Universidad de Antioqua

The University of Antioqua (UdeA) is one of the top research institutions in Colombia, and a crucial potential partner in the development and implementation of this project. Its importance demanded several days of learning, talking and making contacts.

As mentioned in my UNC-M post, UdeA has a lot of research going on in the theoretical realm. Some of this research extends beyond the reading of journals or manipulating open-source data to come up with new ideas. Many researchers at UdeA use local resources and external collaborations to publish internationally recognized work.

Professors Carlos Duque of the Solid State research group, and Professor Diego Restrepo of the High Energy/Particle Physics research group, helped guide me through the well-advanced techniques of their respective groups.

Professor Duque has collaborations with professors in several countries (though principally in Brazil, Mexico and Cuba), utilizes both pregrad and postgrad students in research activities, and his sub-group (primarily focused on semi-conductors) has around 140 international publications within the past 10 years.

Professor Restrepo utilizes contacts throughout Colombia, foreign institutions, students, and modern technological resources, to publish high-level ideas and results. Professor Restrepo showed me some open-source platforms and software that he uses, like MathJax and GitHub, that have obvious direct application to this project.

Research at UdeA is not without it's severe limitations, however. Funding for research is better at UdeA, as it relies not only on ColCiencias, UdeA itself, and foreign collaborators, but money from the state of Antioqua as well, but is still lacking in several key areas. Scholarships for postgrads, money for visiting conferences, and tangible resources like computer clusters and some basic experimental potential for testing local ideas, are still essentially nonexistent. There is also a somewhat troubling system in place for paying salaries directly based upon number of publications (almost regardless of what the research or results are..."publish or perish" is certainly an issue everywhere, but this policy implies innately lower standards) that arguably helps breed less respectable research (this is speculation, but maybe this is one of many reasons why Professors at UdeA have trouble forming lasting collaborations with "first-world" institutions; the majority of collaborating foreign institutions are either in Latin America, the former Soviet Bloc, or the Middle East). In addition, many professors lack the ability to get recently published international articles in a timely fashion, as the University has not paid for access to many of the reviews. Professors either have to pay out-of-pocket or email the authors in hopes of a prompt response with the full-text article.

Professors Pablo Cuartas and Jorge Zuluaga, both of whom work in AstroPhysics theory, helped articulate some of the limitations that the less-fortified research groups at UdeA suffer from, and offered some directly applicable ideas for my proposed platform. Professor Zuluaga, for example, stressed the need for software centralization, in addition to idea and data sharing that I'd been focusing on. What this means is that with a centralized investigation platform, not only would researchers make research topics and certain results more accessible, but the tools for getting those results as well. With a centralization of the software and access to resources capable of handling them (again, computer clusters), researchers from established research institutions that lack access to these costly resources could send their "job" into this centralized interface and get it processed more efficiently. This idea opens possibilities that I previously hadn't considered.

There were also many informal chats with a large number of students, pregrad and postgrad, extending from physics to math and chemistry. The interest shown by the students, along with the one-on-one talks with professors, and a meeting with the physics faculty director Professor Johans Restrepo (this one was more like a job interview; it reminded me why I'm out of the standard job market and formal academia for the time being!),  coagulated into the scheduling of an official "seminar."

This was a good chance to get more serious and organized about exactly what it is that I'm trying to accomplish here, and to speak in a more formal way (in Spanish) in front of an audience of potential collaborators.

It wasn't exactly a sold-out crowd, but nonetheless was fantastic practice as to how to best present this concept. The response was positive, and when I returned two days later, word of my mission had spread, and there were numerous people who wanted to talk about the project and find out how to get involved.

Overall, UdeA impressed and encouraged me, and was a big step on this steep climb.

Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

Visiting UPB was an opportunity to see how private Universities function in Colombia, and to expand my horizons beyond pure science research.

Research at UPB is almost exclusively focused on Engineering, and heavily relies upon ColCiencias and foreign institutions for funding. Large projects are in the works, however, and the utilization of technology for higher learning is actively being considered.

