• The activity that was held at our University had the presence of Timothy Kane, the Australian Ambassador in Chile; Ian Satchwell, the Director of the International Mining for Development Centre of Australia; Dr. Aldo Saavedra, professor at the Department of Chemistry Engineering and other local experts, who analyzed the alternatives to develop mining extraction operations that care for both the environment and communities. During his speech, professor Satchwell said “We have learned many lessons from our mining experience in Australia that can be applied to the mining industry in Chile and Latin America; for example, the responsible water management, which should represent one of our main challenges”.

Chile and Australia are two of the major mining producers worldwide. Both countries have a vast experience in the mining extraction industry that can be shared with the aim of developing a sustainable mining industry that respects the environment and communities.

To face this challenge, on April 8th, our University held a panel discussion that was presented by the Australian Ambassador in Chile, Timothy Kane and had the presence of Ian Satchwell, Director of the International Mining for Development Centre of Australia; Isabel Marshall, Director of the Sustainability Committee of CESCO; Jorge Sanhueza, Manager of Environment and Communities of CODELCO; Matías Desmadryl, a lawyer expert in natural resources regulations, and Dr. Aldo Saavedra, professor at the Department of Chemistry Engineering of our University.

During the activity organized by the Australian Embassy in Chile and our Department of International and Inter-University Relations, Ambassador Kane valued the importance of this initiative and said that it was a “privilege” to have the opportunity of being at this international meeting “in one of the best educational institutions of Chile and, together with other experts, seek answers to common problems for both countries.”

This panel discussion- that took place at the Auditorium of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science- was also attended by professors and students of the Mining Engineering program of our University, who had the possibility of asking questions to the panelists.

During his speech, professor Ian Satchwell said “we have learned many lessons from our mining experience in Australia that can be applied to the mining industry in Chile and Latin America; for example, developing methods for responsible water management, which should represent one of our main challenges for the future of mining industry in the world.”

“Our main challenge is the responsible use of natural resources, understanding their real value. For example, the value that water has for people in our countries, as it is a very scarce good,” Stachwell said.

This panel discussion on the challenges faced by mining industry was held at Universidad de Santiago, in the context of CESCO Week, the World Copper Conference that took place in Santiago.

Academic partnerships

Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations of our University described the meeting as “successful” and informed that conversations tending to strengthen the academic links between Universidad de Santiago and Higher Education Institutions in Australia were started.

“Ambassador Ken met with President Zolezzi and expressed his interest in creating collaboration links regarding priority fields, like mining industry, exact sciences, engineering and international studies,” Johnson said.

She said that the activity “met the goals proposed and it indeed exceeded our expectations.”

“Through this activity, links were strengthened between Australia and our University. Also, it opened the possibility of having new meetings and bringing renowned foreign academics to address contingent matters of national interest, as sustainable mining industry, in this case. This debate is of interest to both our University and our country, which are important leaders in this field,” Carol Johnson concluded.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• As in previous occasions, in this fourth version, Universidad de Santiago proposes to hold a great academic gathering to share works and foster an interdisciplinary dialogue.

The next International Congress of Science, Technologies and Cultures will be held at Universidad de Santiago between October 9th and 12th, 2015. Our University has decided to continue with this important initiative, focusing on three objectives: contributing to dialogue and exchange between different disciplines; encouraging the debate on intellectual work looking towards the future of Latin America and the world; and generating a big coordination movement involving people and institutions that produce and spread knowledge to develop intellectual productive clusters.

The congress will be held as a product of preexisting intellectual networks, with the purpose of strengthening and widening them, ensuring the projection of a civil intellectual society that shall rise as a voice in contemporary debates.

The organizing committee invites you to present symposium proposals for this important activity. The deadline for the reception of proposals is June 30, 2014, and they shall be sent to grancongreso2015@gmail.com.

For further information regarding registrations, proposals and activities, check http://www.internacionaldelconocimiento.org/documentos/2015/convocatoria-IV-congreso-ingles.pdf

• Among the different speakers that took part in the Colloquium “Water: a renewable resource?”, one of them, Alfredo Zolezzi, founder of the Advanced Innovation Center, considers that the contrast between technology progress and the poverty and shortage of sanitary resources affecting millions of people is “dramatic”. He says that the solution to this problem is to make sure that innovation reaches people who need it.

The recent celebration of the World Water Day brought again to the national and international agenda the importance of promoting sustainable practices for the good use of water resources in the planet. The Colloquium “Water: a renewable resource?” was held in this context and it was led by the Association of Researchers for Development and Interdisciplinarity (INDI, its Spanish acronym), that groups researchers from the different faculties of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

The activity brought together three speakers that approached the implications and significance of this strategic resource from very different points of view.

Leyla Noriega, journalist of Red Mi Voz*, who has experience in working with indigenous communities in the north of Chile, gave the presentation “Between the Andean world view and the community’s political core”. She explains that “our philosophy understands water like a living being. The resource is distributed according to its ancestral use by common law; that is to say, based on customs or natural rights.”

However, this expert in communications says that this approach is little respected, as a consequence of a series of processes that have affected the native peoples of the north of the country, like “Chileanization and the disassembly of ancestral authorities.”

Then, Alfredo Zolezzi, founder of the Advanced Innovation Center spoke about “Meaningful innovation”, considering it like a concept that has always been present in the history of humankind. “We have never had as much technology available as we do now, but it is dramatic to see this progress without recognizing that there are millions of people living in poverty, without basic sanitary services,” he says.

Effective solutions

In light of this situation that accounts for a complex reality, specific answers are required. According to Zolezzi, the solution lies in changing the way of doing things and he suggests “doing activism with proposals that make sure that innovation will reach people who need it.”
 
In his case, innovation became socially meaningful through the creation of the Plasma Water Sanitation System (PWSS), a water purification system that allows transforming polluted water particles into plasma, making it potable.

This system was implemented in 2011, in Fundo San José, a shanty town in Cerrillos, Santiago, thanks to a partnership with Un Techo Para Mi País**. It is worth to mention that this shanty town’s residents were resettled in June, 2013.

The last presentation was given by Dr. Silvio Montalvo, professor at the Department of Chemistry Engineering of our University, who spoke about his research regarding water resources.

At present, he is working on the treatment of sludge generated at sewage water treatment plants, in order to develop technologies to optimize the anaerobic digestion process that allows breaking down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen.

“If we are able to preserve the water that we already have and keep it less polluted, we will be contributing to this matter,” the researcher says.

Translator’s notes: *Red Mi Voz is a digital network that promotes the practice of citizen journalism. **Un Techo Para Mi País is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes youth volunteers to fight extreme poverty in Latin America, by constructing transitional housing and implementing social inclusion programs.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Dr. Edmundo Leiva, professor at the Informatics Department of Universidad de Santiago and Jorge Segura, who is pursuing a Master´s Degree in this area, developed a software program that recognizes facial microexpressions that evidence basic emotions more effectively than the human eye does. The program can detect sadness, anger and rage - that are expressed through involuntary expressions - even when they last for less than a second. According to professor Leiva, it could have multiple applications: detecting criminals at airports, selecting and recruiting staff for key positions or helping in psychological virtual therapy on Internet.

Affective computing is a research field that relates to the interpretation of human emotions through technology. It looks like science fiction, but it is more real than it appears, and our University is making progress in this matter.

Dr. Edmundo Leiva, professor at the Department of Informatics Engineering of Universidad de Santiago, together with Jorge Segura, a student at the Master’s Program of that unit, developed a software program that can identify emotions by reading human facial expressions even when someone is trying to hide them.

By means of a camera that captures facial muscles movements, it is possible to identify microexpressions, even those lasting less than a second.

“When a person is trying to deceive someone, this program recognizes his/her facial microexpressions. Microexpressions are brief facial expressions shown according to the basic emotions experienced, like anger, happiness, sadness and disgust,” professor Leiva explained.

Professor Leiva - PhD in Informatics - said that although there are experts who study and get certified in interpreting emotions through the face, their estimation range is only 63%, while “our software program has exceeded 70%.”

“Very few people are able to detect microexpressions, because an evident anger expression could hide or mask sadness, what could show for half a second. This microexpressions detector can read that emotion in a fraction of a second,” he explained.

Apps
 
Professor Leiva explained that this innovative tool has a wide scope of applications, from supporting police work to detecting the truthfulness of data provided in recruitment and selection processes of staff for key positions.

“It could be useful for detecting terrorists at airports, or even for virtual therapy given by some psychologists through Internet and Skype. The therapist could have some indications if the patient is lying or, for example, in case of senior people, if they took their medication or not,” professor Leiva said, betting that the list of possibilities could be very long. He also thinks that in the future, it could become an application for mobile devices.

“We speculate that in the future, even Google Glasses (optical displays connected to Internet networks) could have a microexpression recognition device, so that everyone would be able to detect if a person is trying to hide an underlying emotion,” he stressed.

The psychology field that related to facial expression metrics was developed by the American psychologist Paul Ekman, who is a pioneer in detecting the facial expressions of seven basic emotions considered to be linked to the atavistic part of the brain. “Sadness, anger, happiness, fear, surprise, contempt and disgust, which are emotions that all human beings show as a species heritage and not as a trait of a particular culture,” professor Leiva concluded.

The Department of Informatics Engineering is planning to show its work in this line and other research lines to the University community through different stands displaying related technology. Professor Leiva will participate to show this interesting program to anyone who is interested in knowing better about this matter.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Representatives of renowned universities showed themselves very interested in establishing agreements and exchange programs in fields like nanoscience, food technology, didactics of mathematics and Latin American studies, among others.

On Monday 17th, our University was visited by representatives of thirteen renowned British universities that showed their deep interest in creating academic links and establishing mutual collaboration agreements.

Particularly, the most attractive fields for the European universities were research in mathematics or in Latin American studies, nanoscience, food technology, technology transfer and English language practice. In these areas, significant collaboration opportunities were open in the short and the medium term.

Óscar Bustos, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation of Universidad de Santiago, who also took part in the meeting with the British academics and academics from our university, said that this meeting “allows us to have great expectations with respect to potential studies conducted together with some of the most prominent universities of the United Kingdom.”

“The importance of this visit lies in the experience and international recognition of the participating institutions. Universities like Edinburgh or Sheffield are well positioned in world rankings and the work they do is in agreement with our own lines of research,” he added.

According to Vice President Bustos, the fact that our University is recognized for its research work “is one of the factors that attracted the British delegation.”

“Nowadays, our University is in the fourth place in the national rankings of research productivity, publications and awarded projects. These developments, in all areas of knowledge, must have persuaded these British institutions into coming to Universidad de Santiago and proposing academic exchange programs, collaborative works and research,” he concluded.

For her part, Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations of our University said that the British academics had “excellent” references of Universidad de Santiago “and they knew that we are a complete and complex institution that is well positioned in international rankings; therefore, their visit was not by chance: it is the result of our prestige as university.”

According to Carol Johnson, this first meeting is consistent with Universidad de Santiago’s internationalization policy that has the goal -among others- of establishing links with the best institutions in the world.

“This contact was very promising. It will open many doors to our students and academics, and also, it allows us to put in practice our ambitious internationalization policy,” she added.

At the meeting, that was held at the Rectoría building, Óscar Bustos, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation; Carol Johnson, Head of the Department of International and Inter-University Relations; Rafael Labarca, Dean of the Faculty of Science; Jaime Eugenín, Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Programs of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology; Francisco Castañeda, professor at the Faculty of Administration and Economics; Fernando Estenssoro, professor at IDEA; Gastón Herrera, professor at the School of Architecture and Roxana Orrego, professor at the Department of Linguistics and Literature, were present.

The authorities and academics of the following thirteen universities were present at the meeting: University of Ulster, Durham University, University of Sheffield, University of Edinburgh, University of Warwick, University of Bath, Bristol University, Middlesex University, University of Kent, Northumbria University, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cranfield University and University of South Wales.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• On April 04th, quantitative genetics researchers from all over the country will meet at Universidad the Santiago. This scientific discipline could be a significant contribution towards improving species and generating new products.

Transgenic products are a controversial issue; however, little is said about techniques that would help to avoid their use, which results may have a positive impact on the different productive sectors of the country. This help is quantitative genetics, a field that gave rise to the “1st Population Genetics Conference: bridging the genotype-phenotype gap.”

This activity will be held on April 04th, when experts coming from all over the country will meet to discuss about this matter, its significance, implications and progress.

The conference was organized by Dr. Francisco Cubillos, researcher at the Applied Biotechnology and Microbiology Laboratory (Lamap, its acronym in Spanish) of the Food Science and Technology Research Center (CECTA, its acronym in Spanish) of Universidad de Santiago. According to the academic, this opportunity arises from the lack of similar activities in Chile. “Through this conference- he says- we seek to create a community that contributes to optimize the work that we are doing.”

