Former physics cooperation in Latin America
Central America
NADMICA - Natural Disaster Mitigation in Central America
In Central America, ISP coordinated a project on Natural Disaster Mitigation. In the framework of this activity 11 MSc and PhD students from six Central American countries were accepted to pursue their studies in Sweden.
Central American universities involved:
Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), Costa Rica
Universidad de El Salvador (UES), El Salvador
Universidad de San Carlos (USC), Guatemala
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras (UNAH), Honduras
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua (UNAN), Nicaragua
Universidad de Panamá, Panama
Swedish university departments involved:
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University
Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University
Division of Fire Safety Engineering, Lund University
Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Science and Technology
History
This program started in 2008 as a Sida financed multilateral project, involving all eight Central American countries, as well as the Dominican Republic. The Central American coordinator until 2011 was the Consejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano (CSUCA). For various reasons two countries (Belize and Dominican Republic) dropped out of the programme.
During the initial period 2008-2010, students were selected for studies in Sweden, both on the Master and on the PhD level. In 2011, two more PhD students from the former Sida bilateral programme with Honduras also joined the program. As of January 2012, the program was transformed to a network directly under ISP.
Colombia
IPPS COL01 - Condensed Matter Physics
The research group at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia, was supported between 1976 and 2004. Group leader was Professor Jairo Giraldo, an ISP PhD alumnus.
Achievements
Over the years of ISP support the group has graduated 6 PhD students.
More information
A follow-up study from 2017 showed that after the phase out of ISP support, the group continued activities primarily in technology of materials used in the manufacture of photovoltaic devices. The group was at that time, one of the most prominent in Latin America in the
field of solar cells fabricated with thin film technology. It received its main financial support from the National University and the Colombian National Research Agency. Since the end of ISP support the group has graduated approximately 12 PhD students and published around 25 papers in international scientific journals.
IPPS COL02 - Phase Transitions in Ionic Solids
The research group at Universidad de Valle, Colombia, was supported between 1984 and 2005.
Achievements
Over the years of ISP support the group has graduated 9 PhD students.
More information
A follow-up study from 2017 showed that group continued its activities after the phase out of ISP support in 2005. The group was funded by the government, by university grants, and by international agencies. Since the end of ISP support the group has graduated approximately 15 PhD students. The group has since 2005 published about 115 papers in international scientific journals and made about 200 contributions to scientific conferences and meetings. The group has been actively collaborating with the host group at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, also after the conclusion of ISP support.
Ecuador
IPPS ECU01: Laser Physics and Optics
The research group at Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ecuador, was supported between 1992 and 2006.
Objectives
The project general objective was to develop Laser-Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry, and Diode Laser Spectroscopy in fundamentals, instrumentation, and applications in several fields of sciences.
More information
A follow-up study from 2017 showed that the group had continued its work on laser spectroscopy and its applications. In particular, they worked on LIBS and GASMAS, and diode-laser spectroscopy, but had also extended their lines of work to include laser-ablation nanoparticle fabrication, nano spectroscopy, thermal characterisation of nano-suspensions, and tried to develop low-cost and open-source
instrumentation. The group did not managed to secure any funds from external sources after the phase out of ISP support. Instead they relied on funds for research available within the university.
The group has had approximately ten papers published in international scientific journals, has made 20 contributions to conferences, and has hosted several workshops and conferences after the end of ISP support. The professors of the host groups in Sweden had retired but the contact was kept in the form of lecturing, research, and other academic contacts with their successors. In addition, the group was networking within Latin America both formally and informally via Nanoandes and GETNano. For academic exchange and joint projects the group collaborated with groups in Argentina, Mexico and France.
There is no PhD programme in the physical sciences in Ecuador (2026).
IPPS ECU02 - Radiation Technology
The research group at Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ecuador, was supported between 1992 and 2003.
Peru
IPPS PER01 - Thin Films and Materials
The research group at Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Peru, was supported between 1982 and 2008. Group leader was Walter Estrada who was an ISP PhD alumnus. He was the first PhD in physics with graduation from a university in Peru.
Objectives
The project comprised materials development for energy conversion and environmental control (gas sensor and photocatalytic cells). The aim was to develop procedures in order to produce materials based on metal/semiconductors oxides (mainly transition metal oxides) and to characterise the optical and electrical properties for energy conversion and environmental control applications.
Achievements
Over the years of ISP support the group has graduated 11 PhD students.
More information
A follow-up study from 2017 showed that the group continued its activities after the phase out of ISP support. All PhD graduates from the time of ISP were leaders of their own research groups, two of them abroad. The group currently got funding from the Peruvian Research Council, the University Research Institute, the Canadian Government calls for Research, European Community calls, and Latin-American
calls.
Moreover, the group had four PhD graduations since the end of ISP support, published more than 15 papers in international scientific journals, and had more than 15 contributions to scientific meetings. A challenge facing the group is the lack of sufficient support (grants) for postgraduate students in order to keep them full time in research activities.
At the time for the follow-up study, the group was still in contact with its host institutions in Sweden. The former hosts come to Peru for lecturing and the group sends students to Sweden for short visits. One Peruvian PhD student finished her PhD at Linköping University in 2015. In 2014 a lecturer from Uppsala University came to give a postgraduate course in tribology. In addition, the group has developed cooperation with Buenos Aires University (Argentina), Antwerp University (Belgium), and Fourier University (France).
IPPS PER02 - Materials Science
The research group at Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Peru, was supported between 1981 and 2007.
Achievements
Over the years of ISP support the group has graduated 6 PhD students.
More information
A follow-up study from 2017 showed that the group had continued its activities, however at a low level. The group received funding from the university, which led to some continued research. Approximately 10 MSc’s and 5 PhD’s have graduated since the end of ISP support, and the group has published two papers in international scientific journals. The group continued its cooperation with the former host department at Linköping University. In addition, the group collaborates with Universidad de Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, USA.