Asel María Aguilar Sánchez

Where science meets literature

I was born in Manzanillo, Cuba, in 1977. I am a geologist, specialized in petrography. My passion for microscopy started very early in life, thanks to a misunderstanding of my mother: For my 9th birthday I wanted a toy telescope as a gift. My mother, by mistake, bought me a nice toy microscope imported from the ex-Soviet Union. My dreams of watching stars and planets ended up in observing onion cells under the microscope.
I studied Geology in the Mining Metallurgical Institute (ISMM) Cuba and following my graduation I worked for seven years in the Petroleum Research Centre as a petrographer and sedimentologist. In 2008 I completed my Master studies in the Geology Faculty of Zaragoza University under the supervision of Professor Joseph Gisbert. The focus of my research was on the microstructure of lime and gypsum based historical mortars, as well as the forensic reconstruction of their manufacturing techniques by using microscopic techniques.
For family reasons I moved to Switzerland in 2009. After one year of learning German, I started working as a research assistant in the research group Physical Chemistry of Building Materials with Professor Robert Flatt. It was a challenging and exciting time of learning the world of the microscopy of cement and concrete. Since 2015 I work as a technician supporting the projects that require sample preparation and microscopic observation related to conservation of the historical heritage, characterization of cementitious materials as well as the emerging topic of durability of 3D printed concrete.
In my free time I am a writer. I have three literature books published in Cuba and Italy, a new novel is coming soon in Spain. In the future I am planning to write about the academic world, which is an interesting one: Full of excitement and discovery but also full of competition and psychological load, definitely a topic that is worth it to recreate in my writing.