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To study, analyze and even predict landslides in the Center-South area of Chile are some of the aims of this new alliance of the Universidad de La Frontera. What happened in Villa Santa Lucía and Petrohué will be a reference for the study. The investment exceeds 630 thousand USD and the project will take 4 years. |
The Andes and the Himalayas will be under the same spotlight. And although both mountain ranges are separated by thousands of kilometers, both have something in common regarding their behavior, what alarms the group of UFRO researchers and the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. It is an unprecedented alliance between the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Science and the Faculty of Engineering and Science, represented by Dr. Marcelo Somos and Dr. Ivo Fustos, together with Chen Ningsheng of IMHE and CAS, who are preparing themselves for the beginning of an ambitious research project with the objective of improving the art of prevention of and adaption to natural disasters. The project includes the study of cascade effects, incidents in the past, the understanding of mechanisms that lead to danger, and the proposal of new methodologies and technologies in order to improve the resilience and adaptability. In simpler terms, they will carefully examine the landslides occurred in nearby areas of the Andes and the Himalayas. But what do these two massifs have that could be interesting for the researchers? The answer comes from Dr. Fustos: “The landslides in both massifs are caused by subduction processes, which is when the oceanic plate sinks and slips under another continental plate. That’s when, although the angle of subduction in the Himalayas is lower compared to the Andes, both of them register landslides.” This is exactly what the scientists want to find out. Why does it happen, how often, which is the massifs’ history and, above all, how to predict an event like that in order to prevent, especially in the nearby villages and towns. “We are going to compare the areas in China and Chile, where landslides with similar characteristics have happened in the past, in order to understand the mechanisms that are causing this kind of events,” Dr. Somos explained. In December 2017, the village Santa Lucía of the commune Chaitén in the Los Lagos region was surprised and swept away by a flood caused by landslides, while three weeks after that another event like this occurred in the same region and swept away the road between Ensenada and Petrohué. Both incidents are references that will be compared, for example, to what happened in the area of Yigong in April 2000, when a rockslide travelled eight kilometers downstream in just ten minutes. “This is a comparative study with which we aspire to find new ways of monitoring and new knowledge to decipher these happenings, and to understand the main control factors. We will also generate methodologies that will allow a future joint cooperation in the search for funding for the implementation of solutions,” the researchers concluded.  Written by: the Rector’s Office |
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The FONDEQUIP Project of CONICYT allowed the UFRO to acquire a Sanger Sequencer (genetic analyzer, model 3500) for bioprospecting of organisms in extreme environments in Chile that will allow the NEXER project to continue research in the field of molecular biology. |
It is a positive impulse for scientific research at the Universidad de La Frontera and for its Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus (BIOREN) and the Network for Extreme Environment Research (NEXER). They were awarded with a FONDEQUIP project (EQM170171) that allowed BIOREN to be equipped with the latest technology.
“This equipment is a very useful and versatile tool for microbiology, as well as for research in the fields of cancer, biomedicine, engineering, and molecular biology. It will be available immediately, for different kinds of use, for the group of researchers who are part of BIOREN and the UFRO,” Dr. Milko Jorquera, professor at the Department of Chemical Science and Natural Resources of the UFRO, said, and commented that the equipment will be necessary to work in molecular biology and biotechnology. It will also put a focus on innovation regarding the NEXER Project, which is led by the Universidad de La Frontera. Dr. Maria de la Luz Mora, director of BIOREN, is also part of the challenge. She explained that the Sanger Sequencer 3500 will “strengthen the ohmic science and its scientific processes for undergraduate and postgraduate students that are related to this field, but mainly, it will strengthen the link with the productive sector, because it is an equipment that has to be handled directly, with versatile fields of use, and low-cost applications.” This translates into concrete results, such as animal genotyping or forensic medicine, among other progresses. “The UFRO started to grow when it got in contact with the productive sector and, in this context, we have to keep participating in services which are the basis for applied projects and which allow us to achieve a better link and efficiency regarding the necessities of the community, with a more specific analysis, which bioresources is working on,” the BIOREN-UFRO researcher explained. The Network for Extreme Environment Research, NEXER, is a network of three Chilean universities (U. de Antofagasta, U. de Magallanes and U. de La Frontera) and they are developing interdisciplinary research in genetic
Written by: Communications Office
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The Chilean National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (Fondecyt) awarded 12 projects of the Universidad de La Frontera, what puts it in seventh place among the universities across the country with the highest number of projects awarded in different disciplines, such as biomedical sciences, engineering, agronomy, psychology, history, geography, urbanism, etc. |
The Universidad de La Frontera received the results of the Fondecyt Initiation Competition 2018, which will finance 12 projects with a total of 885.866 million Chilean pesos, as a positive impulse for the scientific output, which is coordinated by the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Graduate Studies. These funds will allow the scientists to develop advanced research in the fields of medicine, biology, agronomy, psychology, biomedical sciences, geography and urbanism, engineering, history and mathematics. This year, the UFRO is in seventh place at the national level among the universities with the highest numbers of projects awarded by Fondecyt, above other historic institutions with an advanced development in research and innovation, such as the University of Valparaíso, University of Talca, and University of Santiago de Chile. “The submitted projects awarded by Fondecyt are of vital importance for the university as well as for the academic development of each researcher who submitted a project. In this competition, although the number of awarded projects is lower than last year, the percentage of approbation stays above 30 percent, since there have been less projects submitted this year. That means that the academics have been working in a detail-oriented way and with