On 13 December 2018 it was the turn for Andrés Gómez, technician and responsible of the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) lab, who went to a class full of students from 1st BTX of the secondary school INS Castellar (Castellar del Vallès) to explain them the research in nanomaterials, specially, about their characterization using AFM.

"Not all microscopies work with the "eyes"! The AFM is like a finger that touches the materials. What type of properties do you think we can see by touching the materials? Rugosity, tempearture, magnetic properties, hardness..." says Andrés Gómez to the students.

During 2018, 12 schools have benefited from the programme "A researcher in your classroom". This ICMAB initiative, which started eight years ago and received the Outreach Project Award of the E-MRS Spring Meeting in 2014, brings every year many volunteer researchers to the classrooms of different centers, and become for one day "ambassadors of the nanoscience and nanotechnology" for the young ones.

The initiative aims at approaching the new materials to the students, but also to encourage scientific vocations, break the walls between the school classrooms and the research centers, and let the researchers meet the future generations of scientists. It is both a gratifying experience for students, teachers and researchers.