Juan Pablo Bernal Orochorto took over the directorship of the Institute of Earth Sciences

Maria Soledad Funes Arguello, UNAM Scientific Research Coordinator, who gave her the position, noted that this entity has been in development for more than 20 years since the geophysics and geology groups sought to build an interdisciplinary center dedicated to geosciences in the Baguio region.

He added that over time, this space has been established as a multidisciplinary and multidimensional entity characterized by diversity, developing original, high-quality research, based on the sustainability model, and today it is a reference at the regional, national and international levels.

He explained to the members of the institute community, which was formerly called the Center for Earth Sciences, that this transformation is due to its sustainable growth, the academic community’s commitment to the substantive work of the university, the quality of its publications, the training of human resources, and its ability to link with the public and private sectors, in addition to its work related to disseminating scientific knowledge.

The Doctor of Biomedical Sciences also stressed that now is the right time to strengthen its relationship with the National Postgraduate School, Gorikela, and other institutions, with the aim of increasing enrollment rates and offering more comprehensive training. There is no doubt that young academics are a key point for its consolidation.

Continuing his message, Bernal thanked Orochorto and congratulated the community for their participation in the selection process. He also called on them to do their best to achieve the proposed goals. We will work together to make the Institute of Geosciences go beyond its achievements.

a path

Juan Pablo Bernal Orochorto is a Chemist (1995) and MSc (1997) from UNAM School of Chemistry. In 2003 he obtained a doctorate degree in Quaternary Science and Rigolet by Australian National University, He completed his postdoctoral degree at the Institute of Geology at UNAM.

He is a researcher at the Institute of Earth Sciences, where he focuses on the use of stalagmites as indicators of past climate change, Quaternary geological history, and isotopic geochemistry. He is a pioneer in establishing historical geological methods for dating very recent specimens; He is currently responsible for the only laboratory in Latin America that performs U-Th dating.

The historical geological developments he developed have had various applications for studying past climate change, changes in sea level, as well as in understanding recent volcanic processes. He is currently Associate Director of the Isotope Studies Laboratory of the Institute of Earth Sciences.

He is currently associate editor of Bulletin of the Mexican Geological Society. He recently received an award from the UNAM Climate Change Research Programme, where he came in second place in the Climate Change Research Award for his work on paleoclimate reconstruction.

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