Elena Pinilla Cienfuegos is a physicist and a doctor in nanoscience and nanotechnology. He develops his research area in the design, characterization and manufacture of nanophotonic devices, integrated with new nanomaterials, to make them smaller, more robust and efficient and more respectful with the environment. “I dedicate myself to research because, since I was little, I have always liked trying to know how things work inside, how nature works”, explains this passionate scientist with her work. “ Although physics is not a career that many girls study, it was always clear to me. Then, as I was studying, I realized that I could continue working to find out more, so I decided to start a research career ”.
Being a woman in a man’s world
Elena is vice president of the Royal Spanish Physical Society and an expert in the Girls4STEM initiative to promote the visibility of women in science. In addition, he has participated in television programs and in major science outreach events such as Pint of Science and TEDx.
“What I have discovered throughout my research career is that, although I did not mind belonging to a field in which the presence of women is a minority, there are certain obstacles along the way”, she tells us. “ I have realized that education is very important. If there are no female references, we will never be able to break stereotypes … and stereotypes also influence when choosing our future. The question is: do we really choose freely? Or maybe we don’t see girls who do certain kinds of things that we could do too? “, He reflects.
Elena Pinilla has been one of the winners in the first edition of the Very Young Scientists Awards, promoted by Muy Interesante to give more visibility to the work of researchers in areas where the presence of women is usually a minority. The awards ceremony took place at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao on December 14, 2019, coinciding with the celebration of the Homo Curiosus scientific dissemination event. Nominees for the awards, aged up to 45, were selected for their work in the so-called STEM areas (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
“Receiving such an award, apart from being very gratifying on a personal level, is also important because it makes visible real and current women who do science,” explains the researcher. “ You can see that we do it well, and that we really like our work. And so we can encourage girls and young people to follow this path ”, he concludes.
