Selected research projects

• 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.