I met with Emiro and Andres Diez, a father/son team within the Electrical Engineering department. Through them, I was introduced to the director of the Electrical Engineering department, the head of technological development for the entire University, various researchers and developers within the school of Engineering, and with the director of the Engineering school himself.

Andres took me around to see labs and equipment, and an impressive electrical trolley project he works on, which utilizes French funds and Belarusian vehicles. The hope is that in the coming years, this energy efficient initiative will have a strong-hold in Medellin and Bogota.

There was a lot of interest in what I was doing, and I felt a little overwhelmed by how applicable all I've been working on is to these branches of research as well. They suffer from many of the same limitations I'd become familiar with, but already have structures in place for better sharing experimental resources. Utilizing technology to make resource-sharing more efficient, and to better prepare prospective researchers, could be a huge step for engineering Universities.  It will be interesting to explore the best ways to extend and connect pure science research and upper-level classwork to more applied, experimentally oriented research and instruction.

Universidad Nacional de Colombia: Medellin

Back on the ball after a substantial misadventure, Colombia's "second city," Medellin, offered multiple opportunities to further fortify this project.

It began with a chat with pregrad and postgrad physics and engineering students at the Medellin branch of Colombia's National University (UNC-M). This informal gathering, in addition to subsequent meetings I had over the next two weeks at UNC-M, was set up and attended by a new friend, Jorge Yukio, who also helped connect me with students at other Universities, and with some formal Spanish translating.

UNC-M is part of an eight-campus public National University system centralized in Bogota. While overall considered to have a wealth of resources, there appears to be a substantial disconnect between Bogota and its satellite campuses when it comes to collaboration and resource allocation.

The students explained their interests and limitations to me, echoing many things I'd heard previously, but with an added hint of frustration. This frustration I think stems from their belief that there is no reasonable excuse for many of the problems (student displeasure and activism is outwardly present at Colombia's public Universities, and they go on strike with alarming frequency).

At UNC-M, almost all research and course-work in science is focused upon direct application, so those hoping to work in the pure sciences are forced to look elsewhere. Applied science research is also limited due to lacking collaboration and resources. The University and the government funding organization, ColCiencias, are typically uninterested in supporting initiatives without immediate application, and even then are slow to act. This theme would repeat itself at other Universities.

There is an established masters program in physics at UNC-M, with strong core courses (statistics, electromagnetism, mechanics and quantum mechanics), but specialization after the core is extremely limited. I met only one masters student that focused on theory, working in conjunction with the one-and-only theoretical physics faculty member.

The students, overall, grudgingly accept the fact that they either have to go into industry or study at foreign Universities. Some accept the possibility of staying and doing research at UNC-M, but none enthusiastically.

Over the next couple of weeks, meetings with some administrators, professors and developers, made me think that the obstacles presented by the students need not be permanent.

There was a meeting with Dr. Ramon Castaneda, the former head of physics investigation, and current wealth of knowledge as to how research is done and funded at UNC-M. He presented UNC-M's lack of basic science research as a choice rather than a limitation. He said that because the nearby University of Antioqua focused so much on theory, UNC-M, instead of competing, focused on application. Professor Castaneda also emphasized the historic precedence that the physics department itself originated as a branch of the engineering department, so naturally applied physics became the focus.

He was supportive to the idea of better connecting UNC-M and U of Antioqua, providing more opportunities for students with a wide spectrum of interests, and helping fortify each others' weaknesses with the others' strengths. This general idea was also talked about for the National University system as a whole.

Professor Castaneda provided me with some contacts, and a meeting was set up with the director of virtual instruction, Professor Diego Aristizabal.

While all forms of virtual interactive learning are in very early stages within the UNC system, the mentality encountered between Professor Aristizabal and his two young partners in development, Alejandro Piedrahita and Tatiana Munoz, was inspiring. Utilizing UNC-M's already established "Moodle" platform (online course platform, similar to those encountered at US institutions), they want to implement newer technology that extends the classroom environment to less accessible areas, via internet.

They're looking to do many of the same things I am, though themselves focused upon more basic learning for University students in all subjects throughout Colombia (as opposed to more high-level science instruction and research collaboration). Some of the tools that they're trying to implement made me think some of the things I've been envisioning are even more accessible than I'd imagined.

