Contribution of UNAM to a Sustainable and More Equitable World
Dr. Eduardo Bárzana-García
Professor and Provost
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico
The “University of Mexico” was founded in 1551 as Real y Pontificia Universidad de México; in 1910, a few weeks before the Mexican Revolution, it was re-inaugurated as National University of Mexico and in 1929 obtained its autonomy. Since then it is the largest university of the country. Its budget amounts to US$2.7 billion and has 325,000 registered students (from high school up to graduate school). All branches of scientific disciplines and humanities are cultivated. During the last decade the university has aimed to develop the disciplines associated to the environment and green processing, both in scientific and social sciences terms. For UNAM it is clear that education, health and welfare are essential for a sustainable world, specifically in the case of a multicultural nation of Mexico. Examples of lines of current programs and research more proximate to Chemical Engineering will be described briefly.
Biographical Information
Dr. Eduardo Bárzana earned his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from MIT (1988), where he also completed a postdoctoral stay in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He obtained his Master´s degree from the University of Birmingham, UK (1975) and his undergraduate degree from UNAM (1974), both in Chemical Engineering.
Dr. Bárzana has served as UNAM´s Provost since April 2011. Previously he was Dean of the School of Chemistry for 6 years. With more than 37 years of experience as an administrator and researcher in the fields of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, he has been granted three national and two international patents and is a member of the National Research System at its top level. He has authored more than 65 research publications and has been advisor for more than 60 undergraduate and graduate students in Food Science and Biochemical Engineering. He has been awarded several highly recognized prizes for his work in education and research, including the USA Space Act Tech Brief Award, granted by NASA and the Award for Excellence in Teaching by the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers.