Federico Santa María Technical University

Federico Santa María Technical University
Motto Ex umbra in Solem[1]
Motto in English
 From the shadows to the light
Type Private (Traditional)
Established 1926 (1926)[2]
Rector Darcy Fuenzalida O'Shee (2014-2018)
Academic staff
 635
(Equivalent full time)
Students 18,329 (2015)[3]
Undergraduates 17,390 (94.9%)
Postgraduates 939 (5.1%)
Location Valparaíso, Chile
33°02′06″S 71°35′47″W / 33.035135°S 71.596265°W / -33.035135; -71.596265Coordinates: 33°02′06″S 71°35′47″W / 33.035135°S 71.596265°W / -33.035135; -71.596265
Campus Urban
14.82 hectares (36.6 acres)[3]
Colours Blue, Red and Yellow
              
Nickname Sansano[4]
Affiliations Traditional
Cruz del sur Network
G9 Network
Clover 2030 Engineering
Website www.utfsm.cl/en/

The Federico Santa María Technical University (Spanish: Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María) (UTFSM) (or simply Santa Maria University) is a Chilean university founded in 1926 in Valparaíso, Chile.

It is one of the most prestigious engineering universities in the country and Latin America, and gives special emphasis to basic sciences, engineering and technical fields[5] with a more recent growth into economics and business sciences.[6] The University has campuses in Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, Santiago, Concepción and Rancagua, as well as an international campus in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The Federico Santa María Technical University is the alma mater of several prominent businessmen, engineers and Chilean scientists. Its students and alumni are known as "Sansanos".

The UTFSM was the first Chilean university to confer a doctorate in engineering in 1962 and the first higher-education institution in Latin America to confer this degree.[7]

The university admission is very competitive and, it is known for its rigorous study requirements, demanding study program, and for being the only engineering university in Chile to require physical training as a compulsory part of the curriculum. The UTFSM has an undergraduate retention rate of 80.2% by the first year of studies, and a 68.9% by the second year.[3] Less than 1% of its students are international, and most of the available courses are imparted in Spanish.

The UTFSM has been historically perceived as one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the country and more recently, with the appearance of national and international rankings, has been placed among the top Universities in Chile and South America.[8][9] It is ranked 1st in Chile and 2nd in South America by The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-2015.[8]

The graduation date is held on the 20th of December every year, since it commemorates the anniversary of the death of the founder, Federico Santa Maria Carrera, on the 20th of December 1925.

History

University frontis

The university takes its name from Federico Santa María, a Chilean philanthropist that lived in France. He raised a huge fortune as a broker in the sugar market in Paris. Before his death, he donated all his fortune to create a university in Valparaíso, his hometown. Although the amount of his fortune is unknown, it is believed to have been around 2 billion dollars of today's currency. While in Paris in 1920, in his testament, Santa María donated his fortune with the idea of building a high-standard technical and scientific institution.

In his will, Santa María manifested that his desired executors contribute to material progress and expand Chile's cultural horizons; altruistic ideas which sought to facilitate entry into the academic life of outstanding compatriots dispossessed but without further requirement than merit, skills and high academic achievement. This institution would accept and prepare the best students from all socioeconomic backgrounds to gain technical and scientific knowledge that contribute to the progress of the country.

The executors were chosen by Santa María to be Agustin Edwards Mac-Clure, Juan Brown Caces, Carlos van Buren and Andrew Geddes.

Following his philosophy, on March 31, 1926, an institution was created to develop Santa María's legacy. Finally in 1931 the School of Crafts and Arts and School of Engineering José Miguel Carrera was founded. In 1935 its name changed to Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María.

The condition imposed by Federico Santa María was that, during the first 10 years, the university must receive academics from the best schools of sciences and engineering. Following this imperative, the executor of this project, Agustín Edwards Mac-Clure, moved to Germany where he contacted Dr. Karl Laudien, who became the first rector of the university. From that moment, the university received a strong German influence in its engineering education. Several German engineers and scientists arrived before and after the second world war from institutions such as TU Berlin, Berlin University, Leipzig University among other German institutions. They brought to the University cutting edge knowledge in physics, chemistry and engineering. Research in new areas such as Solar Energy, or Chemistry of Natural Products (National Sciences Prize 1971 and 1998) were created.

In 1934, the Scientia magazine is published, becoming the voice if the university academic work.