Their goal suffers from such irritating limitations as lack of band-width and allocation by the University, and the inevitable backlash they'll experience from "seasoned" professors unlikely to accept anything that seems to tinker with their already established curriculum's. These three know, however, that the technology is there to make big changes, and were very excited with some of my ideas and the prospect of doing more with it in the near future.

University of Panama

My poorly timed visit (first day of Christmas vacation) to the large public University of Panama was limited but informative.

The physics program is very small, with approximately 10 students working towards a Licenciatura and no masters program. The professors do not get paid to do research. 100% of the salary goes towards teaching, and of course the level of research being done suffers or doesn't exist.

Most interestingly, visiting professors do come to instruct fourth year students for a month or two, but also keep up the contract once back in their home country (for physics, Spain, Mexico, Germany and Switzerland were mentioned, but this applies to the other sciences as well) by streaming some of their lectures live from their home countries.

On a more global and standardized scale, this is an important approach that I hope to see implemented and it was a thrill to see this new initiative taking place in Panama. Linking these and other students up with more developed programs in the region could help better prepare them for higher-level work and free up time for their professors to do research. The professors could subsequently be linked to other researchers and upper-level instruction through similar or more advanced video-streaming and conferencing. The mentality to do this seems to already be in place at this particular institution.

University of Costa Rica

The public University of Costa Rica (UCR) is the first true research institute that I've visited so far on this journey through Central America, and it's apparent that the academic infrastructure is quite comprehensive and well-developed. PhD professors, established masters programs, international publications, and a relatively large amount of resources, make UCR a potential hub for scientific development in the region. Getting the science departments and research centers at UCR to a truly first world standard should be an attainable goal as well.

My focus was again on the physics department, but before providing details of those interactions, mention of UCR's other high-level endeavors in the sciences and math are necessary.

Perhaps the crown jewel of research being done at UCR is the microbiology institute, which is self-funded independent of the broader university, has an international faculty and student body, and many researchers who devote 100% of their time to research. The institute is top-notch and at first-world standards.

The math department is also quite advanced and has strong links to foreign institutions. A masters program is offered at UCR, and a large portion of students who pursue PhDs at foreign institutions return to continue their research. I spoke with the director of the "Centro de Investigacion en Matematica Pura y Applicada" (CIMPA), a research platform set-up at UCR to connect mathematics professors within UCR with their international partners. The platform is basic, but it helps professors maintain contacts and initiate collaborations.

Now on to physics!

A PhD is required to be a full professor in the School of Physics at UCR. Since there is no PhD physics program at UCR, this means that each one of the 30+ members of the physics faculty has attained a substantial amount of instruction and training at foreign institutions. The familiarity with how first world research institutes operate, and the connections that are formed and often (though perhaps not often enough) kept, provide pipelines for future students and continued research collaboration.

This is a fine basis, and due to a common practice of students signing contracts guaranteeing a faculty position upon completion of their PhDs, many do return (though the numbers have been decreasing, likely due to this path lacking an attractive economic incentive return). Upon return, a 50/50 teaching/research position is almost always what is waiting, which in theory helps solidify the bachelor's and master's degree programs, and allows the new professors to continue their research.

I say in theory because while this process does work to some extent, it limits the amount of exposure the new professors have to research. They're expected to return immediately after completion of their PhD's, eliminating the potential to do more independent post-doctoral research.

The idea of a "distance post-doc" was proposed by Dr. Max Chaves, who provided a litany of other insights to the state of the program at UCR and the potential for improvement. Along with Dr. Chaves,  Dr. Francisco Frutos Alfaro, Dr. Lela Taliasvhili, and several other professors helped paint a clear picture for how theoretical research is done at UCR. Other than the solid-state and nuclear physics institutes, which do have substantial resources, essentially all other forms of physics research fall into the theoretical realm.

