Xavier Ortiz

1. What do you like most about your job?
In terms of teaching, I enjoy trying to pass on even a small part of the passion I have for chemistry to future generations. In terms of research, I enjoy working to improve our environment, which we don’t take care of often enough.

2. What would you like to spend more time doing?
Spending time with family and friends. Sometimes we focus too much on our professional lives and forget what’s most important. It’s all about finding the right balance!

3. What are you proudest of?
I’ve been working on environmental chemistry projects for over 15 years. I would like to think that I have been able to play a small role in making the world a better place.

4. What value do you appreciate most in people?
Generosity. I believe that synergies are created through sharing, which makes everything work better, both individually and collectively.

5. Where’s a place you’d like to visit?
High Park in Toronto. I used to walk my dog there when I lived in Canada. Apart from being a beautiful place, it gave me peace of mind that was sometimes difficult to find in a city where everything was always moving at such a frenetic pace.

6. What’s a dream you’d like to pursue?
I’d love to travel across Canada on the Trans Canadian Railway, a train that goes from one end of the country to the other and over the Rocky Mountains.

7. What do you have left to learn?
Life means constant learning. “I know a lot about very few things and I know very little about many things.” In the end, Socrates was right!