In 1937, the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria Radio was created, becoming the first university radio broadcaster in Chile and Latin America,[10] focused to broadcasting information and cultural programs. The radio still broadcasts to this day, in the AM: 1.450 and FM: 99,7 signals in the Valparaiso region. It also now has an online signal.[11]

In 1939, the Alumni association was founded, known today as AEXA (Asociación de Ex-Alumnos)[12]

In 1960 the Graduate School was created, and its first director was Prof. Herbert Appel (1960-1964), offering the PhD study lines for Chemical, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. In 1963 the university became the first higher-education institution in Latin America to confer a doctorate in engineering, in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh. In the 1960s the University started a strategy of national and international expansion. In 1966 the Technical campus "Viña del Mar" was founded. In 1972 the campus "Rey Balduino de Bélgica" in the southeast city of Concepción with orientation in technical-professional areas was founded. The project received strong financial support from Baudouin King.

In 1964, the University grants for the first time an engineering degree to a woman.[12]

The UTFSM was the first University (of the 8 existing universities in Chile at the time) to restart its operations on 15 October 1973, after the Military coup of 11 September 1973.

Campuses

The university has four campuses and two branch campuses (sedes). These are in four Chilean cities and Guayaquil, Ecuador:

  1. Casa Central, main campus. Inaugurated in 1931 in Valparaíso
  2. Campus Santiago Vitacura and Campus Santiago San Joaquín, in the capital, Santiago.
  3. Campus Guayaquil, located in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
  4. Sede José Miguel Carrera, located in Viña del Mar.
  5. Sede Rey Balduino de Bélgica, in the seaport city of Talcahuano.

While the campuses are focused on undergraduate, graduate and university academical activities, sedes are mainly dedicated to technical degrees.

Main Campus, Valparaíso

The main UTFSM campus (or Casa Central) is located in Valparaíso, covering most of the front area of Los Placeres hill, on the grounds of the former Pudeto fort. The site faces the Pacific coast and it is visible from many parts of the bay of Valparaíso.

Main Campus in Valparaíso, 1949

The building was designed by Josué Smith Solar, one of the most respected Chilean architects of the 20th century, and his son José Smith Miller. The American Neo-Gothic style campus is considered one of the foremost works of Chilean architecture. The campus is also recognised for its beautiful gardening, with native and exotic species.

In 2001, the illumination of the university frontis was renewed through a contest organised by the Chilean branch of Philips.

The main campus has a gothic scholastic architecture with a privileged view to the Pacific Ocean. In 2008 it was chosen as one of the most remarkable national architectural works of the 20th century.[13]

Branch Campus Viña del Mar, "José Miguel Carrera"

In the 1960s, the University formulated an expansion plan. With financial assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the support of the Ford Foundation, advice from Dunwoody Industrial Institute in the US, and a donation of land by Chile's Agricultural Development Institute INDAP (from the Spanish "Instituto de Desarrollo Agropecuario"), a fully furnished building was constructed in 1971 in Viña del Mar, and it was named the "Jose Miguel Carrera" branch campus, following the testamentary vision of the University founder, the philanthropist Federico Santa María.

This branch is located on the border between the communes of Vina del Mar and Quilpué in Chile.

Branch Campus Concepción, "Rey Baduino de Belgica"

By the mid-1960s, the University planned to install six schools in different parts of the country.

In October 1965, the Kings of Belgium, Baudouin I and Fabiola de Mora y Aragon visited the University headquarters in Valparaíso, were introduced to its educational project and as a result initiated conversations for the construction of a branch campus in the city of Concepción.

Meanwhile, our country strengthens their contributions: the government facilitates the exchange of funds provided by Belgium; local businesses such as the San Pedro Sawmills, Cementos Bio Bio, Pacific Steel Company, Fanaloza, Inchalam, Pizarreño, Glasses Lirquén, among others, also contributed in its construction. Additionally, a donation of Archbishop of Concepción provided the land needed for the building construction. Its construction began in 1969.

Academic activities started on April 26, 1971, offering the careers of Electronics, Electrical, Structural Mechanics, Maintenance Mechanics, and Chemistry. On February 14, 1972, the campus branch was inaugurated solemnly in the presence of the President of Chile, Salvador Allende Gossens, and the University rector, Jaime Chiang Acosta.

Organization

Directive Council

The current president of the UTFSM Academic Council is Mr. Roberto Medina Cantariño. The following table summarizes the different presidents the UTFSM has had in its history.

