Yachay Tech students receive scholarship in Brazil
Carlos Eduardo Cocha, 9th semester student of the School of Physical Sciences and Nanotechnology, and Jorge Luis Castro, 8th semester student of the School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, were granted a full scholarship for a three-week program at CNPEM.
Carlos Eduardo Cocha, and a 9th semester student of the School of Physical Sciences and Nanotechnology, from Ambato; and Jorge Luis Castro, an 8th semester student of the School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, from Cuenca, were granted a scholarship to participate in the summer program of the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM in Portuguese) of Brazil. Carlos and Jorge were 2 of the 26 candidates chosen out of 559 in Latin America. The CNPEM is one of the most prestigious research centers in South America and it has 4 national laboratories known worldwide. They will be working in one of these 4 laboratories, in Sao Paulo.
On the one hand, during his stay at the CNPEM, Carlos will work at the National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS). There he will develop his graduation project, focused on Physics and Detector Engineering. For this, he will be working closely to the SIRIUS accelerator, one of the two most modern sources of electron acceleration in the world. In addition, Carlos will receive the support of Harold Yepes, Ph.D., and Clara Rojas, Ph.D., professors from the same School, as director and co-tutor of his graduation work, respectively. Carlos will be the first Ecuadorian to work on the SIRIUS accelerator. The internship will last two months. For the selection process, Carlos prepared his application with Harold Yepes.
On the other hand, Jorge will work in the National Biosciences Laboratory, specifically in the area of Bioinformatics. He will be advised by CNPEM researchers and will contribute to the development of ongoing research. Once he joins the laboratory, he will be assigned a research project to work during the summer program.
This is the 28th edition of the scholarship program, which seeks to stimulate young students with a vocation for scientific research. The call is open only for students of exact, earth, biological, and health sciences. To apply, Carlos and Jorge had to propose a project or describe one of their research interests. Once the program concludes, their work will be presented in a seminar and a scientific publication. The program will begin on January 8, 2019 and will end on March 1 of the same year.