• Academics at the Department of Physics, led by Dr. Raúl Cordero, were part of the scientific expedition made in November by the Chilean Antarctic Institute to Unión Glacier and they contributed with valuable measurements of the optical properties of snow.
   

• Cross-laminated timber offers some extraordinary advantages for buildings: thermal insulation, seismic properties, good performance under fire and ecological sustainability are some of its properties. This was shown by the study led by Paulina González, professor at the Department of Civil Works Engineering. On May 18^th, the book with the results of the study was launched.

   

  An innovating system for constructing buildings with more than two floors using cross-laminated timber (CLT) was proposed by an outstanding study led by Paulina González, professor at the Department of Civil Works Engineering.

  Cross-laminated timber is a three-layered panel made of lumber. The layers are laid in parallel formation and are “bonded together with special glues, at 90º to the layer below,” Paulina González says. “This gives the panel a high resistance, because wood has different mechanical and physical properties in the three directions,” she adds.

  This technology proposed by professor González has already been implemented in other countries; the difference is that, in Chile, it would be based on radiata pine, which forestry is highly developed in Chile.

  Professor González says that Chile is among the countries with the largest planted areas of radiata pine. “In addition to developing this project, we can give value added to our timber, try to solve the housing shortage of our country, and establish a system that would allow constructing buildings which structural elements, walls and slabs are made of this new product,” she adds.

  Better properties

  According to her research, constructing a cross-laminated timber-based building has many advantages over constructing with other materials, like reinforced concrete; For example, as it is a prefabricated product, it allows reduced construction times and a cleaner environment.

  “You bring the walls and slabs and assemble the building like a meccano set. It reduces construction times to a third, if compared to the construction of a reinforced concrete building,” she explains.

  Besides, cross-laminated timber has seismic properties. As reinforced concrete weighs as much as six times as cross-laminated timber, it generates higher seismic forces than the ones of a CLT-based building. “As it (a CLT based building) is assembled like a meccano set, with steel connectors, it gets so flexible that prevents its destruction,” professor González adds.

  Additionally, when constructing a building with CLT, less time is required, what can eventually lead to a solution for reconstruction works after natural disasters.

  “Construction times are reduced to a third. And so are the costs. The costs of structural work get reduced by 35%, and the total cost, after installations, to 10%,” she says with regards the economic benefits of CLT.

  Radiata pine, the base of the product studied by professor González, is ecologically sustainable. On the one hand, because its carbon footprint- the total amount of greenhouse gases that it emits- is very low; and on the other, because this tree grows very fast and it has extensively been planted in the country.

  “It is sustainable because carbon remains in the timber, and the carbon footprint is almost zero. Also, radiata pine grows very fast. This is why there are so many plantations in Chile.”

  A safe material

  “Depending on its density, when timber burns, it produces a charcoal layer in the outside that works as insulation to prevent fire and heat from entering its inner part,” professor González said, debunking the myth that this material is fragile.

  “It will last longer, even longer than a steel building. The steel building’s ability to resist fire is reduced to a half when it is exposed to 400º C. Timber remains stable for its charcoal layer,” she adds.

  Besides, timber has better acoustic insulation properties than reinforced concrete.

  CORFO Project

  The CORFO Project 12BPC2-13553 “Estudios de Ingeniería para Introducir en Chile un Sistema Constructivo de Rápida Ejecución para Edificios de Mediana Altura, Utilizando Elementos de Madera Contralaminada” lasted for two years; however, researchers at the Faculty of Engineering had conducted former studies on this subject matter. For this reason, after all this process, “we concluded that, considering the use of timber, CLT is the best system for a seismic country,” professor González says.

  “We have been the first ones in developing a project like this in Chile, with this system for medium-rise buildings,” she says.

  Professor González is optimistic about the future that TLC may have in our country due the experiences in other countries of the world. “In Vancouver (Canada), they are designing an eighteen-floored building and organizing a contest to build a 30-floored one,” she explains.

  Based on this study, the book ‘Sistema Constructivo en Madera Contralaminada para Edificios’ was produced. It includes former studies on this subject matter and an outstanding model of a four-floored CLT-based.

  The book was launched on May 18th, at 12:00 h, in a ceremony at the Salón de Honor of Universidad de Santiago, with the presence of President Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid.

  Translated by Marcela Contreras

Universidad de Santiago was awarded 900 million Chilean pesos in the V version of the Contest Anillos Research Projects in Science and Technology. The contest was announced by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research.