Directive Council President Start Year
Roberto Medina Cantariño 2008
Jorge Swett 1987
Military Junta 1973-1986
Carlos Massad Abud[14] 1968
Agustin Edwards Eastman 1956
Agustin Edwards Budge 1941
 Agustin Edwards Mac-Clure 1931

Rector

The current rector is Professor Darcy Fuenzalida O'Shee, for the Period 2014 - 2018. Some notable events:

Rector Name Period
Darcy Fuenzalida O'Shee 2014-2018
Jose Rodriguez Perez 2006-2014
Jose Rodriguez Perez (Interim)[16] 2005-2006
Giovanni Pesce Santana 2001-2005 (R)[17]
Adolfo Arata Andreani 1993-2001
Gustavo Chiang Acosta 1989-1993
Arturo Niño de Zepeda Schele (delegate)[18] 1984-1989
Ismael Huerta Diaz (delegate)[19] 1977-1984
Juan Naylor Wieber (delegate)[20] 1973-1977+
Domingo Santa Maria Santa Cruz[21] 1972-1973
Jaime Chiang Acosta 1968-1972
Wilhem Feick (Interim) 1968
Carlos Ceruti Gardeazábal 1958-1968 (R)[22]
Francisco Cereceda Cisternas (Engineering School)[23] 1937-1958
Armando Quezada Acharán (Engineering School) 1936 +
 Karl Laudien (Crafts school) 1935-1938

Academic Departments

Due to the focused nature of the university, its organisation currently does not include different faculties, only different academic departments, which carry out research and graduate/undergraduate educational programs. Originally, faculties had been considered in the University organization, with the founding of the first three faculties in 1944, Chemical, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Faculties were subsequently abolished under Adolfo Arata's period as rector.

Academic Department Year founded
Mechanical Engineering 1944
Chemical Engineering 1944
Electrical Engineering 1944
Construction Engineering 1959
Chemical and Environmental Engineering 19XX
Metallurgical Engineering 1965
Computer Engineering / Informatics 1975
Electronic Engineering 1982
Industrial Engineering 1988
Commercial Engineering 1996
Architecture 1996

Within the Chilean campus level, there are 17 different academic departments, though not all of them are in every campus location, and not all degree levels are offered at every location, as the following table shows:

Academic Department Valparaiso Campus

Main Campus

 Concepción Campus

"Rey Baduino de Belgica"

 Viña del Mar Campus

"José Miguel Carrera"

 Santiago Campus
Architecture Yes - - -
Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Yes - - -
Electrical Engineering Yes Yes - Yes
Electronic Engineering Yes Yes - -
Physics Yes - - Yes
Industrial Engineering Yes - - Yes
Commercial Engineering Yes - - Yes
Computer Science Engineering Yes - Yes Yes
Mathematics Yes - - Yes
Mechanical Engineering Yes Yes Yes Yes
Civil Engineering and Construction Yes Yes Yes Yes
Chemical and Environmental Engineering Yes - Yes Yes
Chemistry Yes Yes - Yes
Physical Education, sports and recreation Yes - - Yes
Humanist Studies Yes - - Yes
Product Design engineering Yes - Yes -
Aeronautic Science - - - Yes

UTFSM is the only Chilean engineering school that includes sports as an obligatory course in the curriculum.

The university offers careers of Commercial Pilot and Aeronautical Engineering in its Academia de Ciencias Aeronáuticas in a joint venture with Chilean airline Lan Chile.

Education

The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. The undergraduate degrees can be of 12 academic semesters (engineering), 10 semesters (engineering, pure sciences and architecture), 8 semesters (Applied Engineering) and 6 semesters (technical careers). The graduate degrees (Masters and Doctorate) have a structure that can be described as follows: 2 years for masters of science and 3 to 5 years for Doctorate degrees.

Engineering degrees

The engineering degrees at UTFSM (and throughout Chile) are offered in different degrees of difficulty. The highest degree corresponds to 12 academic semesters.

To differentiate it from the engineering studies of 10 semesters, the degree has the suffix of Civil. For example, the degree for 12 academic semester in chemical engineering has the title of Ingeniero Civil Químico, while the degree of 10 semesters has the title of Ingeniero Químico.The following Bachelor Engineering degrees are granted by this University:

The following Masters of Science are granted by this University:

The following PhD Degrees are granted by this University:

Chemical Engineering

The Chemical Engineering School at UTFSM was founded together with the foundation of the School of Engineers in 1935, being one of the oldest degrees offered by the university. The first Chilean and Latin American doctorate degree in chemical engineering was given to Walter Gaete Castro in 1962, with a cooperation between UTFSM and University of Pittsburgh, USA.[7] Nowadays, the chemical engineering department has the name of Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (IQA, in Spanish), where Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering degrees are offered. The research topics at IQA are:

The Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering has 12 associate professors, 11 with PhD degrees (92%). The department offers the graduate programs of Master of Science and PhD in Chemical Engineering.

