Visiting professor to stay at PUCRS until end of August
Image: Thais Gonçalves
In an effort to advance inter-institutional cooperation in the area of teaching, research and extension, PUCRS has entered into an agreement with Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), from Quito. The partnership mirrors the institutions’ interests in working together in research, especially in Chemical Engineering.
As part of the efforts in bringing the two institutions together, PUCE professor Julio Cesar Vinueza Galarraga has come to PUCRS as a visiting professor to give the partnership a kick-start. Galarraga has been doing research at the Graduate Program in Engineering and Materials Technology (PGETEMA), with the Dean of the School of Technology Dr Sandra Einloft and professor Dr Eduardo Cassel.
During his stay at PUCRS, the PUCE scholar has been working together on the development of biopolymer films and on the incorporation of plant extracts into biofilm films via supercritical impregnation. His research is intended to produce materials for functional packaging (antimicrobial activities) for food to replace plastic packages. He has also had the chance to learn about different research activities developed by PUCRS professors, in an effort to be better prepared to to increase cooperation between the two universities.
Image: Thais Gonçalves
Earlier in August, Galarraga was welcomed at the Office for International Cooperation to find out more about the University and the possibilities for an inter-institutional partnership. In addition to the working together in research, the PUCE faculty showed interest in working in other areas.
Opportunities for internationalization
For Dr Eduardo Cassel, the visit of Professor Galarraga is a concrete opportunity to share the research that is being developed at PGETEMA. It will make it possible for PUCRS to open its doors to PUCE graduate and undergraduate students. “As for the visit per se, cooperation activities involving the technology used by PUCRS researchers in biodiversity products from Ecuador has great potential to contribute to the scientific development of both institutions,” Cassel adds.