Universidad de Santiago was awarded 900 million Chilean pesos for the execution of two projects in the context of the V version of the Contest Anillos Research project in Science and Technology 2014.

Thanks to the Associative Research Program (PIA, in Spanish), 17 projects will be funded nationwide, all of them top-class studies with international scope.

Dr Óscar Bustos Castillo, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation, said that he was very pleased with the results, adding that “this type of project allows developing cutting-edge research that goes beyond our borders, and this is highly significant to contribute to our university’s internationalization.”

Dr Bustos highlighted that two of the projects that were awarded funding belong to consolidated research groups that, in the short term, could become research centers.

“These study projects will be executed over three years and will allow us to face issues of national interest and global challenges, restating the role we play as a state and public university,” he said.

The projects

One of the projects is led by Dr Maritza Páez and Dr María Victoria Encinas, researchers at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, and Dr Jenny Blamey, researcher at Fundación Biociencia, who will address the problems generated by the spontaneous and undesirable damage of materials, known as corrosion or biocorrosion. The name of the study is “Functionalized surfaces: protection against corrosion and biocorrosion.”

They have the goal of replacing the anti corrosion procedures that involve chemical compounds of high toxicity, like chromates, and provide effective and eco-friendly solutions.

Dr Francisco Melo (surface mechanics), Dr José Zagal (electrochemistry) and Dr Manuel Azocar (bioinorganic chemistry) will participate in the project.

Dr Marcela Urzúa (polymers) and Dr Marco Flores (surface physics), both researchers at Universidad de Chile, will take part in the project too, as well as Dr Jenny Blamey and Dr Freddy Boehmwald (microbiology), of Fundación Biociencia, and Dr Mamie Sancy (corrosion-electrochemistry), of the Chilean Air Force.

The second project is led by Dr Raúl Cordero, researcher at the Department of Physics. This is the second time that he leads an Anillo Project (the first time was in 2010). This time, he seeks to better understand the effects of black carbon at the Andean cryosphere. 

Black carbon or soot is a pollutant generated by the use of fossil fuels in the cities that is carried by the wind over the Andean snow, changing its reflectivity and its melting speed. 

According to Dr Cordero, the study “is mainly focused on measuring the content of black carbon in the snow on the west side of the Andes.” For this purpose, they will conduct campaigns to collect samples and analyze their carbon content across the country, from Putre to the Patagonia.

With this data, “we expect to generate a map that shows the black-carbon content in the Andean cryosphere, highlighting the areas of impact. This information will be useful to evaluate the effect of black carbon on glaciers melting,” the researcher explained.

The project is really important, because the country’s long-term sustainability depends on the availability of water resources coming from the Andean snows. However, just like many cold regions of the planet, the Andean cryosphere has doubled the global warming rate. “Although green-house gas emissions seem to be the main cause of this problem, black carbon may be playing a role too,” he added.

“Universidad de Santiago is a leader in interdisciplinary studies that address different aspects of sustainability, what largely explains the successful results of our applications. This project involves an interdisciplinary team of physicists, chemists, glaciologists and engineers of six renowned Chilean universities. Besides, ten international institutions will collaborate with the project, like the German Aerospace Center (DLR, in German) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC),” Dr Cordero concluded.

Nationwide results

The other 15 projects that were awarded funds belong to the following universities: five to Universidad Católica de Chile; four to Universidad de Chile; two to Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María and one to Universidad de La Frontera, one to Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, one to Universidad Andrés Bello and one to Universidad Autónoma de Chile.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The project led by Dr Silvia Matiacevich, professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology of the Technological Faculty, seeks to renew food industry by developing a compound with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties to prolong shelf life of dairy products. The project is funded through a Fondecyt Regular project 2016.

Nowadays, fresh, healthy and natural food consumption has increased, particularly, the intake of dairy products. According to the Chilean Bureau for Agricultural Studies and Policies (ODEPA; in Spanish), in 2013 the intake per capita was 146.5 liter, a national record in the country. 

However, these products require additives for their preservation that are not always natural and that do not allow a balanced and healthy diet.