We also spoke at length of the limitations for connecting with outside researchers (the inability to visit conferences and have the necessary face-to-face exchange of ideas that could lead to collaboration was emphasized as a major limitation), some noticeable disconnects that exist between the professors and the upcoming classes of students, and the need for the majority of UCR's physics professors to have more familiarity with the research processes at foreign institutions (beyond a PhD thesis). In essence, limit isolation and open the door for instruction and collaboration at all levels.

The students are always the key though, and their perspectives were progressive and informative. While research is not emphasized in the bachelor's degree program, the students do have the option to get involved at any of the four research institutes (solid-state, nuclear, space-sciences, and geophysics), or join with a particular professor. For example, one student named Rafael does cosmology research with Dr. Chaves, an opportunity that has clearly had a strong motivational influence on Rafael's interest in physics research.

The majority of the bachelor's degree students, while aware that UCR's program is much stronger than those in neighboring countries, still almost universally have the objective to leave Costa Rica upon graduation (even to pursue their master's abroad too, though some are interested in the internal master's program), and most say they see very little reason to come back. Lack of job opportunities outside of universities, and low-salaries within the universities, help drive this mentality.

Through elective courses in the curriculum, bachelor's students do have the ability to be introduced  to certain higher level subjects, such as General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory and are granted the opportunity to take courses along with master's students if they demonstrate superior ability and motivation.

These more motivated students are also aware enough to know that they're unaware, meaning they feel there is a lack of opportunity to become familiar with many areas of modern research while at UCR. Research conferences are given almost weekly, and the students enjoy this, but only rarely do these conferences include researchers from foreign institutions, something for which the students have a strong desire.

I had a fine chat with Dr. Rodrigo Carboni Mendez, the director of the School of Physics and coordinator of the pre-grad program. I was introduced to a troubling phenomenon at UCR: filling quotas. It seems that because there is limited interest in certain fields, such as physics, many students with low entry scores that cannot get into more popular programs like microbiology or medicine, just enter UCR as physics majors (100 per year approximately). While almost all of these students transfer to other departments or drop-out (by 4th year, 10-12 students are left generally), this makes the first two years of basic physics classes unpleasant for professors and those students who are actually committed to receiving their physics degree due to the abundance of disinterested and incapable students.

Dr. Mendez is hoping to attract a larger number of more capable students by re-forming a Licenciatura program (in-between bachelor's and master's; currently at UCR, the structure is based primarily on the US university degree system), for students interested in physics that are more interested in finding a job that directly applies their physics skills but do not necessarily want to do pure research.

As for the master's program, I had an extensive discussion with the director of the program, Dr. Jorge Gutierrez (soon to be Dr. Rabbi Jaim Gutierrez, mazel tov!). A meteorological physicist, he oversees the four areas offered to physics masters students (General Physics, Astrophysics, Meteorological Physics, and Geophysics, all of which end in valid research and thesis publication). Using his many experiences in teaching, researching, and administration in meteorological physics as an analogy to other fields of physics, we discussed some of the difficulties (bureaucratic, economic, and philosophical) in forming international programs, platforms, and collaborations. It was an enlightening discussion from which I gained a lot of insight for future considerations and planning.

In all these meetings, the topic of what should happen next was discussed. Pre-grad students want greater access to foreign professors and their interests. Masters students want something similar, but through more in-depth instruction in upper-level courses and research. Professors themselves want to connect with more foreign researchers in an interactive environment, and they also want to increase the standard of research being done at UCR to facilitate a larger volume of publications. From past experience, universities in neighboring countries are just hoping to reach the standard that UCR has set.

How to address these needs is the core of this project.

Can Costa Rica take the lead in the region to help standardize science programs up to a level where all are capable of doing substantial research? Can UCR itself be better connected to first world research institutes to facilitate collaboration and high-level instruction? The minds are there. The technology is at the doorstep. Let's make it happen!

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua-Managua

The one and only University in Nicaragua with a physics department, UNAN-Managua is not exactly the ideal place to study for a talented and curious science student. There are some positives, foundations and motivated people, however.

The lack of opportunity, not just to research, but to even learn about, the broad spectrum of fields that physics encompasses, is striking. The incoming classes from the past two years have essentially one option; medical physics. There used to be geophysics and even a general physics bachelors program, but due to lack of interest (apparently no students at all entered for the general physics program three years ago so it was abandoned), the administration decided it would be a good idea to eliminate all other possibilities within physics and only offer the sexy title of "fisica de medicina."

