A winner has been chosen for the first edition of the IVIO-UPV Chair Awards for the best Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis (TFG/TFM, for the Spanish initials). The jury, made up of university professors in the field and representatives from the IVIO Valencian Institute of Dental Research, has ruled in favor of Anderson Ladino and his Master’s Thesis entitled “Ultrasonic Monitoring of the Guided Bone Regeneration Process in Dental Implantology”.
Anderson studied Sound Engineering at the University of San Buenaventura in Colombia. He came to Campus Gandia to study the Master’s Degree in Acoustic Engineering, where he was surprised to learn everything that could be done with ultrasounds, especially applied to the field of Medicine. We interviewed Anderson, who is currently in Colombia, where he works full-time at the Sound Engineering School of the University of San Buenaventura in Medellín.
What made you decide to go into scientific research?
I come from a humble family. I thought it would never be possible to work in research, it was a barrier as a child, and that barrier has become my passion. You don’t need to be especially intelligent or have an amazing memory. I don’t think that’s ever worked for me! What I do believe is that discipline is more important than intelligence in the long run. In research you have to an open mind and anything goes. There’ no such thing as a bad idea. Everything can be positive, even errors. Failure is a good indicator of being on the right track.
What was your time like at the UPV?
In Spain I was able to take part in the research project on bone regeneration in dental implants with the IVIO-UPV Chair. Since they currently use X-ray testing, these affect human beings, in addition to surgery. Ultrasound offers a way to evaluate this bone regeneration since they do not ionize. It is more economical and bone tissue regeneration can be evaluated without the need for a surgery. We performed laboratory tests with different settings and with a maxillary model, obtaining a satisfactory response in the application of ultrasound in this field. This work was key to my TFM.
You’re currently a university professor. Can you tell us about some of your most important research projects?
I am contributing to the development of the field of ultrasonics in my country, sharing what I learned during my stay in Spain. My students are always motivated to design, to turn what’s on paper into reality, so they learn to face challenges, build things become entrepreneurs.
This will turn them into true engineers who will make valuable contributions to humanity.
II EDITION OF THE IVIO-UPV CHAIR AWARD FOR BEST BACHELOR’S OR MASTER’S THESIS
The call for the second edition of these awards is now open. Students who have presented their Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis during the 2017-2018 term in any Spanish university and whose theme deals with the field of technology applied to dentistry can participateThe deadline for submitting applications is October 15, 2018.
According to Francisco Camarena, the theme covers many fields and disciplines, not only dentistry studies, but all those technological specialties that have application in this field, such as Virtual Reality, Chemistry, MRI Technology, Ultrasonics, Mechanics, etc. “The goal of the IVIO-UPV Chair is to consolidate this event at a national level, so we encourage students to present their TFG/TFM projects,” concludes Camarena.
More information and questions regarding the IVIO-UPV Chair can be addressed in writingto Francisco Camarena, a professor and researcher at the UPV Gandia Campus: fracafe@fis.upv.es.
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