university. However, this year, with the pandemic, the research stays will not be possible. Unfortunately, Arnau Garcia will not come to the ICMAB for a research stay, although we do invite him to visit our installations whenever he wishes.

The SCQ also rewards the high-schools of the First Prize awardees with laboratory material. This year, the winners were from the Institut Auro (Santpedor) and the Institut El Cairat (Esparreguera

The Inorganic Materials and Catalysis Lab, with Prof. Francesc Teixidor and Prof. Clara Viñas in front, would like to congratulate Mar for her great achievements and for her great job, and Arnau for the two awards. Congratulations!

Cover Figure: Arnau Garcia, Gregori Ujaque (President of the SCQ), and Mar Abad, during the awards ceremony of the SCQ at the IEC.

More information:

• Watch here the photo gallery of the event (Christian Ribas/IEC)
• List with the 25 finalists of the high-school awarded projects
• 14a edició dels Premis als Treballs de Recerca de Batxillerat dins l’Àmbit de la Química (SCQ) 
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