A man from Tenerife has been invited to the largest Physics laboratory in the world. Is Diego Molowny Gonzalezwho at 18 years old is the only one selected from Spain to attend the CERN-Solvay Study Program campus in Switzerland. The camp is organized by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the scientific enterprise Solvay. The first-year student of the degree Mechanical Engineering University of La Laguna (ULL) is already in the CERN laboratory, a model of international scientific collaboration and one of the most important research centers in the world, the heart of the study of particle energy.
«I did not expect at all to be the only Spaniard selected», says Diego Molowny in an interview prior to his departure to Switzerland. «When he was younger he had no idea how far he could go. My idea was to go to this laboratory as a visitor one day, but it seemed impossible. It was always a dream and now that it has come true I am very happy,” explains the Chicharrero university student.
The main objective of the experience, which will run until next Sunday, is for the invited students to spend a full week at the CERN facilities to encourage and develop their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Likewise, Diego and the rest of those selected visit the experimental teams and participate in talks, classes, projects and recreational activities. «I have seen many videos of visits to CERN. “I can’t wait any longer,” he says.
Among the best scientists
The satisfaction that this young man feels at being able to be in this super laboratory is no wonder. It was founded in 1954 in Geneva and is supported by 22 European member states. Some 12,000 scientists from more than 70 countries and 120 different nationalities come to CERN for their research in order to build international cooperation models to increase knowledge about the universe, preparing, executing, analyzing and interpreting data from complex scientific experiments. Spain joined the center in 1961, and left it eight years later for financial reasons until its return in 1983, which marked the beginning of a notable research period in particle physics.
Molowny was selected from more than 600 students of 60 nationalities
Apart from CERN, the other entity in charge of running the campus is Solvay. This scientific company creates technologies that bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. The group wants to follow sustainable shared values around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and promoting a better life. Innovative solutions help create safer, cleaner and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, as well as airplanes, cars, batteries, smart devices, healthcare applications and air and water purification systems.
It was not easy for Diego Molowny to get this place. The camp launched a form in which more than 600 students of 60 different nationalities participated. Among all of them, CERN selected 30. Diego Molowny managed to enter that limited list as the only Spaniard. «I didn’t believe it. A couple of years ago he was a tadpole of Canary Islands and now I am the only Spaniard who has been offered this important opportunity. Little by little, thanks to my willingness to study and inform myself at home, I have been adding grains of sand that have become a mountain. “I still can’t believe it,” says the man from Tenerife.
Among those 30 lucky people who are already living a unique experience there are young people from almost all over the world. Diego confirms that “there are people from all over the planet, from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Morocco, Australia, Finland and Norway to Pakistan and India.” «I’ve been talking to my new colleagues for a week. “It is incredible to be able to meet people who have the same taste for science as I do,” he says in an interview conducted just a few days after he left this weekend for Geneva at the TEA in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
How did he get it
To access the registration, Diego had to fill out a questionnaire about his main motivations and tastes. Also, the institute where he attended high school (Colegio Hispano Inglés) had to send a letter of recommendation for the student. Finally, a document with the latest academic qualifications and a one-minute video in English, in which he had to explain what his ideal job would be in the future. The ULL mechanical engineering student points out that he applied for the campus position thanks to a professor who told him about this option. «My high school Physics teacher told me. “He knows I love this whole world and I filled out the form thanks to him.”
The young man is already at CERN in Geneva, where top international scientists pass
Math Olympics
Diego studied at the Spanish-English school until high school. During his training stage, he participated in the 2019 Mathematics Olympiad, in which he was a finalist in the Canary Islands 12. He then failed to advance to the next round of the national phase. A year ago, before entering the Mechanical Engineering degree at ULL, he prepared for the Physics Olympiad in Lugo. In the selection tests held on the Island he placed second and 56th in the national competition, where he received an honorable mention. “I was very excited to move on to the international phase, but of everything that has happened to me in the academic field, the visit to CERN is the most important,” says Diego Molowny.
His enthusiasm for the world of science goes back a long way. A story that she remembers with “a lot of nostalgia,” since it was the summer she turned 10. «My parents and my brother and I started playing with a basin full of water. We took all the Legos we had and built some boats to see if they would float. It turned out that they all sank or remained face down. Then I got angry and asked my father why this was happening. He explained to me that it is based on Archimedes’ theorem, a principle of Physics. “He built one and made it stay stable like a real boat.” From that moment on, Diego delved more and more into Physics. He was informed through scientific dissemination videos on the Internet in both English and Spanish, through books or he asked his teachers after discovering a world that he was passionate about.
Doubts about the future
Diego had doubts when choosing his future at university. He had a hard time deciding between a degree in Physics or Mechanical Engineering. «There was a moment when I doubted. I did not choose Physics because I deduced that Mechanical Engineering has more opportunities. In both careers Physics is applied in general, which is what I love, but Engineering is more practical and I can get a better job future.
The young chicharrero admits that Spain is “very weak” in investigation: “We have to go to another country”
His next objective upon returning from this experience in Switzerland will be to finish his degree and begin a master’s degree in renewable energy production specialized in nuclear reactors or trains. The young man from Tenerife details that above all he would like to focus on a sustainable, low-emission public transport method, “because you transport many people without emissions.” “And if it also produces energy through nuclear reactors or renewable energy, then even better,” he details.
Diego has a clear destination that he would love to reach. “My ideal job in the future is to go to Japan to work on a new project called Maglev 0.” It is a train that will travel at more than 500 kilometers per hour and is scheduled for 2040. “It will catch me in the middle of my professional career,” he says while adding that during his degree at the ULL he is going to study Japanese to have good command of the language.
The Maglev 0, also known as the Shinkansen L0, currently holds the world speed record for a train, reaching a speed of 600 kilometers per hour. The train is already designed but open to modifications, especially in “the special rails it has that will take more time.” In addition, it will reduce the current three hours between the country’s two largest cities to one hour and seven minutes. Tokyo, being one of the largest cities in the world and having the largest subway network, is the main option for Tenerife residents. “There is a very large development of trains and other methods of transportation.”
He studied at the Hispano Inglés school and is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at the ULL
Regarding the research situation in Spain, Diego Molowny emphasizes that he sees it as “very weak” compared to other European countries such as Switzerland, France or the United Kingdom. The problem, in his opinion, is that “new researchers are not promoted, quite the opposite.” “Every time they put up more barriers and impediments so that no one can develop a research project.” For this reason, almost all researchers usually travel to other countries in search of a better work future and an environment more inclined to science.
We have to leave Spain
The situation in the Canary Islands follows “the same line”, according to the Mechanical Engineering student, as the Peninsula: “If someone wants to have a future in science and research, they have to go to other countries that provide more opportunities to research projects. “The most important thing is to learn English, because the world of science is in that language,” he explains, concluding: “Important research has been done in the Canary Islands. I remember research on ocean alkalization, an experiment to reduce the pH in the oceans against climate change that was very interesting. Otherwise I have heard very little in the Canary Islands that has interested me.