The Institutodelapatagonia.umag.cl page is available to the entire community and contains information produced by this interdisciplinary research center, whose main goal is to expand knowledge about the Magallanes region.
Written by Paola Fiano Santana
One of the goals of those dedicated to research in the region is to educate citizens about their studies, their results, and their implications. In case Patagonia Institute of Magallanes University (UMAG), today this has become more viable, thanks to a 4-month job in which their website was restructured; Updated information was collected, and new content was created focusing on their areas of expertise.
What centers does it consist of, who is part of it, what work does it do in basic and applied sciences, where can its publications be found, what spaces are available to the community and other questions that this new electronic portal answers, designed for dynamic visualization, and suitable For all types of devices.
In this way, you can now access a complete record of the Institute's researchers, both for their research centers and their social networks. Links were also available to review the online scientific journals Sophia Austral, Magalania and Anales from the Patagonia Institute, and the contents of the Aike Digital Library. The Department of Linkage to the Environment also includes the Memorial Museum, the Documentation Center, the Joint Laboratory for Biocultural Heritage, and the Diploma in Heritage Interpretation.
This information window was created with funding from the Ministry of Education, and was handed over to the University for the implementation of the project “Voicing the Magellanic Community with the Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation Ecosystem: Transversal and Bi-Directional Contributions of UMAG to Sustainable and Inclusive Development”. The creation of the website content was the responsibility of team members Co-lab, Adrian Gonzalez and Ariana Riquelme, while the web design was contributed by the professional from the University Promotion Directorate, Sergio Gonzalez.The task was led by Dr. Mauricio Oneto, the results of which can be found on the website this link.
History and message
The Patagonia Institute was founded in 1969 by historian Mathieu Martinique Perros (National History Prize, 2000) who was the city's mayor at the time. From its beginnings, it was thought of as a multidisciplinary center, and its main goal was to expand knowledge about the Magallanes region.
In the same year, the Center for the Study of History and Archaeology (CEHA) appeared, a forerunner of the Centers for the Study of Southern Man, with the mission of studying human presence over time and preserving archaeological remains in the region. In 1970, the first edition of the scientific journal “Anales de la Patagonia” was published, disseminating the research conducted at this emerging center. This publication still exists to this day, and has been publicly available, free and digital since its first volume, as are the institute's “Magallania” and “Sophia Austral” magazines as well.
The interest of the community in this Institute of Regional Studies was noticed from the first moment. Some families began to donate various objects of heritage value: from tools and household utensils to wagons and complete houses, which led to the establishment of the Museum of Remembrance in 1971.
One of the most important tasks of the Patagonia Institute is to study the ecosystems of the southern region. Thanks to this, in 1972 the Center for Experimentation in Horticulture and Floriculture was born, led by Lothar Planck. This horticultural engineer sought to install a series of horticultural practices to invent new cultivation techniques and adapt fruits and vegetables that were unknown to the region. Currently, the Horticulture Center bears the name of this distinguished researcher.
In 1985, the Patagonia Institute was incorporated into the University of Magallanes, the southernmost university in Chile with a presence in the vast Fuego Patagonia region. In this process, more areas of work have been added, making this institute a unique multidisciplinary meeting point in the region and the country. It currently consists of six research centers that contribute to the continuous generation, dissemination and innovation of knowledge:
- CIGA (GAIA Antarctic Research Centre)
- CEHA (Center for Historical and Archaeological Studies)
- Neighborhoods area
- Zoology
- world of insects
- Aquatic biology
- Functional environment laboratory
- Botany
- Earth sciences area
- Lothar Planck Center for Horticulture and Floriculture
- GEA (Environmental Studies Centre)
These centers house important collections of archaeology, paleontology, anthropology, botany, the regional photographic archive and others. Among its goals are the development and dissemination of the human and natural sciences, reflection on human events over time, and interest in Patagonian ecosystems.
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