In this context, Dr Silvia Matiacevich, professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology of the Technological Faculty; Dr Rubén Bustos, professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering, and students at both units formed an interdisciplinary research team that will work on the study “Prolonged release of natural active compounds for improving shelf life of a dairy food matrix: Effect of structure obtained by different encapsulation process”. The project is funded by a Fondecyt Regular project (1160463) and it seeks to find a new active compound to preserve dairy products by means of nanotechnology. 

“We want to develop a new active ingredient with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties for dairy foods, in such a way that the compound has a prolonged release during storage, extending the product’s shelf life,” Dr Matiacevich says.

With this in mind, the researchers intend to study how the structure generated in this active ingredient- a powder developed through two different techniques- modifies its prolonged release in time in a real matrix,” she adds.

Food innovation and collaborative work

The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of the structure obtained through “different encapsulation processes in prolonged release during storage of an encapsulated active agent,” in order to prolong the shelf life of a milk-based food matrix.

“By using encapsulation processes it is possible to obtain nanometric-sized particles, so the principles of nanotechnology are involved in this development,” favoring the compound prolonged release,” Dr Rubén Bustos, co-researcher of this study, says.

Food innovation research has increased worldwide. In Latin America, there are several research groups. For example, there are centers in Argentina, Colombia and Brazil, which professionals will collaborate in this project.

According to Dr Matiacevich, the main contribution of this study lies in that they will work directly with foods, so the study will not only provide basic knowledge but it will be applied to a real matrix.

For his part, Dr Bustos stresses the importance of their work with nanotechnology by saying: “At some point, microencapsulated ingredients were the greatest breakthrough, but now we will work with nanoencapsulated compounds, with much smaller and innovative structures.”

For the research team, the most important fact in relation to this project is that it involves the collaborative work of two departments of two different faculties of Universidad de Santiago de Chile. They also value the support of the Vice Presidency of Research, Development and Innovation, and the collaborative work with national and foreign universities. 

Translated by Marcela Contreras

•  According to Dr Leonel Rojo, researcher at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, the use of Aristotelia Chilensis allows to reverse the problems caused by the use of psychotropic drugs, like obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Dr Leonel Rojo, researcher at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, found that people using antipsychotic drugs for 6 continuous months exponentially developed obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular diseases.

According to the Chilean National Institute of Public Health, clozapine and olanzapine have been the most commonly imported psychotropic drugs in Chile in the past ten years for their low cost and effectiveness for the treatment of psychosis or schizophrenia in adult patients and the treatment of attention deficit disorder, autism, Asperger syndrome and bipolar disorders in children.

However, the side effects that they produce alerted Dr Rojo, as he found that antidiabetic drugs did not help patients to overcome their problem. He started looking for solutions, and after testing a Chilean product in laboratory, in 2012 he found an answer: Maqui berry (Aristotelia Chilensis), a small tree that grows in the center and the south of Chile.

“Descubrimos en Estados Unidos, que uno de sus compuestos es fuertemente antidiabético, así que pensamos que el maqui puede prevenir la obesidad que es causada por antisicóticos y descubrimos que previene la acumulación de lípidos en las células en pacientes tratados con estos fármacos”, explica el experto en toxicología.

“In the USA, we found that one of the maqui components is a strong antidiabetic compound, so we thought that maqui could prevent the obesity caused by antipsychotic drugs. We found that it reduces lipid accumulation in the cells of patients who are treated with these drugs,” Dr Rojo explains.

Research team

Dr Rojo has an extensive scientific experience. His work has been recognized by the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists and the American Society of Pharmacognosy, after he discovered an anti-aging technology based on Pouteria Lucuma bioactive compounds.

The project has the collaboration of Dr Ilya Raskin, of Rutgers University, New Jersey (USA); a research team of Universidad de Chile, led by Dr Pablo Gaspar; and the Hadassah Academic College of Jerusalem.

The study is called “Evaluation of Anthocyanins from Maqui Berry in the Prevention of Clozapine-Induced Hepatic Lipid Accumulation, Activation of SREBP1c Target Genes and Obesity” and it is funded by a Fondecyt Initiation Project in the field of psychotropic drugs and metabolism.

Current situation and expectations

Currently, Dr Rojo and his collaborators continue working in the laboratory at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago. At this stage, they are trying to elucidate how the natural maqui components (called anthocyanins) prevent lipid accumulation and the metabolic problem associated to the use of antipsychotics.

