Alfonso Fernández González, University of Oviedo
One night, I dreamed of being a researcher, and today I’m…
At school, when I first studied chemistry, I found it fascinating that somebody could guess what new substance would appear when mixing others. In fact, the Big Question I had always asked myself was: Did chemists always knew the result of mixing two things? I remember asking this very question to my older brother, who was an engineering student back then, but far from answering me, I only managed him to wonder the same thing. So, I concluded that the best way to get the answer was to become a chemist myself…
By studying chemistry, I realized that the question could not be easily answered with a yes or a no, and I also learned lots of other things. Amongst them, that chemistry is with us at every second of our lives. Even the simple act of breathing is nothing but a marvellous chain of chemical reactions. Sadly, I learned as well that society fears Chemistry, considering it ‘unnatural’, ‘toxic’, and ‘polluting’; without realizing that the key to solving both pollution and health problems lays, precisely, in the hands of chemistry. That is why I wanted to do my bit by contributing in science popularization, so everyone can let go of their fears, and appreciate it as the Science of Solutions, not of problems.
Alfonso Fernández González
Dpto. Química Física y Analítica, Facultad de Química, University of Oviedo
Contact data: fernandezgalfonso@uniovi.es
COMPARTE EN TUS REDES SOCIALES CON EL HASHTAG #NIGHTSPAIN