Highlighting Usach's commitment to solving real-world societal challenges through academic research, René Fernández Montt of the Faculty of Technology has published The Economics of the Brain: How Neuroeconomics Explains Human Behavior (ELIVA Press, 2026). The new book explores how neuroeconomics bridges cognitive science and economic decision-making.
Computed tomography (CT) scans have become an essential tool in modern medicine due to their speed and ability to produce detailed images of bones, organs, and soft tissues, facilitating the timely diagnosis of diseases.
Depending on their radiation dose, CT scans are classified as standard or low-dose. Low-dose CT scans expose the patient to a lower radiation dose during the exam, although they have a significant limitation: they produce images with lower resolution and higher visual noise.
Whether predicting weather patterns, mapping neural behavior, or tracking disease transmission, mathematical models allow researchers to decode how the physical world operates and anticipate future scenarios.
For a long time, these models were built on the assumption that certain phenomena unfold gradually—that is, in a more or less predictable way—and that each event depends primarily on what is happening in its immediate surroundings. However, reality often behaves in more complex ways.
The International Green Product Awards ceremony was held at the Berlin Colosseum—a historic complex converted into a cultural space in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood—where the Architecture category award went to the AYMI Modular Habitat project by USACH researcher Cristian Fuenzalida Rozas.
Since earning her degree in chemistry, Dr. Karen Manquián Cerda has specialized in soil chemistry, analyzing complex molecular interactions beneath the surface. Her current environmental research investigates how natural nanoparticles (NNPs) and industrial or engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) alter the bioavailability of heavy metals and essential nutrients in soil ecosystems. Ultimately, her goal is to translate this nanotechnology data into scalable solutions that improve agricultural sustainability and public health.
Extremophiles from Antarctica and the Atacama Desert will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 8 to study their biological adaptation to microgravity and high-radiation conditions inside the station.
The Chilean sustainable architecture project AYMI Modular Habitat, led by architect and professor at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment Cristián Fuenzalida, has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2026 Green Product Award in the Architecture category. Developed at the University of Santiago, Chile (Usach), the innovative system stood out among more than 1,000 entries from 45 countries.
The Faculty of Humanities at the University of Santiago recently contributed to the global dialogue on ethnohistory and Indigenous territorialities. Representing the university at the VI International Congress on Indigenous Worlds: History, Territoriality, and Indigenous Knowledge in Salvador de Bahía, Brazil, Dr. Xochitl Inostroza coordinated a pivotal panel.
Dr. Letelier asserts that teaching ethics requires more than a theoretical framework; it must be connected to professional practice and the genuine dilemmas future professionals encounter. He states, “Applied ethics is not merely about memorizing codes of conduct, but about comprehending how ethical principles inform decision-making in complex and evolving situations.”
To address the persistent challenge of equitable access to justice, Dr. Marcela Contreras from the Faculty of Humanities is conducting a research project titled “Translation as a right: Perceptions and proposals on translation and language assistance in the Chilean legal system as a mechanism to facilitate communication and protect rights.” Her study examines how insufficient language resources in courts can impact non-Spanish speakers.