Spiros N. Agathos is part of the scientific committee and the only representative of a university in America.

May 7, 2019

Spiros N. Agathos, Ph.D., rector of Yachay Tech University will have an international agenda during May, 2019. The Rector will participate in three international conferences and in the analysis of specific research projects. At the same time, he will seek to strengthen bonds of international cooperation between Yachay Tech and recognized research universities worldwide.

From May 6 to 10, Spiros Agathos will attend the International Project Week (IPW) at University of Szeged, Hungary. The rector of Yachay Tech was invited as an internationally recognized specialist in the area of biotechnology for sustainability. He will participate with a keynote speech and he will also be part of the scientific committee of the event, in which he stands out as the only representative of a university from America.

The IPW will explore the topic of sustainable raw materials. It arises as a response to the need of an urgent solution to the serious imbalance of raw materials that the world is currently experiencing. The participation of Yachay Tech’s rector in this symposium also responds to the guidelines of the Strategic Plan of the University regarding the search for sustainable solutions to the problems related to the use of resources in the country.

The conference given by Spiros N. Agathos on May 7, 2019, was about bioremediation to production as a sustainable solution. The speech, titled “Sustainability- from bioremediation to bioproduction”, explored special microorganisms selected for the bioremediation of contaminated sites. He also explained how the enzymes of these microorganisms can be used for the synthesis of new raw materials or the modification of existing ones, for making value-added chemicals.

Finally, on May 8 and 9, the Rector will attend forums and conferences at the event. On May 8, Spiros N. Agathos will participate in sessions on the treatment and transformation of agricultural waste and wastewater from different industries, including shrimp. On May 9, the sessions will explore the use of waste for the generation of raw materials, technologies with low CO2 emissions, among others. These issues are directly related to some industries of great importance to Ecuador, such as flowers and shrimp. In this sense, the exchanges in the IPW forum will lead to valuable ideas and collaborations that will be easily applicable to the Ecuadorian reality and that will continue to drive the research work of faculty and students from Yachay Tech University.