Harold Yepes, Ph.D., was selected as Ecuador’s representative in the Latin American Strategy Forum for Large Scale Research Infrastructures

May 13, 2019

Harold Yepes, Ph.D., a professor of the School of Physical Sciences and Nanotechnology of Yachay Tech, joined two academics from Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) at the Latin American Strategy Forum for Large Scale Research Infrastructures (LASF4RI) as representatives for Ecuador. The mission of this international forum is to lead the policies and joint interests of Latin American countries in the construction of future large scale research infrastructures.

The Forum was formally established in October 2018, during the III Ibero-American Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities of Science, Technology, and Innovation. The group includes experts from the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. LASF4RI was born in response to the need of bringing together the Latin American scientific community to promote research and development on Particle Physics and Cosmology.

In this sense, the authorities of each country looked for expert representatives in these fields. Harold Yepes, Ph.D., was selected as representative for Ecuador. He is currently the Principal Investigator and member of the Institutional Board of KM3NeT on behalf of Yachay Tech, the only representative of the country and Latin America in this type of large scale multidisciplinary research infrastructure located at the depths of the Mediterranean Sea.

Likewise, the other representatives for Ecuador are Lofti Boubekeur, who collaborates from the field of cosmology, and Edgar Carrera, who is the Principal Investigator of the CMS experiment from CERN in the country, both from USFQ.

For Harold Yepes, this initiative gives visibility to Yachay Tech and Ecuador in Latin America. This type of dynamic, will make possible, among other things, to contribute directly to the development of effective international collaboration for scientific research and technological advancement; this will bring great benefits and commitments for the participating countries in the medium and long term. He comments that this appointment is a great responsibility because it means representing the will and interests of Ecuador, the Latin American academic and scientific community, and the visibility and institutional image of Yachay Tech.