Tuesday, July 25, 2023
This summer one of our researchers at INAM, Dr. Camilo A. Mesa, participated in the outreach activity From natural to artificial photosynthesis: the search of new fuels, a summer camp that took place in the Spanish Pyrenees. During two weeks, Camilo, leading a team of the researchers: Carolina, Laia, Lorenzo and Michael, from INAM, UAB, Cambridge, Stanford Universities, took inspiration from the natural photosynthesis at MonNatura Pirineus national park to teach a group of 10 students about artificial photosynthesis as part of the Young and science program organized and funded by the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera. This program aims to boost the scientific potential of gifted students in their 4th year secondary school (ESO), bringing talented students together with researchers from some of the best institutions in the world immersed in the serenity and beauty of the Pyrenees.
The course, including both theoretical and practical lessons, involved learning some fundamentals of the chemistry, electrochemistry, photocatalysis, physics and engineering around solar energy harvesting, transformation and conversion to green fuels. The students carried out practices such as building a spectrophotometer, water splitting reactions, synthesis of catalysts and dyes to prepare dye-synthesized solar cells (DSSC), highlighting the successful activity Women and underrepresented groups in science in which they discussed about unconscious bias and inequality of opportunities from past times to the present.