The researcher expects to conclude his work by the end of 2017 with a continuity project that allows using the product in patients. Dr Rojo says that this project will benefit the country, because he thinks that the product would not be expensive; and it would also be good for national economy, because people who collect and sell maqui are eager to find new uses for it.

Today, the product is considered as a super fruit and it is mainly commercialized in the United States. Besides, there are already companies interested in the project and in getting involved in it.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• In the context of a series of seminars ran by the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, Dr. Ricardo Salazar informed about the scope of the research on treating waters contaminated by textile and pharmaceutical industry effluents through electrochemical methods.

In order to inform about the progress made by the Laboratory of Environmental Electrochemistry’s research group, Dr. Ricardo Salazar gave the presentation “Elimination of persistent organic pollutants in water by using electrochemical methods,” in the context of a series of seminars organized by the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology.

The activity gathered together academics and students who learned about the research being conducted at Universidad de Santiago with regards to eliminating organic compounds in water through advanced oxidation electrochemical processes. Particularly, the presentation referred to the Fondecyt project called “Degradation of dye-containing effluents from textile industry through electrochemical oxidation,” in which Dr. Salazar is the responsible investigator.

The objective of the study is to decontaminate waters that contain dyes and additives by means of electricity and solar energy, avoiding the use of chemical reactants.

“Today, we are working on the treatment of real samples of textile industrial effluents. To do so, we have built a pilot plant to treat larger volumes of contaminated water. We are also testing new electrodes for the process and we have extended the contaminant spectrum to pharmaceutical industrial effluents,” Dr. Salazar says about the status of the study, in which Dr. Julio Romero, from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of Universidad de Chile, takes part as a co-investigator.

SERC Chile

Thanks to his achievements in this field, Dr. Salazar has accepted an invitation to take part as an investigator in a FONDAP project for the Chilean Solar Energy Research Center, SERC Chile, an agency that seeks to become a world leader in solar energy scientific research, with a particular emphasis in developing the potential of the Atacama Desert, Chile.

“I was invited as an associate investigator in the research line of “Solar Water Treatment”, which is coordinated by Dr. Lorena Cornejo Ponce, tenured professor at the Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Industrial, Informática y Sistemas (EUIIIS) of Universidad de Tarapacá. The idea is to contribute to the treatment of persistent organic pollutant-containing waters and their treatment through Solar photoelectro-Fenton degradation”, he says.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• His paper deals with details about how a person's exposure to carbon dioxide affects cerebral blood flow. The information was provided by experimental British patients, as part of a collaborative work with the University of Leicester.

Dr. Max Chacón, professor at the Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, was awarded the 2011 Jack Perkins Prize by the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) of England, for his publication "Non-linear multivariate modelling Hemodynamics of cerebral hemodynamics with Autoregressive Support Vector Machines.”

 The award, which consists of  £ 250, is given annually to the best paper published during the year in the Medical Engineering & Physics journal, after a review carried out by a specialized committee that evaluates aspects such as the novelty and impact of the research.

 Dr. Chacon thanked the award and noted that this type of survey research confirms the good work being done in this University. "This is an important recognition for us, especially because our paper in the area of cerebral self regulation did not belong to the field of biomechanics, the journal’s strongest line of research, which could have been  the most possible winner”, he said.

The winner added that "all the profits for this recognition are indirect: for example, increasing the bonds of cooperation not only with the university we work with (Leicester), but also with other foreign institutions".

Significant contribution to medicine

The awarded paper is part of a specific area called cerebral hemodynamics. Professor Chacón  is working with two other researchers: Claudio Araya, former student of Master’s degree at the U. of Santiago, and Ronney Panerai from the University of Leicester (England).

 The cerebral hemodynamics acquires vital importance, because the estimates of international organizations involved in the field of health in Chile indicate that by 2025 more people will die from brain strokes than heart attacks. It is believed that the blood flow would be strongly linked to vascular accidents and also with a number of diseases, such as Alzheimer's, arteriosclerosis (carotid artery, mainly), head trauma, vascular dementia and diabetes, among others.

"Cerebral strokes are rising very strongly in the country and the causes are unknown. One thing that causes brain damage is the stronger flow in the arteries. It is known that the brain has a flow control system, and this means that, although the pressure varies in the body, the flow is almost constant in the brain. If there is little flow, one loses consciousness and, conversely, if there is a lot of flow an artery breakdown happens, “Chacón explained.

