07 Feb Her STEM Story: Meet Susana Lopez-Aparicio from the Climate and Environment Research Institute NILU
Her STEM Story: Celebrating Women in Science
As part of our commitment to supporting diversity in research, MI-TRAP and our sister project Net4Cities launched Her STEM Story—a storytelling series honoring the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025. This series features four inspiring women from our projects, sharing their journeys, challenges, and contributions to STEM. Through their stories, we highlight the importance of inclusivity, innovation, and the vital role women play in shaping the future of science.
My name is Susana Lopez-Aparicio, and I work as a Senior Scientist at the Climate and Environment Research Institute NILU, in Norway. I am one of the members of the Net4Cities team, where I lead a work package aimed at synthesizing the main outcomes from the project to support local, regional and national Zero Pollution strategies.
What inspired you to pursue a career in STEM?
I believe I came to science not as an early, conscious choice, but because the opportunity came to me. After my university studies the possibility of pursuing a PhD presented itself, it seemed exciting and I took it, without knowing what was ahead of me. Over time, continuing my career in science has been driven by curiosity and the possibility of continuous learning, in addition to working in teams, which I enjoy and believe is essential in research.
What has been one of the most significant challenges you’ve faced in science, and how did you overcome it?
To continue my career in science, I moved from Sevilla in the south of Spain to Tromsø, in northern Norway, above the Arctic circle, to work at the University. I faced a different language, working culture, and climate. It was hard at the beginning, and I felt alone at times, but it was a fantastic learning experience. Then, moving to NILU near Oslo, further south in Norway, a main challenge was that I had to change my expertise, from geochemistry and experimental petrology to air quality and environmental research. Changing expertise is challenging, brings insecurities and brings doubts. However, challenges are also new learning experiences, which fed my natural curiosity as a researcher. In general, I believe each situation one overcomes helps to overcome the next one, like a supportive domino effect.
What excites you most in the work you will be involved with in Net4Cities?
Definitely the colleagues in the consortium, new and old faces, all contribute to learning new things, new viewpoints, perspectives, new ideas to develop.
What is the oddest thing you have done in the name of science?
I am not sure if it qualifies as odd, but in the past, I investigated the effects of air pollution on cultural heritage. This involved placing instruments and samplers to measure air pollution inside some of the most important museums or cathedrals in Europe during closing hours. Seeing oneself, walking inside such empty places, sometimes during the night, surrounded by masterpieces, felt unconventional.
What is your vision for the future of women and girls in STEM?
If you are curious by nature and thinking about research as a possibility, I’d recommend for everyone to try it and explore it. If you find a passion for research but meet challenges on your way, do not give up, keep trying.
What advice would you give to young women or girls interested in science or research?
Don’t think twice about it. There will be challenges, but don’t let doubt, your own or anyone else’s, hold you back. You belong here.
What is an interesting story or anecdote you would love to share with women and girls interested in STEM?
Working in research makes science a large part of your entire life, with its positive and negative sides. For instance, during maternity leave I started to monitor the activity of my son, who was less than a year old at that time. When he was active, I wrote 1 on my phone, when he was sleeping or inactive, I wrote a 0. I did this since he was a couple of days old and continued for a couple of months, including during feedings at night. We made a graph and evaluated when the baby was adapting to a circadian rhythm, which was approximately after 4 months. Why did we do this? Curiosity!
“As in most careers, you will encounter problems. When
facing problems, I tend to think of my grandmother, who
always told me: In life there is only one problem without
a solution.”