This unfortunate decision worked if merely considering numbers (some 40 students have entered the medical physics program over the past year), but at least the vast majority are extremely uninformed as to what physics is, and the vast possibilities that reside within the field.

The fifth (final) year class is a different story. The seven students left in this class have varying interests (though predominantly geophysics, as a relic of the previous program), and have the common ambition of pursuing post-grads in foreign countries.

One of these fifth year students, Aitor, wants to study astrophysics, and spends his available time at the recently (2007) formed observatory, and studying on his own.

The observatory was built with the support of the Space Science School at UNAH-Tegucigalpa, and especially Marie Carias, the director of that program whom I'd lauded for her ongoing efforts in a previous post. One of her students, a Nicaraguan named Ligia Zavala, has been with the observatory since 2008, but at present there are only three professors working to further build the program, which has no official courses at present. They are attempting to educate high-schoolers to the possibility of studying astronomy, and hope that future entering classes at UNAN will help further solidify the program, which for now is part of the physics department.

A talk was set-up by the enthusiastic and well-intentioned director of the physics department, Karla Ubieta Huete. Between professors and students, 30-40 people were in attendance. A tough crowd, as it was difficult to get much of a discussion going, but nonetheless a productive exercise.

While the lack of interaction was likely mostly due to timidity, the limited specializations of medical physics and geophysics appears to have stifled the curiosity and awareness of most of the students as to what physics represents, and what scientific investigation is all about.

Also, what exactly is medical physics in the minds of these students, and why is it so popular in comparison to all other areas of physics? Two students mentioned forensics and their interest due to TV shows like CSI. Really, that's why you're studying physics? Needless to say, many first year medical physics students end up dropping out of the program after being introduced to general physics courses and calculus.

After the talk, Aitor led me to the newly-built Institute for Geology and Geophysics, well-isolated from the rest of campus. A modern facility devoted to research, and funded primarily through foreign investment, this place was a strange contrast to what I'd encountered exploring the main campus. There's a multi-national masters program in geology and all professors have post-grad degrees and the majority are Nicaraguan.

This institute is essentially the standard being aimed for in developing countries, and the positive is that its presence shows that high level research institutes can exist in places like Nicaragua. The negative is its isolation and unwillingness to include the pre-grad physics students at UNAN in research opportunities and higher-level instruction.

Politics between the physics department and the institute appear to be the primary problem, and Director Huete has hopes for mending the problems between certain people and establishing a sharing of resources. In addition to making this connection, her primary goals at the moment are to re-implement a general physics degree (2013 is the projected re-commencement), and establish a masters program. She's in contact with members of physics departments in several Latin countries to achieve this final end.

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua-Leon

Renewable energy research isn't exactly what I have in mind for this project, but popular areas such as this often have working and developing systems that are directly translatable in many ways to other forms of scientific research. Such was the case at UNAN-Leon.

With no physics department and a very small and poorly functioning math and statistics department, I turned my attention to the renewable energy department and research division.

There are 22 individuals in the masters program, nine of whom are teachers at the university. Msc.Jorge Isaac Cisne Altamirano is a Geochemist who studied in Iceland, and is one of the coordinators of the masters program. He described the system for completing a masters, which entails intensive year-long classwork followed by research and thesis work within industry, at a geothermal plant for instance. 

A large number of classes are currently taught by visiting professors with PhD's from Spain, but Jorge's attitude towards this aspect of the program was something new. He sees the use of foreign professors as a step but not an overall necessity. 

What he hopes to achieve is a self-sustaining program. The teachers already associated with UNAN-Leon, and some of the independent students as well, will become professors for the following classes of masters students. Over the years, this will progressively decrease the need to spend money on visiting professors, and in turn free up money to invest in better equipment and research. With better equipment and research opportunities, more will join the field, and it will continue to grow.

If this masters program progresses as expected, it represents an interesting and efficient model for getting scientific programs on their feet.