high standards of excellence. This is what our university is searching for,” Dr. Renato Hunter, Vice-rector for Research and Graduate Studies, explained. The academic authority also emphasized the high number of awarded projects at the UFRO compared to other institutions in Chile who are an example in research, and among which you can note an increase of private universities regarding the approval rate. Another fact Dr. Hunter pointed out is the high incidence of young UFRO researchers in the results. “Given the fact that the employment of new academics undergoes a strict selection process in which different university requirements are involved, results like this show that it has been the right way,” he said. For Dr. Cesar Arriagada Escamilla, the director of Research at the UFRO, there is no doubt that the results of this Fondecyt competition “confirm the efforts made by the academics and researchers who developed project proposals of very high quality and with a scientific productivity that has been maintained over time. Only 30.8 percent of the submitted projects in Chile are awarded in this competition, and our researchers are among the best”. Besides, he said that: “We also have to emphasize the gender parity rate, since 6 female researchers have been awarded this Fondecyt grant”. All of the projects are of high impact and transversal in their fields of knowledge. The execution of these projects starts immediately in November, after signing the agreement with the Chilean Council for Science and Technology (CONICYT). “Now, the purpose as an institution is to keep facing the challenge of developing research with excellence, to transfer the knowledge that is created at this institution to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and to motivate the young generations,” Dr. César Arriagada Escamilla, director of Research at the UFRO, explained. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PROJECTS 2018 Written by: Communications Office
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His name is Alfredo Mabica and he is a postgraduate student in the Master’s Program in Education at the Universidad de La Frontera. After an intensive preparation at the Language Coordination Center, CODI-UFRO, he developed a very good command of the Spanish language and now he is waiting for the results of the international accreditation exam at the Instituto Cervantes in Spain. |
Chile, and especially Temuco, were unknown territories for Alfredo Mabica who comes from Mozambique in Africa and has been working as a chemistry teacher at a secondary school when he received the news that he was chosen from 15 applicants to receive the scholarship “Nelson Mandela”, which the Chilean government offers to strengthen the training of human capital through Master’s Programs at different universities. Faithful to his vocation as a teacher Alfredo arrived at the Universidad de La Frontera, thanks to the coordination of the International Affairs Office, in order to join the Master´s Program in Education, an experience the Mozambican student sees very positive because of the learning quality, and because of which it turned into a necessity to improve his Spanish language skills, although he already understood vaguely, since it is very similar to his native language, which is Portuguese. “At CODI they helped me a lot to improve my Spanish language skills. It was difficult at the beginning, but necessary for understanding the teachers and my postgraduate classmates,” Alfredo, who also went through a rough process of acclimatization in his first international experience, because of the cold climate and rain of the south, commented. Margot Godoy, director of the Language Coordination Center, which is part of the Vice-rectorate for Undergraduate Affairs, explained that this action that emanated from the collaborative link with the Academic Office for Graduate Studies permitted Alfredo to take part in an intensive Spanish program that was considered by the “Nelson Mandela” Scholarship with two hours of Spanish per day during the first semester, for being able to pass Spanish level B1, which is a requirement for international students at the UFRO. “It was rewarding to see him study. We saw the advances in him and the necessity of learning the Spanish language well for getting an international certificate. He got prepared for the DELE exam of the Instituto Cervantes at the beginning of October, being the first exchange student who takes this exam, and we are expecting good results,” Margot Godoy explained. While he is waiting for the results of the exam that accredits his Spanish language skills, a certificate provided by the Ministry of Education and Professional Training in Spain, Alfredo continues with his postgraduate studies at the UFRO with the objective of applying the contents he learns at this prestigious Chilean university in the future and, why not, of teaching the Mozambican students the Spanish language.
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Life-sciences, and preclinical, clinical and health sciences are the outstanding fields of the UFRO according to THE Rankings |
The UFRO is in second place at the national level – first place regarding the regional state universities – among the seven Chilean universities that have been judged regarding the second field mentioned above, which includes programs such as medicine, nutrition, nursing, etc. The Universidad de La Frontera keeps getting positive results regarding its work. Apart from the previous rankings and, of course, the recent accreditation for six years by the National Accreditation Committee CNA, today, the Times Higher Education Ranking (THE) again positions the university in prestigious places at the national level, regarding two fields of interest: Life-sciences and preclinical, clinical and health sciences. The UFRO is in second place at the national level, after the University of Desarrollo, and in first place regarding the regional state universities, among the seven Chilean universities that have been judged regarding the second field mentioned above, which includes programs such as medicine, nutrition, nursing, etc. The THE classification table for preclinical, clinical and health sciences uses the same rigorous and balanced range of 13 performance indicators as the World University Rankings. The methodology has been recalibrated to suit the individual fields. The outstanding universities are the leading ones in medicine, dentistry and other health subjects. The other field, life-sciences, positions the UFRO in fifth place out of nine outstanding Chilean universities in that field, which have been judged. This category considers universities that are leading across agriculture and forestry, biological sciences, veterinary science and sport science subjects. The THE classification table for life-sciences uses the same range explained above, but the methodology has been recalibrated to suit the individual fields. At the same time, the Universidad de La Frontera is among the first 600 universities overall according to the latest THE Rankings report by subject 2019: range 401-500 in preclinical, clinical and health sciences and range 501-600 in life-sciences.
Written by: Instituttional Analysis and Development Office
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