The L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award highlights the scientific and technological contributions of women globally. Historically, the award has recognized three Chilean women: Gloria Montenegro (1998), Ligia Gargallo (2007), and María Teresa Ruiz (2017).
One of the candidates for the 2026 award is Dr. Andrea Mahn Osses, an academic in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Bioprocesses and Vice-Dean of R&D and Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Engineering, whose solid track record in research has led to her nomination in the Health Biotech category.
Her candidacy is sponsored by Dr. Juan Asenjo, winner of the 2004 National Science Award; UFRO academic Dr. Mauricio Zamorano; the Dean of the UFRO Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Dr. Jorge Farías; and the Dean of the UTEM Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Yohanna Palominos.
For Dr. Mahn, this nomination is an “honor and a responsibility,” received as collective recognition of a path built together with students and researchers.
“This nomination comes at a stage in my career when, in addition to consolidating lines of research, patents, and applied projects, I have taken on institutional and academic governance tasks. This has allowed me to move from ‘doing science’ to creating conditions so that more people, especially women and young people, can do it better, with more support, less bias, and greater opportunities for technology transfer and scientific entrepreneurship,” she said.
In addition to this nomination, she has been selected as one of the ten finalists for the “Ada Byron Award for Women in Technology 2024,” an award that acknowledges the professional careers and contributions of women leaders in the fields of technology and engineering.
Andrea Mahn Osses is a food engineer from the Universidad de la Frontera and holds a PhD in Engineering Sciences, with a specialization in Chemical Engineering, from the Universidad de Chile. Throughout her career, she has actively contributed to the creation of knowledge in the field of food biotechnology, particularly regarding the extraction, characterization, and stabilization of bioactive compounds of plant origin.
The results of this call for applications will be published in June 2026.