Selected research projects
• Funding Program: MISTI Seed Fund
• Amount: 30,000 USD – URL
• PI: Dr. Wangdo Kim (mwdkim@utec.edu.pe) and Sang-Gook Kim (MIT)
Development of proper tunnel syndrome placement device to avoid impingement
This study shows that whereas the current rationale for tibial tunnel placement identifies a range in which the roof impingement is not allowed to avoid the negative affordance, in reality, all this can be done to constrain the target bounds with respect to the positive affordance that is desired. The affordance-based design has been best illustrated for artifacts that having biomechanical offerings, how to avoid the ligament impingement during ACL reconstruction, focused on the search for placing optimal tibial tunnel.
• Funding Institution: Newton-Paulet Fund and Fondecyt
• Amount: 1’500,000 PEN – URL
• PI: Dr. Daniel Horna (dhorna@utec.edu.pe)
Producing EnerGy and preventing hAzardS from sUrface water StorageS in Peru (PEGASUS)
The main objective is to provide the basic science necessary to maximize opportunities and minimize the risks presented by the future storage of surface water in the glacial basins of the Peruvian Andes: Urubamba, Vilcabamba, and Vilcanota, in order to provide information on the sustainability of current and future hydroelectric schemes, how to manage water use in the coming decades, formulate policies that reflect the needs of all stakeholders, and the potential dangers that unstable mountain environments can represent for the livelihood in future years.
• Funding Institution: Newton-Paulet Fund and Fondecyt
• Amount: 1’500,000 PEN – URL
• PI: Dr. Pedro Rau (prau@utec.edu.pe)
WateR security And climate cHange adaptation in PerUvian glacier-fed river basins (RAHU)
This project is focused on participatory monitoring of water resources as an innovative approach to increase and transform knowledge of physical processes and the application of modeling in water resources, in order to support the design and implementation of adequate adaptation strategies to changes in water resources in Peru.
• Funding Institution: Ciencia, Tecnología y Desarrollo – CYTED and Fondecyt
• Amount: 30,000 EUR – URL
• PI: Dr. Patrick Venail (pvenail@utec.edu.pe) and Dr. Monica Santa-Maria (msantamaria@utec.edu.pe)
TaLGEnTox: Analysis and management of the risks associated with the presence of cyanotoxins in water and development of clean technologies for their modification: towards an improvement in public health
The processes of eutrophication and climate change are generating the massive proliferation of cyanobacteria and, therefore, of cyanotoxins in waters bodies of almost all ecosystems and climates on Earth. Regarding this situation, the project proposes the development of a sustainable risk management system for the exposure of cyanotoxins content in water, including a proposal of efficient, environmentally friendly and economic treatments to eliminate these compounds. The achievement of this objective would guarantee an improvement in the quality of the water and, therefore, of public health, favoring the sustainable growth of the population.
• Funding Institution: World Bank and Fondecyt
• Amount: 350,000 PEN – URL
• PI: Dr. Pedro Rau (prau@utec.edu.pe)
ePiura: enfoque multidisciplinario para el Planeamiento de la Infraestructura Urbana, mapeando el Riesgo Ambiental
This project involves multidisciplinary research based on an analytical methodology that matches engineering, urban planning, and econometric activities, to understand urban development in coastal cities regarding hazards and extreme events such as El Niño Phenomenon. The economic costs associated with affecting the urbanized environment will also be identified in the face of the occurrence of an extreme event and the impact generated by the type of existing urban planning, in collaboration with local universities.
• Funding Institution: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• Amount: 2’055,000 USD – URL
• PI: Dr. Patrick Venail (pvenail@utec.edu.pe)
Scientific Assessment of River Form and Flow: Baseline Information for Infrastructure Guidelines in the Peruvian Amazon
This project consists of the development of Best Management Practices or guidelines to quantify and characterize the structure of the water flow, sediments and how the morphology of the Amazonian rivers develops and their interrelation with biodiversity and communities, in order to predict the impacts of river-related infrastructure intervention.