Regarding the participants, Dr. Cubillos says “they are scientists working at the quantitative genetics field, particularly, in narrowing the gap between genotype, our differences at a genetic level, and phenotype, the traits observed in a particular population.”

With respect to the status of this line of work in the country, Dr. Cubillos thinks that it is highly developed, since studies are carried out in different areas: plants, fish, algae and yeasts.

Dr. Cubillos explains that the former is possible as quantitative genetics “is a very friendly technique to improve a species or to enhance the generation of a new product.” “What we do is to try to understand the existing genetic variation and incorporate it so as to create, for example, individuals able to resist a disease or some environmental stress factors, using only what already exists in nature,” he adds.

Regarding the expectations for the conference, the researcher says that he expects “to have debates on the issues, to foster the creation of collaboration networks and partnerships, to give support to students and to continue with this activity in the future.”

Some of the renowned researchers that will take part in the conference are Patricio Hinrichsen, from Grupo Vides Inia La Platina, Levi Mansur, from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Roberto Nespolo, from Universidad Austral, among others. Universidad de Santiago’s representatives will be Dr. Rodrigo Vidal and Dr. Renato Chávez, from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, in addition to the researchers of the yeast-research area of the University.

The conference will be held on Friday, April 04th, between 09:00 and 18:00 hr., at Sala de Conferencias A, (Conference Room A) in the Centro de Eventos Nacionales e Internacionales of the Vice presidency of Outreach and Engagement, located at Las Sophoras #175.

Registration contact e-mail: francisco.cubillos.r@usach.cl
 
Translated by Marcela Contreras

• While visiting Chile for the presidential hand-over ceremony, the highest authority of this Mexican institution, José Alfonso Esparza, met with Universidad de Santiago’s President, Juan Manuel Zolezzi and expressed his interest in creating academic partnerships in the fields of mining, engineering and social sciences.

On Monday 10th, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi was visited by José Alfonso Esparza, President of Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Mexico, and by other representatives from that university, who showed their deep interest in creating formal links between both institutions in order to allow academic collaboration and student exchange.

President Esparza came to Chile to take part in the presidential hand-over ceremony and he seized the opportunity to visit our University, with which he has kept in contact thanks to our Department of International and Inter-University Relations.

During the meeting held at the Casa Central building, the two Presidents shared experiences regarding the higher education systems in Mexico and Chile and they agreed to foster the establishment of these academic partnerships that will benefit both institutions.

After the meeting, BUAP’s President highlighted the willingness that our University has shown to develop agreements, particularly in the fields of mining, engineering and social sciences.

“It was a very interesting meeting that exceeded our expectations. I think that this University has many experiences to share and we are very likely to settle an agreement in the short term, because we are very interested in this and Universidad de Santiago’s President showed his interest too. We will probably be signing a frame agreement soon to start with student exchanges,” Esparza said.

BUAP´s highest authority said that Puebla, Mexico, is starting to extract mineral resources, but it does not have any university program related to this field. This is why he thinks it is an area in which they could start learning from other experiences.

“Also, our researchers in the field of social sciences expressed their interest in forging links with this University. The engineering programs are equally interested,” he said.

The Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla is an independent, decentralized higher-education institution, located at Puebla City. It was founded 435 years ago and it has 65,685 students in undergraduate and graduate programs (2010). Today, it has shown its willingness to strengthen links with our renowned University.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• On February 28th, the University’s President submitted the statutory documents to Paula Beale, the Executive Secretary of the National Accreditation Commission. The dossier was delivered previous to the Institutional Self-Evaluation Report, which will be submitted by the end of this month, to subsequently have the visit of the external peer reviewers. President Zolezzi invited the University’s community to face this process with the maximum commitment and to stress our University’s strengths, both quantitatively and in terms of values.

On February 28th, President Juan Manuel Zolezzi arrived into the National Accreditation Commission (CNA, in Spanish) offices to submit to Paula Beale, its Executive Secretary, the documents included in the “institutional file” of our University.

Submitting the dossier is the starting point for the process through which our University seeks to renew the institutional accreditation, which is valid until October, for the maximum period of seven years.

“That is what I expect and many people at the University expect it too. We do not see any obstacles to proudly consider that possibility,” President Zolezzi said.

President Zolezzi invited the University’s community to participate in the process and to wait for the visit of the external peer reviewers that could be scheduled for the beginning of the second term. “No matter what the circumstances may be, the University’s community spirit should be the best and we would expect that the academics, the administrative staff and the students consider the University as a priority,” he said.

