UCSF Civil Geological Engineering students participated in the 2024 Marine Science Conference

Alexia Rodriguez and Javiera Pedreros presented work carried out as part of their postgraduate topic, under the supervision of Dr. Caterina Subinis.

A new edition of the Marine Sciences Conference 2024 was held from May 27 to 31, under the slogan Science and Society: Sustainable Management of Marine Resources.

The young Civil Geoengineering students presented in poster form academic work they carried out during 2023, under the supervision of Dr Katrina Sopins, Academician in the UCSF School of Engineering and Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Sustainability Research. Environments (CIBAS).

With remarkable enthusiasm, Alexia Rodriguez and Javiera Pedreros described this experience as very positive, as it was the first time they had participated in an event of this kind.

“We are doing this work in an elective course in which we work on this topic. In March, Professor Caterina suggested that we give a presentation at a marine science conference, and that is how the idea came about. The topic was sampling and analysis of environmental data,” Gaviera explained.

Meanwhile, Alexia Rodriguez, Year 6, was happy to participate in the occasion. “It was a very enriching experience. It is not our area, but we learned a lot about other topics and what it means to be at a conference that we had never been to before,” he commented.

Regarding the topic at hand, the work was on the relationship between benthic species, specifically molluscs and algae, with the rocky substrate of the Benko Coast area, and specifically with the roughness of this substrate. “We divided the area into two types, a smooth part which is the offshore platform where there is a fairly large rock, taking into account the sediments carried by the sea and what was the presence and absence of benthic species inside and outside the water,” Javiera Pedreros added. “We did a non-parametric statistical analysis.” “.

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The analysis of benthic species with the studied rocks is the point at which they were able to introduce this topic, because it links their study area to the sea.

“It helps us learn more about interdisciplinarity. It is an experience for us, and in the future we will be able to participate in other conferences and this opportunity qualifies us for that,” concluded Alexia Rodriguez.

Dr. Katerina Subinis highlighted the importance of undergraduate students participating in scientific conferences. “Within the context of professional training, the application of knowledge acquired in university studies through primary research helps to understand natural phenomena from various disciplines such as geology and its perspective from engineering. By sharing this research in a conference of importance such as that of the Chilean Society of Marine Sciences, it facilitates the identification of questions “Alexia and Javiera dared to live this experience, which brings them closer to interdisciplinarity, which is absolutely essential for environmental response and decision-making,” the academic added.

Student participation was achieved by obtaining special funding for student and academic cooperation in training and scientific events 2024, provided by the Engineering 2030 project.

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