2024
With the focus on the development of technological solutions that improve the quality of life, the winners of the 2nd Edition of INVAP’s Contest for the Best Engineering Theses ratified that the real application in strategic areas contributes to the development of the future of the country.
From an innovative, sustainable and economical method that will revolutionize lithium extraction without harming the environment, to an instrument that optimizes sound measurement, or a development that verifies the correct functioning of electronic software systems. Optimization and improvement of processes, the keys of the winning theses that won the contest promoted by INVAP, the Argentine company that is a world leader in technological projects.
With 138 works submitted from 15 provinces, the jury rigorously evaluated the proposals to select those that met the slogan: to highlight the value of applied research in the engineering universe with a plurality of perspectives.
On Wednesday 23, at INVAP’s headquarters in San Carlos de Bariloche, the awards were presented in a ceremony attended by the company’s authorities, representatives of the science and technology ecosystem and most of the finalist university students.
This initiative of the company, supported by INVAP Foundation, is a federal contest to recognize Argentine talent in innovative projects that seek to build a better future. The contest, which in this edition awarded more than 9 million pesos in prizes, will be repeated in 2025. During the award ceremony, the General Manager of INVAP, Engineer Darío Giussi, expressed the importance of the contest in terms of “promoting projects that leave a mark in Argentina and the world, because the commitment to knowledge is one of the pillars of the country’s development. We firmly believe that this type of initiative stimulates young talent and fosters interaction between Argentine universities and the scientific and technological ecosystem.”
Roxana Cocco, president of the jury, said: “Thinking of engineering as a tool to transform ideas into practical solutions is the starting point of this initiative that encourages young people to be part of the transformation”.
Winners of the Second Edition of INVAP’s Contest for the Best Engineering Theses
In the Undergraduate category, the jury highlighted the work “Design and implementation of an impedance tube based on the transfer function method,” by Germán A. Galarza, from the Sound Engineering program of the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero (Province of Buenos Aires). The project develops an instrument that measures sound absorption in materials used for the construction and soundproofing of spaces. This measurement is key for applications such as the design of building materials and the soundproofing of spaces such as car and aircraft interiors. According to the Acoustics and Lighting Laboratory of the Scientific Research Commission of the Province of Buenos Aires (LAL-CIC, in Spanish), the development is more economical than commercially available equipment.
In the Master’s Degree category, the winning thesis was “Automatic tests in embedded systems,” by Esteban D. Volentini, from the Master’s Degree in Embedded Systems, School of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires. The work proposes an automatic system to test the correct operation of embedded systems software, which are electronic systems included in other equipment, such as a harvester or a washing machine. Its open-source development is designed to make such verification accessible to SMEs.
Finally, the winning work in the Doctorate category was awarded to Noelia A. Palacios, from the Doctorate in Engineering of the Universidad Nacional de Salta. The thesis “Precipitation of magnesium hydroxide as a step prior to the extraction of lithium from Puna brines by electrolysis with membrane separation” focuses on an innovative method to separate lithium impurities. The author designed and patented a new system for extracting this natural resource, resolving the complexity involved in the extraction processes due to the impurities of certain substances in the brine. The work, according to the jury, results in a more economical, effective and sustainable development in terms of pre-removal of magnesium and calcium from the brine. The project also reduces water consumption and generates less waste during processing.
“With this contest we all win, the country wins. For that reason, we are going to promote the third edition,” concluded the ceremony Darío Giussi, General Manager of INVAP.
You can watch in this LINK the award ceremony
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Contest for the Best Engineering Theses
