ERINC - ElectroOptics Research Institute & Nanotechnology Center

Travel Log:

Pinar Mengüç (U. Kentucky Mechanical Engineering Prof and ERINC member) has developed an exchange program with ESPOL. He (together with Mechanical Engineering and Materials Professor Cecilia Parades, ESPOL) invited Profs. Robert Cohn and Mehmet Toner (Bioengineering, Harvard) to visit ESPOL to advise them on how to start a Nanotechnology Center, including PhD program. In addition to the US Speakers and Prof. Parades, other panelists and speakers included the Associate Director of Ecuador's NSF and an ESPOL faculty member in Engineering and Business who is noted for entrepreneurship.

The conference was attended by around 200 people including faculty, industry and the general public. It was timed to coincide with ESPOL's 50th anniversary, which was celebrated with a major banquet at the Simon Bolivar Convention Center. In conjunction with the visit, Profs. Cohn and Toner were interviewed by at least two TV stations and at least two newspapers. One photo shows several of them immediately after the interview on nanotechnology at CN3 television station. The interview ran 15 minutes and was broadcast in its entirety on national TV at 7PM that same day. There was also a dinner with the Rector (President) of ESPOL, Vice Rector, Cecilia and several of her staff and associates on the first night of the conference.

As part of the visit, an informal trip was also arranged to visit Ecuador's famous Galapagos Islands. Photos of a few of their most famous denizens are included in the movie.

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