ChEESE proudly announces that two female researchers will present their work in the lightning talk session of the Women in HPC Workshop at SC20 on 11 November 2020. Get to know them! In these interviews Marisol Monterrubio-Velasco and Beatriz Martinez Montesinos introduce themselves and their work and share what being a woman in HPC means for them.
Marisol Monterrubio-Velasco
Postdoctoral researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center
What is your motivation for pursuing your research?
I love the creativity involved in research. In my area, I study earthquake behavior, so for me it is a great pleasure to try to understand why this natural phenomenon occurs. Moreover, my research area has a direct impact on society so I feel that it is useful for the general community.
What would you have done if you were not a researcher?
Maybe a high performance athlete.
Have you encountered any challenges as a woman in pursuing your research career?
Yes, a little bit. This work is highly competitive, so as a woman who has decided to be a mother, I find that you need to not just run but fly to reach the level that allows you to find opportunities in the research world.
What do you do within the ChEESE project?
I work on the Urgent Seismic Simulations pilot demonstrator. My team and I are developing a workflow that allows rapid earthquake simulations and analysis of their implications.
How do you like it so far?
For me it is an exciting topic because it is useful research and it pushes you to continue innovating and finding new ways to solve the issues inherent to this topic
Do you have any advice for young researchers who would like to follow in your footsteps?
Yes, in the research world you must persevere and find passion in what you do to really enjoy it. Sometimes you run into difficulties of many kinds such as frustration because you can´t always find the answer at first try. However, the end, if you are persistent and insistent with an open mind to adopt new ideas then your roads open up and you can start progressing.
What does being a woman in HPC mean to you?
For me it is a great challenge and an opportunity to learn every day. It is also an opportunity to show other young women that this is not a man's career, it's just a job that women and men can do regardless of gender.