“We are entering the last stretch (of the process); there is no way back. We have been working for a while and the deadlines have been met,” he added. The goal is to focus the efforts “for the University to be the best institution possible.”

The institutional file contains a letter of introduction by the University’s President, the University’s Strategic Plan, the balances of assets and liabilities for the past three years and the organization chart, besides basic statutory definitions regarding the Institution’s statute, the way of appointing the University’s President, the University’s constitution and several productivity indicators regarding the number of students and academics and the proportion between them.

The purpose of all this quantitative information is to offer a picture of the different dimensions of Universidad de Santiago. The next step is the submission of the Self-Evaluation Report, on March 28th, so that the CNA calls the external peer reviewers that will visit our University.

The time for the visit

Although 2013 was marked by the institutional work towards renewing the accreditation, this year there will be an election process at the University: something that could affect the peer reviewers’ visit.

“We think that elections days are not a good time for the visit of peer reviewers. And in case that we have a new President and new authorities, we think that a visit after those changes is not optimum either. Therefore, the best time would be July-August this year. We have pointed out this situation and I think that the CNA will take it into consideration, due to the changes in the University’s environment,” President Zolezzi said.

Strengths of our Institution

President Zolezzi explained that, even though it is still necessary to fix some details of the Self-Evaluation Report, there are important strengths that should be stressed, like the University’s social commitment, and in this regard, the defense of public education that defines Universidad de Santiago’s spirit through its institutional management. He also highlighted the University’s competitiveness in the field of research, particularly in innovation and patenting, and in the area of outreach and engagement, “in which, for example, our radio station has shared the University’s way of feeling with the community that listens to it,” he said.

President Zolezzi concluded by emphasizing the University’s performance regarding our undergraduate and graduate programs, considering that the students of our Institution graduate in a reasonable time and become part of the world of work a few months after graduating, getting paid accordingly. “This is an example of the design and the product that the University is developing, including all our support to students, not only from the technocratic point of view but also from the human one, what allows us to say that we will have positive data regarding this aspects.”

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Universidad de Santiago was among the four national universities that will receive more funds from the National Fund for the Scientific and Technological Development (Fondecyt, its acronym in Spanish), according to the results of the 2014 Contest. Universidad de Chile, Universidad Católica and Universidad de Concepción were the other three universities.

• In recognition of his extensive career in the area of electrochemistry, Dr. José Zagal, professor at the Department of Chemistry of Materials, was invited to be part of the editorial board of Electrochemistry Communications, an international journal with the higher impact index in its field.

Dr. José Zagal, professor at the Department of Chemistry of Materials of our university, was selected to be part of the editorial board of Electrochemistry Communications, the renowned scientific journal partnered with Elsevier that has the higher impact index in the field of electrochemistry.

In a conversation with UdeSantiago al Día, the academic said that he understood his inclusion in the board as “recognition of my work over many years; but most important, the recognition of a work that has mainly been done by a team.”

Professor Zagal has a vast experience in the scientific research field, particularly in the study of oxygen and reactivity. He started to work at Universidad de Santiago 40 years ago and he has kept on publishing specialized articles in his field of interest since then.

Besides, he has been part of editorial boards of different scientific journals, like the International Journal of Electrochemistry of Hindawi Publishing Corporation, since 2011 and the International Journal of Biotechnology & Biochemistry (IJBB), since 2012.

Zagal said that it is very important that both students and academics produce publications in their fields and get involved in different creative processes “to contribute not only to this University’s development but to all the country.”

“I think that it is necessary that students in any program should take part in creative and practical processes, that is to say, they should get involved in laboratory work since their first years at the university, so that they produce new knowledge that can reach most of the people through renowned publications,” he said.

“Publishing research results is essential. When you make public the work you do, your work becomes recognized in that field and, at the same time, you spread new knowledge,” he added.

For this reason, professor Zagal expects that his role at the Electrochemistry Communications’ editorial board means a contribution to the promotion of sciences and to the better positioning of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

“You stay at this university because you love it and not for the money. Many researchers here might well be working at private sector companies, but they stay here because they feel a real bond with this institution,” he said.

“For the love that I have for this University, I expect that my inclusion in the editorial board will benefit the institution and will contribute to spread knowledge among society,” Dr. Zagal concluded.

Translated by Marcela Contreras