This mechanism, which constantly generates blood flow into the brain, is what researchers try to model through a data–based nonlinear system. This publication addresses one of the topics related to cerebral hemodynamics, because of the data given by the English researcher who provided the information based on 16 healthy patients who breathe in air with a small fraction (5%) of carbon dioxide (CO2) through a mask. The aim was to know how breathing in this gas affects the regulation of the blood flow in the brain.

"We proved that it is possible to represent changes in the inhalation of CO2 in a person by using this nonlinear model and this has metabolic implications, for instance. We know that breathing in a fraction of CO2 produces changes, which are equivalent to those experienced by people with diabetes, i.e. a metabolic problem, and these problems affect the blood flow in the same way as CO2 does it, “the researcher said.

Prize

The IPEM is an institution dedicated to joining professionals from the physical sciences, clinical engineering, the academic world, the health services and the industry, in order to share knowledge and advances in science and technology. Since 2000, it gives the Jack Perkins Prize in honor of his first journal’s editor, who died in 2000.

• The renowned Journal of Coordination Chemistry dedicated its issue 67 to Dr. Juan Costamagna, academic at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago, for his contribution to the development of this journal since 2000, when he was invited to be part of the Editorial Board. The journal aims at disseminating the investigations of renowned researchers in the field of Chemistry of Coordination Compounds in countries like the United States, France, Argentina, South Africa, and Chile, among others. 

In recognition of his significant contributions to the development of the Journal of Coordination Chemistry and in the context of his retirement from the Editorial Board, the journal dedicated a special issue to Dr. Juan Costamagna, researcher at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago.

The journal aims at disseminating the investigations of renowned researchers in the field of Chemistry of Coordination Compounds in countries like the United States, France, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Mexico, and Chile.

Jim Atwood, who was in charge of issue 67 called “Special Issue: To honor Professor Juan Costamagna on the occasion of his retirement", highlighted in the opening pages professor Costamagna’s “valuable opinion” and his contribution over the years “with his expertise” to the development of this publication.

Atwood pointed out that Dr. Costamagna “has been a consummate collaborator and has brought his talent to the Editorial Board of this Journal; he has published over 100 papers in the field of Coordination Chemistry and has served 14 times as the Chilean delegate to the International Advisory Committee of the International Conference on Coordination Chemistry between 1974 and 2006. He was also an Advisor to the Nobel Prize of Chemistry from 1996 to 2000”. This is the background for this special issue available since December on http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/gcoo20/67/23-24.
 

Contribution to Science

The participation of Dr. Costamagna in the journal dates back to 2000, when he was appointed to the Editorial Board by the journal’s general editor.

Since then, Dr. Costamagna has contributed with countless academic evaluations and several plenary “Online Annual Meetings” of the Editorial Board. The journal has positioned itself as a model in the field of Chemistry of Coordination Compounds. “I think I have modestly contributed to this growth and development,” Dr. Costamagna said.

Regarding his plans in the editorial work, Dr. Costamagna said that he will continue working as emeritus editor for “Communications in Inorganic Synthesis”, an online journal sponsored by Universidad de Santiago.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Researchers at Universidad de Santiago, in partnership with researchers at the University of California (USA), developed a software program that includes several applications to study reading comprehension in users of digital texts. They will analyze the reading tracks in students and professionals all over the country to understand the cognitive processes developed when approaching a text on screen.

New technologies have also had an impact on people’s reading habits, as a result of the widespread use of digital texts. However, according to different studies, this change has not improved reading comprehension in Chilean people.  Thus, researchers at Universidad de Santiago have developed a software program that includes several applications to study reading comprehension in users of this type of text.

“Reading comprehension is essential to any field of knowledge. If someone does not have a good reading comprehension level, it will be more difficult for him/her to understand science, mathematics and texts related to financial products or a contract, for example. For this reason, we designed computerized environments for users to develop information processing strategies that allow them to process this information in a way that eases their understanding,” Dr Héctor Ponce, professor at the Department of Accounting and Auditing and an expert in information systems, said.

To design these environments, Dr Ponce and other professors at Universidad de Santiago have developed several software applications to improve reading comprehension of digital texts by including information processing strategies, like note-taking, cause-effect diagrams, sequences and comparisons. These strategies were turned into applications that complement each other, proving the effectiveness of this technology.

The results encouraged researchers to conduct further research on how Chilean people read and understand. They are currently working on the Regular Fondecyt Project (1151092) “Facilitation of cognitive processes by means of different computer-aided information processing strategies: An eye movement analysis.”

