Investigación

"Today, understanding the fundamental mechanisms of life requires much more than superficial observation; it demands that we deconstruct and analyze the forces governing self-organized matter at its most intimate scale. At this intersection of physics and living systems, materials science—a field historically devoted to 'hard' materials such as metals, ceramics, and polymers—provides an extraordinary methodological foundation for addressing 'soft matter,' the very substance that underpins life.

Climate change and public policies to reduce carbon emissions are rapidly transforming Chile’s electricity system. This challenging shift involves a gradual move away from fossil fuel technologies like coal, diesel, and natural gas power plants, towards renewable sources such as wind and solar power.

Unlike conventional power plants, which operators could dispatch based on demand, these new renewable sources depend directly on climatic factors like solar radiation and wind intensity. This introduces a new level of variability and uncertainty into the electricity grid.

Following the results of the Dicyt competitive grants program (Directorate of Scientific and Technological Research), the Faculty of Humanities (FAHU) will incorporate new lines of inquiry in areas such as health, theater, and power networks. Among this diverse range of approaches, one linguistic research project to be launched is led by Dr. Patricio Pino Castillo, a faculty member in the Department of Linguistics and Literature.

Dr. Andrea Mahn and Dr. Ernesto Castillo, from the Faculty of Engineering, are part of the team working on the Dicyt project “Advanced Numerical Methods for the Simulation and Optimization of Food Freeze-Drying Processes,” recently awarded by the Faculty of Science.

This project aims to enhance and optimize freeze-drying—a critical technology for preserving high-value foods while maintaining quality, safety, and shelf life. Despite its importance, the process currently faces significant challenges regarding production costs, energy consumption, and precise process control.

An international team of astronomers has captured rare images of planetary systems during a "little-explored" evolutionary stage: planetary adolescence. Conducted through the ARKS project (ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures), the study utilized the power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to peak into this transition phase.

A group of students and academics from Arturo Prat University conducted a research stay as part of the FOVI 240220 project, “Applications of Advanced Materials in Sustainable Renewable Energy and Innovations in Water Treatment: a collaboration between Arturo Prat University (UNAP), the University of Santiago de Chile (Usach), and the University of Saskatchewan (Canada).

The Faculty of Humanities (FAHU) at the University of Santiago de Chile (USACH) secured 13 research projects in the 2026 Dicyt calls. These awards span the Regular, Postdoctoral, Early-Career, and Research Assistant categories. This success reaffirms FAHU’s leadership in interdisciplinary research, social innovation, and critical thinking, bridging the gap between academic knowledge and contemporary global issues.

The University of Santiago has a solid portfolio of legally protected technologies, including patents, microorganism registrations, industrial designs, and other intellectual property (IP) mechanisms.

These innovations have a direct impact on areas such as health, food, mining, clean energy, nanotechnology, and education, among others. But why is it crucial to protect research results? As part of Intellectual Property Day, celebrated on April 26, academics from Usach share their experiences and views on the importance of IP as a way to protect knowledge.

The research, led by University of Santiago academics Dr. María José Galotto, Dr. Abel Guarda, Dr. Eliezer Velásquez, and Ximena Valenzuela, seeks to prove that a circular economy model can be successfully implemented in food packaging, especially for polystyrene yogurt containers.

Historically, Chile’s electrical system has depended on large, distant power plants that transmit energy across long lines to urban consumers. This model, however, is now under considerable strain. The increasing adoption of renewable energies, residential solar panels, domestic batteries, and electric vehicles highlights the urgent need for modernization.