Ignacio Funes, PhD student in the Maseras group, won the first prize of the “Vols saber què investigo?” (Want to know what I’m investigating?) contest organized by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). The contest was held at Teatre Bartrina (Reus) and it counted with the participation of six other contestants. Ignacio did not only win the jury’s 1^st Prize (€700) but he also received the audience’s 1^st Prize.

Ignacio delivered a 5-minute monologue entitled “Rompamos el agua” (Let’s split water”) to enlighten the audience about the importance of catalysts to split the water into oxygen and hydrogen and then use the H₂ as a fuel.

After his monologue the jury complimented him: “You have no shame” and “If you were a better reggaeton dancer you would get extra points!.” What was clear is that Ignacio  honoured his surname.

“Vols saber què investigo?” is a contest addressed to PhD students to explain to people which research are they carrying out in a briefly and pleasant way, adapting language to the public and using only personal communication skills, without the support of a power point or any other presentation tool. This contest aims at encouraging researchers to disseminate the results of their work to the general public.