Maria L. Calvo

Maria L. Calvo Professor of Optics, Department of Optics, Faculty of Physics, Complutense University of Madrid Country of Origin: Spain Left to right: Jose Rodrigo, Tatiana Alieva, Oscar Martinez, Pavel Cheben, and Maria Calvo

After 35 years of professional activity, if one wants to search for the most interesting part of our work, one as to go back and forth in time, to compare the various periods of our profession, But these periods cannot be seen as separate parts of our life and are necessarily interlaced, At the beginning, I needed to fight because there was no label, no figure of merit for a young Spanish woman trying to develop her ideas in science, in laboratories outside of Spain where I was just learning the basics, But I did not become discouraged because I like my job quite a lot. Perhaps today I am profiting from the acquired experience. I am enjoying my work in the laboratory,m and we are working in a quite creative atmosphere. My collaborators and I are happily contributing to the world of science.