Science, training, and collaboration in Nanomer
Nanomer Workshop in Lyon: a space for advanced training
We held a new edition of the Nanomer Workshop in Lyon, an event designed to strengthen specialized training and scientific exchange in materials and nanotechnology. Students participated both in person and virtually, including a connection with Universitat Jaume I, reaffirming the international dimension of the program.
This academic space contributes to capacity building, inter-institutional collaboration, and the consolidation of the Nanomer community.
Nanomer students: Faviola Pino (Bolivia), RocĂo Marcoleta (Chile), Sebastián Zangoni (Argentina), Cecilia Jandar (Argentina), and Michael Zuarez (Ecuador, currently completing a thesis stay in Argentina).
With the participation of Ana Descalzo (UCM, Madrid), Xavier CattoĂ«n (UGA, Grenoble), and BelĂ©n Albela (ENS de Lyon); and online, Galo Soler-Illia (UNSAM), MarĂa Luz MartĂnez-Ricci and Sara Bilmes (UBA), as well as Beatriz Julián and Michael Zuarez (UJI).
Voices of the Nanomer Community
Belén Albela, Nanomer Project Coordinator, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon
The Nanomer project emerged from a profound experience at the NanoAndes School 2022 held at UTPL in Loja, Ecuador, where I first connected with the NanoAndes network. The brilliance and dedication of the professors and researchers—committed to shaping the future of Latin American scientists in nanoscience—inspired me to lead this transformative initiative.
Our mission goes beyond scientific education. We strive to empower students by cultivating essential skills such as communication, critical thinking, and teamwork, which are key to their personal and professional growth. Through innovative programs, including research stays in Spain and France for students and advanced pedagogical training for educators, we aim to foster excellence. These efforts will materialize in summer schools in Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador, uniting our shared vision of progress.
Ximena Jaramillo, Universidad TĂ©cnica Particular de Loja
At Nanomer, we firmly believe that science is built collectively and collaboratively. Our commitment is to create a space for training and international cooperation that connects Europe and Latin America around the field of nanosciences. We are inspired by the opportunity to support young researchers in developing their talent, providing them with high-quality scientific tools while also strengthening transversal skills such as communication, critical thinking, innovation, and collaborative work.
As a team, we share the vision that research is not limited to the laboratory: it is also about building strong human networks, fostering mutual trust, and opening pathways to transformative experiences. We are convinced that Nanomer is more than a project—it is a community committed to training new generations of scientists and to building sustainable bridges between continents, institutions, and people.
Galo Soler, Universidad Nacional de San Martin
NANOMER is an exciting project. It aims to create a platform that deepens our understanding of how to teach nanosciences through interdisciplinarity, and how to build new cooperation networks between Latin America and Europe. I am responsible for coordinating the research projects of young Latin American talents in European universities. Building a community in which educators, scientists, students, and institutions work in a coordinated way toward this shared goal is a major challenge.
César Costa, Escuela Politécnica Nacional
As coordinator of the NanoAndes Network, a constant concern has been the growth of the network and the funding of the annual NanoAndes Schools. Another key priority has been to substantially improve the quality of teaching in nanosciences and nanotechnology across the region. The NANOMER project is the ideal opportunity to achieve these goals. This has motivated my strong commitment to this project, which is so important for the NanoAndes Network.
We continue to build a network for pedagogical innovation in nanosciences. Stay connected to learn more about resources, calls, and results.
MarĂa Luz Martinez Ricii, Universidad de Buenos Aires
Nanomer is much more than an international collaboration. It is a community born from a self-organized network of researchers who share common values and goals. Europe and Latin America come together through a shared passion for understanding, creating, and disseminating knowledge in nanoscience. Nanomer represents the collective construction of knowledge, where scientific cultures, ways of thinking, and research approaches converge toward a common purpose: building a more open, inclusive, and transformative science.
We believe that doing science is not only about laboratory practice, but also about fostering critical thinking, fluent communication, and collaborative work. It involves guiding new generations in their training, encouraging curiosity for discovery, and cultivating a strong sense of responsibility in scientific practice. The Nanomer team considers it essential to continue strengthening emerging networks of young scientists in nanoscience.
Sara Aldabe Bilmes, Universidad de Buenos Aires
For me, Nanomer is a wonderful space — it is about doing and sharing good science collectively, from Tierra del Fuego to the RĂo Grande. We speak the same language and we strengthen one another to advance high-quality science and technology. Through this collaboration, I believe we are all contributing our grain of sand so that more and more young people can do excellent science without losing their identity.
Share your voice in the next edition of the Nanomer Newsletter
Nanomer is a network that grows thanks to the experiences, perspectives, and contributions of its members. If you would like to share your vision of the community, reflect on your participation, describe a formative experience, or highlight the impact of the project on your trajectory, we invite you to be an active part of the upcoming editions.
Send us your testimony, idea, or contribution to: ccpena@utpl.edu.ec
Your voice also shapes Nanomer. Together, we continue to advance science, training, and collaboration in nanosciences.