Mechanical Engineering

The Mechanical Engineering School at UTFSM was founded together with the foundation of the School of Engineers in 1935, being one of the oldest degrees offered by the university. Its first four mechanical engineers graduated in 1939. The Mechanical engineering department was also among the first to offer a PhD program in 1964 (along with Chemical and Electrical Engineering Departments).

The mechanical engineering department has the following research areas:

The department has 20 full-time professors (2016 data), 17 with PhD degrees (85%). Additional to the Bachelor of Sciences in Mechanical Engineering (BSc.), the department offers the graduate programs of Master of Science (BSc.) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mechanical Engineering. The department has also made substantive efforts to connect with its alumni. A comprehensive list of the graduates of the department can be found online.

Cultural Activities

University Chamber choir

The Chamber Choir of the Federico Santa María Technical University was founded on August 4, 1951 in its Valparaiso Campus. During the choir's over 60 years of existence, it has interpreted an extensive repertoire, including all manifestations of choral western music, from the Middle Ages to the present day. The choir's first performance was at the closing ceremony of the academic year in December 1951, in the Aula Magna, main hall of events in the "A" building of the University's Main Valparaíso campus.

Demosthenes Penna, engineering student of this campus, was its founder and first director until 1954. From March 1955 the choir was directed by Prof. Silvio Olate forover 28 years until March 1983. From 1983 to 1987 it was directed by Prof. Mauricio Pergelier. For the next 23 years, from 1987 to 2010 the choir was conducted by Prof. Eduardo Silva Cerda. From 2010, the choir has been conducted by Prof. Felipe Molina.

The Guayaquil campus in Ecuador also has formed a Choir in 2015, directed by Charles Sampertegui.

Folkloric Ensemble "Alimapu"

The university has a long history of musical expression, in particular through its folkloric ensemble "Alimapu"

Research

Since 2010 UTFSM has been awarded with nearly US$8 million for 76 research projects.[24][25][26] Many of these projects involve national and international collaborations with prestigious institutions in Latin America (ANDES Laboratory Project, RIABIN Biotechnology Network), Europe (CERN, Max Planck Institut, Politecnico di Milano), and USA (MIT, SLAC), among others.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]

National and International Rankings

For 10 consecutive years, UTFSM has been ranked among the three best Universities in Chile in terms of quality perception given by more than 1000 important national business executives.[36][37] In 2012, the University was ranked 5 between 9.500 schools of engineering in the world according to their impact factor in the last 5 years (Microsoft Academics),[38] as the latinoamerican university with the largest normalized impact factor, and as the first school of engineering in South America.[39] According to Times Higher Education Ranking 2014, UTFSM is among the first 300 best Universities in the World, 2nd in South America and 1st in Chile.[40][41]

Alumni

Different organizations, denominated AEXA (from the Spanish "Asociacion de EX Alumnos") have been created at several of the UTFSM campuses:

These organization are created and managed by the alumni themselves, and coordinate their action with the university through the UTFSM Alumni Network office.

