In a series of informational spots recorded for the Hispanic Radio Network (HRN), MSD Senior Staff Scientist Miquel Salmerón encourages young Spanish-speaking listeners to pursue a career in the sciences. The series, produced in conjunction with the Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management, is called the "Camino al Futuro" (Road to the Future) and includes the three Salmeron segments: A Great Adventure, Revolutionary Power, and Job Satisfaction. HRN’s network of Spanish language radio stations and newspapers covers 90% of the Hispanic community in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Salmerón, un científico de materiales que trabaja en el famoso Laboratorio Nacional Lawrence Berkeley, en California. La tierra inexplorada de este investigador es el mundo de los átomos, esas invisibles unidades que componen nuestros cuerpos y el resto de la naturaleza. El nos dice lo que le ocurrió mientras miraba por su microscopio.

“Descubrimos casualmente que cuando se pegan dos moléculas entre sí se pone a correr…mucho más rápidamente de lo que uno pudiera haber imaginado y por lo que se sabía como se mueve una molécula.”

El entusiasmo de la ciencia

“La ciencia es una aventura total. Usted se pone en un terreno donde no sabe las respuestas. A veces ni las preguntas sabemos.”

La promesa de nanotecnología

“El hombre va a ser capaz de controlar y fabricar materiales imposibles de diseñar siquiera antes. Es quizás una de las revoluciones más importantes que estamos viviendo hoy en día.” 

Satisfacción profesional

“¡Yo creo que es una tarea fantástica!  A veces haciendo experimentos … la naturaleza responde como ella sabe responder y nos sorprende a todos con nuevos descubrimientos. … Me considero un afortunado que he tenido la suerte de trabajar en un área que me da una libertad enorme para investigar, buscar nuevos descubrimientos, y con ello disfruto muchísimo.”

Consejo para los científicos jóvenes

“Mi recomendación más importante es estudiar lo que a usted realmente le gusta. Lo que … le produce un deseo de aprender más.”

Salmerón, a native of Barcelona, Spain,  has been peering into the secret world of atoms, the basic building blocks of our universe for more than 20 years.  Here he describes what happened one day when he was looking at the element palladium through an extremely powerful microscope, capable of “seeing” atoms.

“We discovered quite by accident that when two molecules stick together they shoot across the surface much faster than one could ever have imagined based on what was previously known about the movement of atoms.”

On the excitement of science

“Science is an absolute adventure. You put yourself in a place where the answers are unknown. Sometimes you don’t even know the questions.”

On the promise of nanotechnology

“Human beings are fast becoming able to control and design materials that were impossible to design before. It’s perhaps one of the most important revolutions of our times.”

Job satisfaction

“I think it’s a fantastic job!  Sometimes during experiments, nature responds the way she knows how and surprises us with new discoveries. I consider myself most fortunate to work in a field that gives me enormous freedom to investigate and make new discoveries. I enjoy this immensely.”

Advice for young scientists