INTEC researchers present in FIL a manual for the application of sargassum fertilizer in family farming
SANTO DOMINGO. - Researchers of the Areas of Basic and Environmental Sciences e Engineering of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) presented the Sargassum Fertilizer Application Manual in Family Farming, which explains about the use of sargassum liquid bio fertilizer in the country's banana production.
The document was submitted by Ulises Jauregui, PhD in Environmental Sciences and coordinator of the INTEC Multidisciplinary Research Group on Sargasso; Yaset Rodríguez, research professor in the Area of Basic and Environmental Sciences y Jessica Feliz, professor of the Engineering Area, En a panel about the i'sSargassum invasions in the Caribbean made in the Hall of Universities for the International Book Fair 2023.
The manual is based on a case study carried out in the company banelino, and funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Among the contents, the material includes the massive influxes of sargassum, biols and their applications in agriculture, production and application procedure of sargassum biol.
“Although biol is not a complete solution to the sargassum problem, it is a possible conclusion that will help solve two problems. The first is that we will be making use of an algae that is, due to weather conditions, arriving on the country's coasts and greatly affecting fishermen, coastal sites, beaches, and others," explained Rodríguez, the researcher in charge of the project.
During the panel presentation, the experts addressed the issue of sargassum from four perspectives: Monitoring and prevention of massive influxes of sargassum in the country; containment and collection; applications and management of the impacts of this phenomenon in the country.
Jauregui expressed that, to monitor this phenomenon, the professor of the INTEC Engineering Area, Edwin Sánchez, develops the first nanosatellite, which will be used to help detect sargassum in the Caribbean and is being exhibited at the stand of the INTEC, located in the FIL Imagination Pavilion.
To predict the behavior of sargassum in maritime waters, the INTEC Research Director Carlos Sanlley develops investigations of mathematical systems; while Jessica Feliz, coordinator of the Laboratories and teacher of the INTEC Engineering Area, evaluates with her team practical applications of sargassum, including the use of sargassum fiber as part of agglomerates in the production of bricks. extractions of sargassum alginate and its use to make substitutes for agglomerated materials, such as playwood.
“It is an issue that we must work on consciously so that everyone is aware of it and try to see it as an opportunity that the ecosystem is offering us right now instead of seeing it as waste, and trying to use it in applications that generate value” Happy commented.
Jauregui stated that 12 years have passed since this sargassum phenomenon began in the country and, despite the results of the advances achieved by the academy, there is still no large-scale process in which the macroalgae is used.
Conversations in the Hall of Universities
In the University Hall, the director of Marketing and Promotion Cristian Cohén and the professor Ramón Matos participated in the Semiotics and Graphics discussion, in which they addressed the importance of design and the meanings of the elements used in advertising campaigns aimed at a target audience.
Also, it was carried out scientific communication symposium “Indexed journals, databases and bibliometrics. Libraries: partners in the teaching and research ecosystem”. in charge of María Picón, editorial director of DiEditores; Elsi Jiménez, director of the Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi Library of INTEC, y Gali Monpue, technical coordinator. This space was moderated by the teacher and Director of Management and Scientific Diffusion of INTEC, Manuel Madé.
“The solution of big or small problems goes through knowledge. Much of the information that is required is contained in journals, these journals come from research that has been validated by other colleagues, other peers, and for this reason they are published in journals, especially high-impact journals that have been successful. enormous from the point of view of its presence for decision-making, both in research and in any area of knowledge at a general level”, said Elsi Jimenez when addressing the subject.
INTEC at FIL 2023
Among the more than 350 activities of the Fair, INTEC participates in the Imagination Pavilion and in the Hall of Universities. On August 28, 29 and 30 in the Imagination Pavilion, the university presents innovative and research projects of INTEC careers based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
“Studying STEM right now is a safe bet, not only because UNESCO predicts that by 2050 75% of jobs will be related to this discipline, but also because STEM careers allow countries to develop socially, economic, technological”, expressed Stephanie Christopher, coordinator of the Promotion of STEM Education at INTEC in her presentation.
In space, the presentation of the mobile astro of Apollo 27, the winning university team of the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2023, is available. In turn, visitors will be able to see the prototype of the first Dominican satellite that will forecast the arrival of sargassum to the Caribbean beaches, and the autonomous sargassum collector SARGAZOOM, created by Rómulo Pérez from the Mechatronics Engineering degree.