A total of eleven applied research projects from the faculties of Engineering, Technology, Science, Medical Sciences, and Chemistry and Biology at the University of Santiago de Chile were awarded the Fondef IDeA I+D 2025 competition, organized by ANID. Nationwide, 129 initiatives will receive this funding.
For our institution, this result represents an 8.5% increase in awards compared to 2024, when eight proposals received funding. Institutional participation also expanded, with three to five faculties involved, while the number of applications grew from 44 to 51.
It should be noted that 19 partner entities, including companies and public institutions, will collaborate in the execution of the projects, jointly mobilizing a budget of $3.948 billion pesos. The University of Santiago is the main beneficiary in seven of the initiatives, while in the remaining four, it is in partnership with other universities.
The participation of the University of Santiago, as well as the results achieved, were highlighted by Dr. Alberto Monsalve González, Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Creation (Vriic), who congratulated “the researchers at our University who won the IDeA R&D 2025 competition, thanks to their vision, commitment, and scientific excellence aimed at solving real problems in our society. This result not only reflects the high level of our research capabilities but also consolidates the role of Usach as a key player in the national innovation ecosystem.”
He added that “applied research is fundamental for the economic, social, and environmental development of the country, and these projects are a concrete example of how the knowledge generated in our classrooms and laboratories translates into solutions that positively impact people, communities, and industries.”
For his part, Rodrigo Morgado Contardo, Director of Technology Management (DGT) at Vriic, emphasized that through the work of this department, “we want to constantly support each of our researchers so that they not only participate in calls for proposals, but also, once they are awarded funding, we can accompany them in the execution of the project and in linking them with companies.”
He said that this support has been intensified thanks to the collaborative work between the DGT, the faculties, and the research centers, which has led to an increase in both the number of applications and the number of awards compared to previous years.
Below is the complete list of initiatives that received ANID funding:
Usach Projects as Main Beneficiaries
1. Validation of SFN-rich microcapsules as a functional ingredient with demonstrated effectiveness for use in the food industry
Faculty of Engineering
Principal Investigator: Dr. Andrea Veronica Mahn O.
2. Adaptive Assessments and Learning Pathways: an IT platform to diagnose and guide pedagogical decision-making in mathematics teaching
Faculty of Science
Principal Investigator: Dr. Lorena Espinoza S.
3. Research and Development of Eco-H: Module for Diagnosis, Timely Prediction, and Real-Time Visualization of the Overall Health of Wetlands
Faculty of Technology
Principal Investigator: Dr. Juan Carlos Travieso T.
4. HC-BioRemedy: Antarctic Bacterial Community-Based Bioremediation System for the Continuous Treatment of Wastewater from the Oil Refining Industry Contaminated with Alkanes, Aromatic Hydrocarbons, and Selenium
Faculty of Engineering
Principal Director: Dr. Ignacio Poblete C.
5. Electrospun Polymer Fibers (Polyacrylamide/Polyacrylonitrile with HMS-CMPO for the Capture of Rare Earths (Dysprosium (Dy) and Neodymium (Nd))
Faculty of Engineering
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jaime Pizarro K.
6. Development of a Bioadditive to Improve Concrete Performance
Faculty of Engineering
Principal Investigator: Dr. Leonardo Brescia N.
7. Identification of Anomalous Behaviors for Efficient Monitoring of Fishing Discards Through Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Models
Faculty of Engineering
Principal Investigator: Dr. Violeta Chang C.
Usach Projects as Secondary Beneficiaries
8. Innovation in Atmospheric Freeze-Drying: Electrotechnologies to Improve the Quality and Durability of Dehydrated Products
Faculty of Engineering
Alternate Director: Alejandro Reyes
9. Development and Implementation of a Space Meteorology Platform in Chile
Faculty of Science
Alternate Director: Dr. Marina Stepanova
10. Development and Validation of a Gamified and Intelligent Educational Platform for Teaching Healthy Eating and Physical Activity to Students in Local Public Education Services (SLEP) Schools
Faculty of Medical Sciences
Associate Researcher: Dr. Tito Pizarro Q.
11. Manufacture of MoS2/Ionic Liquid Electrocatalytic Inks as Cathode Material for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Validation in PEM Environment
Faculty of Chemistry and Biology
Associate Researcher: Dr. Domingo Ruiz L.