During the five days of the meeting, various talks were given by national and international guests who explored the subject of basic sciences and solar energy.
With a large attendance of academics, related companies, students, and key energy stakeholders in the country, the Workshop on Research Strategies in Solar Energy and Basic Sciences was held.
This is the first meeting held in the country where the fundamentals of physics and other basic sciences—such as optics, astronomy, and chemistry, to mention a few—were analyzed, alongside their relationship to solar energy development.
Various experiences from other countries were also presented, providing insight into the opportunities that exist in technological and scientific advancements with a view to the future.
In this way, this event enabled an interesting discussion about strategies that can be applied to the national context and solar energy research.
International guests who participated included Radovan Kopecek, from ISC Konstanz, Germany, and the Chilean engineer Enrique Cabrera. Representing the University of Marburg, Germany, was physics professor Stephan Koch; along with Professor Paulraj Manidurai from the Universidad de Concepción.
For their part, national speakers included Ernest Michael, from the astronomy group at the Universidad de Chile; Andrea Cortés, a chemist from the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María; Professor Patricio Haberlé, from the same institution; Professor Jaime Llanos from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Norte; Marcelo Matus, from SERC Chile; and Eduardo Soto, from Fundación Chile.
As part of the corporate experience presented, Axel Metz, from Halm, Germany, and Francisco Mardones, from the company Nimbic, gave presentations.
Within the same workshop, the Mini Symposium on Solar Energy Integration and Strategic Management of Urban Transport Systems was held, organized by the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) of the Universidad de Chile.
This Mini Symposium focused on the various areas of research and the application of solar energy to urban transport and efficiency measures to reduce consumption in the transport sector.
The speakers of this Mini Symposium were Jorge Amaya, Pablo Orellana, Raphael Hofstädter, and Paula Uribe, from the CMM, together with the Chilean Agency for Energy Efficiency (ACEE).
On the final day, a session of Keynote Lectures was held in the Library Hall of the National Congress Building in Valparaíso, where professors Stephan Koch, Paulraj Manidurai, and Andrea Cortés presented their research in basic sciences and solar energy to an audience of students and the general public.
Finally, the event concluded with a cocktail for the guests at the restaurant La Piedra Feliz.
We extend our special thanks to everyone who made this meeting possible.
