REPU MAGAZINE N 3
News
2017
New REPU Branches
One of the goals of REPU is to continue expanding
its programs in order to include more academic
disciplines and bring more opportunities to Peruvian
undergraduates. Over the last three years, REPU
has opened 3 new programs: REPUPhysics,
ecoREPU and REPUatix .
A new REPU Program: ecoREPU
By Rossana Maguiña
EcoREPU offers an internship in fields related to
ecology, conservation and environmental sciences.
EcoREPU was a long-awaited program considering
the high interest of Peruvian undergraduates in an
internship of this nature. What is more, we are
aware that to study, manage and protect Peru's
biodiversity, which includes more than 20 500
species of plants, more than 5 500 species of
animals, etc., we need more Peruvian scientists
trained for those purposes.
Seeking for the fundamental laws of the
Universe: REPUPhysics
By Víctor Valera and Luz Saavedra
REPUPhysics offers an internship for students with
a strong interest in the fields of Astrophysics,
Experimental Condensed Matter Physics,
Experimental Nuclear Physics, Experimental
Particle Physics, Gravitational Physics, High Energy
Theory and Cosmology, Quantum Optics, Quantum
Information Physics, etc. The program provides the
opportunity to participate in projects run by big
collaborations, hands-on experience and the chance
of having an idea of what is a real day in the life of a
physics researcher inside the lab.
The opening of the ecoREPU Program was
achieved with the collaboration of Peruvian students
enrolled in ecology graduate programs in the United
States. The ecoREPU team was formed by David
Chang (PhD student, Cornell University), Nereyda
Falconi (PhD student, University of Massachusetts),
Cindy Hurtado (MSc student, Twonson University),
Patricia Mendoza (PhD student, University of
Missouri-St. Louis), and Rossana Maguiña (PhD
student, UC Santa Cruz, mentor).
REPUPhysics was born in 2015 after the initiative of
Sofía Espinoza (PhD from Yale University) and
Maria Jose Maureira, and is currently supported by
Humberto Torreblanca (General Atomics), Edson
Bellido (Phd, McMaster University), Kevin Villegas
(PhD student, Princeton University) and Andres
Llacsahuanga (PhD student, Purdue University).
Our very first ecoREPU student was Jose Iturrizaga
from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, who
joined the Parker Lab at the University of Missouri at
Saint Louis. The Parker Lab is focused on the study
of animal behavior and disease ecology in tropical
areas like the Galapagos Islands. Jose also had the
opportunity to participate in research studies at the
Saint Louis Zoo as part of the Animal Behavior Lab.
The program currently has five alumni. Gabriel
Rabanal and Pedro Cisneros (REPUPhysics 2016)
did their internship at Yale University and are both
currently enrolled in PhD programs at Harvard
University and UC Santa Bárbara, respectively.
Claudia Parisuaña, Víctor Valera and Álvaro
Chupillón (REPUPhysics 2017) did their internships
at General Atomics, Yale University and McMaster
University. These students had the chance to
participate in projects related to Nuclear Reactors,
High Energy Physics, Experimental Particle Physics
and Neutrino Physics.
Figure 1. Jose Iturrizaga and Rossana Maguiña from ecoREPU
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