Notable Alumni and faculty

References

  1. ↑ Latin for "From the shadows to the light"
  2. ↑ Chilean law decree from 1926, can be seen in the Chilean law repository "LeyChile", http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1045159&idVersion=1926-04-27
  3. 1 2 3 http://www.mifuturo.cl/index.php/donde-y-que-estudiar/buscador-de-instituciones?cmbtipos=3&cmbnombres=88
  4. ↑ This is the denomination given to students from this university, and how they identify themselves among peers. Plural is "sansanos"
  5. ↑ http://www.usm.cl/admision/carreras/
  6. ↑ http://rankings.americaeconomia.com/mba2014/ranking-mba-latino-2014/
  7. 1 2 http://www.bib.utfsm.cl/nuevositio/attachments/087_80%20a%C3%B1os%20de%20universidad.pdf Reseña Histórica – Biblioteca UTFSM
  8. 1 2 =http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014-15/world-ranking/region/south-america
  9. ↑ ="http://www.quepasa.cl/articulo/ojos-de-la-llave/2014/12/17-15854-9-ranking-de-universidades-2014.shtml
  10. ↑ http://www.radio.utfsm.cl/
  11. ↑ for more information visit the webpage of the radio http://www.utfsm.cl/vida-universitaria/radio/
  12. 1 2 As indicated by the university's history website http://www.utfsm.cl/universidad/historia/
  13. ↑ http://www.dgc.usm.cl/2008/12/29/casa-central-elegida-una-de-las-grandes-construcciones-del-siglo-xx/ Casa Central elegida una de las grandes construcciones del Siglo XX
  14. ↑ Mr. Abud was elected via Law number 16773, article 14,which gave the choice to the president of the nation, at the time Eduardo Frei Montalva. This election happened as a result of student mobilizations all around the country, and derived from the Protests of 1968 originated in France.
  15. ↑ Book: el negocio de las Universidades en Chile,Monckeberg, Maria Olivia, 2011, p.302: https://archive.org/stream/ElNegocioDeLasUniversidadesEnChile4de4/ElNegocioDeLasUniversidadesEnChile2de4#page/n101/mode/2up
  16. ↑ Porf. Jose Rodriguez, an academic from the Electronics Department at UTFSM, took the role of Rector when Giovanni Pesce resigned
  17. ↑ Giovanni Pesce resigned after persistent protests by the academic community
  18. ↑ Commander Niño was named Interim delegate rector in 1984 after health problems in the current delegate rector, Vice admiral Huerta. Niño would later be ratified as delegate rector.
  19. ↑ Vice admiral Huerta was appointed delegated rector of the UTFSM upon Commander Naylor's death.
  20. ↑ through the Military decree num.50, published in the Chile's Official Newspaper, "Diario Oficial", dated October 2nd, 1973, the military junta assigned the retired commander Juan Naylor Wieber as delegated rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University. Delegated rectors had direct reporting to the Minister of education, also appointed by the junta. Commander Naylor's role ended on his death on de 31st of July 1977.
  21. ↑ His brief role as Rector of the university was ended on 11 September 1973 due to the military coup led by Augusto Ponochet.
  22. ↑ The rector Carlos Ceruti had to resign after protests by students and an extended occupation of the Main University campus.
  23. ↑ Prof. Cereceda was named rector of the Engineering School upon Prof. Quzada's death in 1936. Before assuming the role of rector, he had been Minister in the government of Carlos Ibañez del Campo in 1931. He left the role in 1958 when he was designated Minister of Education by President Jorge Alessandri.
  24. ↑ http://noticias.universia.cl/ciencia-nn-tt/noticia/2010/12/28/774859/universidad-santa-maria-adjudica-17-proyectos-fondecyt.html Universidad Santa María se adjudica 17 Proyectos Fondecyt
  25. ↑ http://www.dgc.usm.cl/2012/02/12/universidad-santa-maria-se-adjudica-23-proyectos-fondecyt/ Universidad Santa María se adjudica 23 Proyectos Fondecyt
  26. ↑ http://latercera.com/contenido/676_219429_9.shtml
  27. ↑ http://riabin.bioplantas.cu/
  28. ↑ http://www-de.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/pdf/pm/PM-2010-05-17.pdf
  29. ↑ http://profesores.elo.utfsm.cl/~mzanartu/Documents/Mehta_2012_IEEE_TBME_VHM_accepted.pdf
  30. ↑ http://international-relations.web.cern.ch/International-Relations/nms/chile.html
  31. ↑ http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/tip/archives/TIP2_96.pdf
  32. ↑ http://www.3ie.cl/pages/show/alianzas-estrategicas
  33. ↑ http://accordi-internazionali.cineca.it/accordi.php?continenti=AM&paesi=%&univ_stran=%&univ_ita=16&anni=%&durata=&tipologia=%&natura=%&denominazione=&btnSubmit=Cerca&pag=2
  34. ↑ http://blueskysunshine.org/blog/?p=3557#axzz22cNE2mw1
  35. ↑ http://andeslab.org/talk/andes-aspera.pdf
  36. ↑ http://www.dgc.usm.cl/2010/12/03/usm-tercer-lugar-en-encuesta-de-percepcion-de-calidad-2010/
  37. ↑ http://www.quepasa.cl/articulo/ojos-de-la-llave/2014/12/17-15854-9-ranking-de-universidades-2014.shtml
  38. ↑ http://academic.research.microsoft.com/RankList?entitytype=7&topdomainid=8&subdomainid=0&last=5
  39. ↑ http://www.scimagoir.com/ Ibero-American Ranking
  40. ↑ http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2014/10/13/684815/ranking-times-higher-education-usm-es-la-unica-universidad-chilena-entre-las-mejores-del-mundo.html
  41. ↑ http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014-15/world-ranking/region/south-america
  42. ↑ http://sansanos.us/pictures/Profesores/Dr.RobertoFrucht.html
  43. ↑ https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/dean_faculty/facmeetings/memorialminutes#Breusch
  44. ↑ http://w1.conicyt.cl/premios/exactas/mKiwi.html
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