“Although we process information in different ways, there area some repeated patterns that we are trying to identify through this study. This why we will asses the cognitive strategies that a person uses when reading,” the researcher explained.

“For this purpose, we will use a computer-connected device called ‘eye-tracker’. It detects where on the screen the user is looking at, it follows the eye movement and detects how long someone spends watching objective elements, like words, for example, or the eye movement track when processing a text, among other aspects,” he added.

To inquire into how strategies help in understanding a text, tests will be run with plain texts without strategies, and with other texts that involve individual and multiple strategies.

The research team includes experts in cognitive psychology, like Dr Verónica Figueroa, co-investigator and researcher at Universidad de Santiago, and Dr Richard Mayer, professor at the University of California (Santa Barbara), who is collaborating in the study.

The project implementation started in March this year and it will involve school and university students and professionals. The study is divided in three phases: first, the design of the material to be used; then, testing and data collection through the eye-tracking device; and finally, the analysis of the collected data.

According to Dr Ponce, the results of the study could have two potential impacts. One is the software improvement, as the most effective strategies could be assembled to understand what is being read. And the other, the possibility of improving the content presentation in textbooks and the presentation of specialized information, like the one related to online products sales, health care plans, and contracts, among others.

“In a society, it is very important for people to be able to understand what they read, as one of the natural consequences of a good comprehension is a better decision-making,” Dr Ponce stressed.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• In large cities like Santiago, the quality of life is strongly related to the quality of the environment of the urban settings we live in. This is the core idea of the study “Socio-ecological quality in urban settings: improvements for a human-scale sustainable environment. Municipality of Quinta Normal,” a Dicyt project developed by Dr Alexandre Carbonnel and Rodrigo Martin, both professors at the School of Architecture of Universidad de Santiago. The study seeks to provide a tool for assessing the quality of urban life, considering environmental conditions (thermal, acoustic, and atmospheric ones) at urban settings.

   

  “Socio-ecological quality in urban settings: improvements for a human-scale sustainable environment. Municipality of Quinta Normal,” is the name of the study conducted by Dr Alexandre Carbonnel and Rodrigo Martin, both professors at the School of Architecture of Universidad de Santiago. The project has been funded by the university’s Scientific and Technological Research Department (Dicyt, in Spanish) and it has the purpose of providing a tool for measuring the quality of urban life, considering environmental conditions (thermal, acoustic, and atmospheric ones) at urban settings.

  The first measurements will be done at the municipality of Quinta Normal, an area of the capital of 12.4 square kilometers wide, with a population of 105 thousand people, according to the national census of 2002.

  This municipality is significant for the study, as it displays several special characteristics: In spite of being close to Santiago Centro, it has several industries; it adjoins Quinta Normal Park, one of the largest green areas of the capital managed by the Municipality of Santiago; and it is traversed by some of the busiest streets of the city, like Matucana, Costanera Norte Highway, Avenida San Pablo, and Central Highway (General Velásquez).

  The first hurdle to be cleared was to define the study areas. For this purpose, the research team developed “a methodology to identify the use of the urban setting as of the use of transportation and schools, what will allow pinpointing the nodes of very intense use and measure their environmental quality,” Carbonnel said.

  In order to relate the urban environmental quality to the use of urban infrastructure and services, variables and indicators related to transportation, health care and education coverage, cultural and commercial spots, green areas, and others, will be analyzed. The researchers will use some software programs (QGis and Grasshopper3d) to cross-check the information and identify the places with higher people density and more use of space.

  Once they know the places with higher density and more use, they will measure the urban environmental quality. This process will be based on thermal, acoustic and atmospheric variables, providing a true and varied environmental record of the places to be studied 

  Study impact

  According to Dr Carbonnel, the study impact is aimed at “providing municipalities, regional governments and the community with an important information tool that includes environmental indicators to orient them at managing and making local public policies and to contribute to a better use of the funds invested in infrastructure.”

  Dr Carbonnel also said that this methodology will open doors to the creation of a new line of products. “These innovations should aim to democratizing environmental information, in agreement with the vision of the Smart City Lab research center of our university.” Both researcher work at this center, together with other professionals of the School of Psychology and the Departments of Industrial Engineering, Geographic Engineering, Electric Engineering and Computer Engineering.

  Translated by Marcela Contreras