Investigación

Dr. Sebastián Pérez was featured as a keynote speaker at "Discs on the Exe," an international conference held at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom during the last week of July. Dr. Pérez is a Department of Physics faculty member at the University of Santiago de Chile, deputy director of the Millennium YEMS Center, and director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Astrophysics and Space Sciences (CIRAS).

Dr. Juliano Denardin, a researcher at Cedenna and faculty member in the Department of Physics at the University of Santiago de Chile, participated in the First International Symposium on Three-Dimensional Nanomagnetism (“3DMAG 2026”), held July 13–17 in Vienna, Austria.

3DMAG 2026 was the first edition of this international symposium dedicated exclusively to three-dimensional nanomagnetism and brought together specialists in nanofabrication, magnetic characterization, theoretical modeling, spin topology, magnetization dynamics, spintronics, and magnetic nanodevices.

As part of Chile’s first scientific center specializing in soil health, Dr. Claudia Ortiz and Dr. Carmen Pizarro, from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, work to generate rigorous knowledge about how soils sustain life.

Chile is one of the world’s largest producers of rainbow trout. However, the emergence and spread of diseases caused by pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses can can result in significant losses for the aquaculture industry. 

Among these viral infections, infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) has become the leading cause of disease-related mortality in the species. According to Sernapesca’s health report for the 2021–2023 period, the virus shows an average incidence rate of 19.9% in seawater farms and 20.18% in freshwater facilities.

While Chile maintains relatively low corruption levels compared to neighboring countries in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, growing public concern highlights critical warning signs for institutional transparency and trust.

Knowledge of the organizational and relational structures within corruption cases remains limited. Because corruption is categorized analytically rather than criminally, researchers face significant challenges in systematically studying cases and understanding how actors interact.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition that affects movement, speech, and mobility. Caused by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons critical for motor control, Parkinson’s typically develops over time and can cause additional symptoms, including chronic pain and sleep disturbances.

Parkinson’s disease is a major global health challenge. With prevalence doubling over the past 25 years, more than 8.5 million people worldwide live with the condition, including approximately 30,000 patients in Chile.

NASA, the University of Santiago de Chile, and top U.S. defense agencies are joining forces for a historic space mission. The collaborative effort will test whether extremophile microorganisms can survive outside the International Space Station (ISS). Participating institutions include the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the DoD Space Test Program (DoD STP), the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), and the Bioscience Foundation.

Dr. Cristina Villamar, a researcher in the Department of Civil Engineering, was awarded a prestigious Fondecyt Regular 2026 grant. Her winning proposal, "Study of phage-based biocontrol of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens originating from wastewater treated with nature-based solutions," aims to develop eco-friendly alternatives for water disinfection and environmental safety. 

Dr. Arianne Maine, an ANID postdoctoral researcher at Usach’s SMAT-C center, won the Best Poster Award for her work on rhenium nanoparticles to optimize catalytic processes in energy generation. Her research paves the way for more efficient, cost-effective green hydrogen production, driving Chile’s technological advancement in clean energy.

The initiative, awarded under the Fondecyt Regular 2026 program to Dr. Domingo Román, a faculty member in the Department of Linguistics and Literature at the Faculty of Humanities, seeks to identify and systematize prosodic patterns—intonation, pauses, and rhythm —present in poetic recitation in Chile, incorporating voices from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds for analysis and pedagogical application.