Columbia University’s Vasilis M. Fthenakis, one of the world’s foremost experts on solar energy, will be speaking about business opportunities based on solar energy, including desalination, and PV recycling.

Fthenakis is founder and Director of the Center for Life Cycle Analysis (CLCA) at Columbia’s Department of Earth & Environmental Engineering. He is also a Senior Scientist Emeritus at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) where he conducted research for 36 years and directed the National Photovoltaic (PV) Environmental Research Center.

He is co-author, among many others, of the research publications “Electricity from Sunlight: Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability” and “A Grand Plan for Solar Energy”.

His multi-disciplinary work is a crucial part of the scholarly landscape for comparing renewable energy technologies with conventional energy options and is assisting the current large scale penetration of PV into the European and US electricity grids. Other representative examples of his work encompass PV module recycling (three patterns), the optimal approach to handling CdTe panels, especially during potential fire circumstances, and elimination of lead from soldered strings in crystalline silicon modules.

The event will be chaired by Paula Estévez, a Columbia alumna who heads the international affairs division at the Ministry of Energy.

* The conference will be in English; parking available at Parque Bicentenario or at Hotel Atton Vitacura (Av Vitacura 3201).

This program is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal #7 “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy”.

How to Attend

Registration is requested. Use the Sign Up link below.

Organized By: Columbia University

Alfredo Prieto

Harvard DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholars

Archeologist and Investigator, Universidad de Magallanes

I have devoted more than 30 years to the investigation of the prehistory and ethnography of Fuego-Patagonia, publishing some results in national and international scientific journals. A key argument of my work is that the knowledge of the natives of the southern end of the American continent can contribute to the discussion of universal themes of archeology.

This experience allowed me to investigate archives related to the Fuego-Patagonia region obtained by various researchers, mainly Samuel K. Lothrop (Harvard) and Charles Wellington Furlong (Dartmouth College). That was a critical opportunity in my career as a researcher.”

Coming from a philosophy background, I took an early interest in cultural and archaeological heritage, joining the Institute of Patagonia of the University of Magallanes. I earned a master’s degree in archeology from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a doctorate in prehistoric archeology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​Catalonia, Spain.

I also participated in the formation of the Center of Studies of the Austral Man of the University of Magallanes and have been editor and member of editorial committees of several related magazines. I was president of the Editorial Commission of the University of Magallanes and a member, for two periods, of the Advisory Council of Karukinka Park in Tierra del Fuego, belonging to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

In 2013 I spent a semester in Cambridge, MA as a Luksic Visiting Scholar at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. This experience allowed me to investigate archives related to the Fuego-Patagonia region obtained by various researchers, mainly Samuel K. Lothrop (Harvard) and Charles Wellington Furlong (Dartmouth College). That experience was a critical opportunity in my career as a researcher.”

One of my main interests is the study of the ancient techniques used by the peoples of Fuego-Patagonia, its influence and development, to which I have dedicated articles, chapters and books.

For more on my work during my time as a Luksic Visiting Scholar, please read here.

Camila Ortiz

Luksic Scholarship for Chile-China Undergraduate Exchange

Estudiante de Ingeniería Comercial, Universidad de Chile

China es, definitivamente, algo por completo nuevo para mí y me considero muy afortunada de tener esta oportunidad”.

Soy una estudiante chilena de 24 años que en 2018 pasó un semestre en Shanghai estudiando en la Universidad de Fudán gracias a la beca Luksic.

Me encuentro estudiando Ingeniería Comercial en la Universidad de Chile, localizada en Santiago, la capital de mi país, Chile. Mi lengua materna es español y hablo fluidamente inglés y, además, estoy estudiando chino dada la oportunidad que tuve de estudiar afuera.

Para ser honesta, China puede sobrecogedora pero, al mismo tiempo, pienso que nunca viviré en una país y cultura tan asombrosos. China es, definitivamente, algo por completo nuevo para mí y me considero muy afortunada de tener esta oportunidad.

Desde mi admisión en 2014, he estado involucrada en diversas áreas de mi universidad, incluyendo la dirección de la organización estudiantil más antigua de la facultad, PreuFEN.

Y aquellas son oportunidades que nos transforman y nos forman como futuros profesionales.

Entender ese conocimiento teórico es sólo la primera parte de las habilidades que debemos tener. La segunda, es atreverse a abrir tus alas y volar tan alto como te lo permitan tus sueños. En este último caso, eso es casi literal lo que hice cuando apliqué a la Beca Luksic en China.

Quizás ese sea uno de los aspectos más hermosos de este desafío: la posibilidad de convertirse uno en el profesional del que tanto se habla en clases y sobre el cual he leído. Ese profesional con visión, entendimiento, ética y compromiso social. Entendemos mucho el sello de nuestra institución y sabemos lo que significa ser los representantes en universidades elite como Fudán.

Me comprometo con mis colegas a ser el reflejo fehaciente de los valores que he recibido desde mi ingreso en la Universidad de Chile.