University of Barcelona professor Adriana Isabel Figueroa receives the L’Oréal-UNESCO for women in science award

Adriana I. Figueroa, a member of the UB’s Department of Condensed Matter Physics, received the award for her research on “Magnetic effects at the interface of heterostructures with 2D materials (iMAG2D)”, a line of work that aims to study the fundamental properties of 2D material layers and their interfaces.

“Two-dimensional (2D) materials have far superior properties to conventional materials. We hope that this research will make it possible to manufacture devices that work more efficiently, i.e. that consume less power, are faster, lighter and have a longer service life thanks to less heat dissipation”, says Adriana I. Figueroa.

Figueroa holds a degree in Physics Engineering from the University of Cauca (Colombia) and a PhD in Physics from the University of Zaragoza. After obtaining a postdoc in the UK focused on the search for new quantum materials — such as topological insulators — she currently combines her teaching activity at the UB with research on multifunctional nanostructures.

Women and science: challenges and expectations

Professor Figueroa believes that one of the most important challenges for women scientists is to be able to reconcile their professional and personal lives: “Women are still considered the person who has to take care of these tasks, and the fact that they decide to devote themselves to these tasks has a significant impact on their scientific careers”, she explains.

However, she believes that the situation has changed a lot and that it is easier to be a scientist now than it was 50 years ago: “We have more opportunities and more visibility, but we still need to improve in many aspects to achieve true equality in our field”, she says.

“The problem of the lack of representation of young women in science lies in the lack of role models in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers”, says the researcher. “More initiatives are needed to create role models for women in science so that all girls and boys can see from a very early age that women also do science and contribute to research”. “We need to break down stereotypes about the kind of careers and professions that men and women pursue, — she adds — so that both girls and boys are not surprised to see women in STEM professions and girls are not discouraged from wanting to study and pursue this kind of academic orientation”.

Boosting women’s leadership in science

Created in 1998, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme is present in more than 110 countries, and has helped to recognize the research work of more than 4,100 women scientists, including Margarita Salas and Ángela Nieto, as well as Katalin Karikó and Anne L’Huillier, who in 2023 will receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Physics, respectively.

The national version of the awards honours the most innovative research by women scientists under the age of 40 throughout the country, and has boosted the careers of more than 87 women researchers who have received grants worth more than 1.3 million euros. This year, the new edition of the L’Oréal-UNESCO awards also honoured Maria Godoy (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), Paula Mayorga-Burrezo (CSIC Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona), Vanesa Guerrero (Carlos III University) and María Moreno (IFIC, CSIC-University of Valencia).