The 2025 Seed Fund Applied Research Competition, organized by the Industry Liaison Office (ILO), supports initiatives aimed at conducting proof-of-concept tests and consolidating relationships with other institutions or companies through applied R&D projects with scaling potential and an interest in further developing the proposal via Research and Development funding calls.
This third edition of this call prioritized initiatives promoting collaboration with institutions, either national or international, fostering joint work networks between School researchers and strategic actors in the global ecosystem. Six projects were selected to receive support through this ILO-funded competition:
Project: "Optimization of Nitrogen Management in Coarse-Textured Soils Using Controlled Laboratory Experiments and Hydrological Modeling"
Carlos Faúndez, Assistant Professor, Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, and Department of Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering.
Partner Company: Eurecat (Spain)
Project: "Cyber-Physical System for Supervision and Control of Drinking Water Operations on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)"
Felipe Núñez, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering.
Partner Company: Sasipa (Chile)
Project: “Improving Understanding of Caligus rogercresseyi Interaction with Ultrasound to Develop a Prototype Aimed at Commercial Piloting"
Magdalena Walczak, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering; Director of DICTUB Labs, DICTUC S.A.
Partner Company: Sonicali (Chile)
Project: "Development and Validation of a Low-Cost, High-Precision Geodetic GNSS System to Strengthen the Instrumental Development Capabilities of the UC Engineering School Geosciences Group and Generate New Monitoring Opportunities for Industrial and Public Interest Sectors"
Marcos Moreno, Associate Professor, Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering.
Collaborating Professors: Leoncio Cabrera, Gloria Arancibia, Jorge Crempien.
Partner Institution: Universität Potsdam (Germany)
Project: "Development and Validation of a Sustainable and Scalable ATPS-Based Process for the Selective Extraction of L-Theanine from Plant Biomass"
Nicolás Gajardo, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.
Partner Company: ABIOTech (Chile)
Project: "Development of a Digital Model for White Wine Fermentation at Laboratory Scale to Accurately Simulate the Process and Design Specific Temperature Operation Policies for Yeasts Used in Oenological Fermentations"
Pedro Saa, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.
Collaborating Professor: Ricardo Pérez
Partner Company: Concha y Toro (Chile)
Through this call, the UC School of Engineering reaffirms its commitment to knowledge transfer, public-private collaboration, and the internationalization of its research, strengthening the innovation ecosystem with high-impact solutions for industry and society.
