Pioneer in Chile, Director for almost three decades of the UDT Center of Excellence, convinced promoter of the bioeconomy in Chile, and innovator in the scaling up of processes, creation of biomaterials and circular economy, Dr. Alex Berg Gebert delivered the testimony of the center he founded and led since 1996.
In an emotional ceremony, led by the Rector of the Universidad de Concepción, Dr. Carlos Saavedra Rubilar, and attended by family, friends, company representatives, teachers, researchers and researchers, together with the teams of the Vice Rector’s Office for Research and Development and the Technological Development Unit (UDT), Dr. Alex Berg Gebert, who leaves the Executive Directorate of the center after 30 years of leadership, was bid farewell to Dr. Berg Gebert.
On the occasion, Rector Saavedra thanked Dr. Berg for building a solid brand in the national innovation ecosystem, opening a space for collaboration with the productive industry of the region and the country and offering solutions that benefit the environment. “We appreciate this permanent dedication to the Technological Development Unit, this permanent commitment to the Universidad de Concepción and its challenge to increase its presence at national and international level based on the outstanding work of our researchers and their teams who, led with conviction and confidence, achieve the goals they have set, such as those set for the UDT and which they have managed to consolidate. Thank you, recognition and congratulations for your contribution to institutional development”, greeted the Rector at the beginning of the activity.
The Technological Development Unit, the only one of its kind in Chile, was born thanks to Dr. Berg’s experience in Germany, where he did his postgraduate studies and specialized in chemical wood technology, obtaining his doctorate at the University of Hamburg in 1987. After working in the consortium KUNZ HOLDING GmbH & Co. KG, as project manager in the pulp production plant, he was visited by the UdeC researcher, Dr. Jaime Baeza Hernández (r.i.p.), who proposed him to create a center of similar characteristics in the region.
Since 1996, the UDT project has matured, and the Center, which began with four researchers and 10 containers, now has more than 60 professionals, becoming an interdisciplinary and diverse space with about 40 pilot plants for different processes and projects in areas as varied as the valorization of agricultural and forestry biomass, the generation of new sustainable products, and the replacement of fossil raw materials with more environmentally friendly materials.
Testimonials and congratulations
Dr. Cristina Segura Castillo, head of the Bioenergy area and expert in thermochemical conversion processes of lignocellulosic biomass, greeted the team of collaborators of UDT. She highlighted that Alex Berg’s legacy is built on the milestones that have marked UDT and applied research in Chile, emphasizing the audacity of applying for funds that were not oriented to the development of technologies. “Thanks to this leadership, UDT is today dedicated to process scaling, a necessary path to reach a more sustainable economy,” he assured.
“We deeply admire his decision to remain linked to UDT, as a researcher, sharing his wisdom and experience. And even more, we value his courage and energy to start a new stage as an entrepreneur, founding a company based on years of research and development that he led at UDT. This new challenge reflects his commitment to bring to the market concrete solutions that respond to the needs of the country,” said Dr. Segura.
Representing the companies with which UDT has collaborated over the years, Cristian Westermayer, general manager of Rebisa and a personal friend of Alex Berg, addressed the audience. “You make the road as you go,” he said, recalling passages of Dr. Berg’s more personal biography, such as his childhood in Temuco and their time as students of Chemical Civil Engineering at the University of Concepción. The leader of Resinas del Bío-Bío S.A. pointed out that, in the area of adhesives for the production of boards in Chile, collaboration with a research center like UDT was fundamental. “For a medium-sized company like ours, it would have been impossible to advance in the development of new products and technologies without the support of UDT,” he said.
One cycle ends and another begins
Dr. Alex Berg hands over the post to Dr. Juan Carlos Carrasco Moraga, who took over as Executive Director of UDT last September, after being the head of the Environmental Area of the unit. In his role as master of the ceremony, Dr. Carrasco said: “Dr. Berg has been a faithful representative of UDT’s mission: to contribute significantly to the development of the bioeconomy in Chile, generating scientific knowledge, technological solutions and innovation that impact the productive sector and society”.
About the new stage, Berg emphasized: “I am really super confident, because they are a great team, that under the leadership of my colleague Juan Carlos Carrasco, will continue to see ports never seen before”. Finally, an emotional Alex Berg addressed his team with the poem “Ithaca”, by the Greek Konstantínos Kaváfis, recalling and thanking them for the road they have traveled. “It was a time rich in experiences, joys, and also challenges. I lived it intensely.” Looking back, Dr. Berg confessed that he thought that the task of bringing products to the market would be easier, but at the same time, he appreciated the achievement reached by UDT, being the “most outstanding applied research center in Latin America, for its capabilities, for its infrastructure and equipment, but mainly, for its people. It is you, it is us, who are the actors of this success”, he said.
The activity ended with the presentation of awards from UDT, VRID and UdeC and a visit to the facilities, a tour guided by Alex Berg, who will continue to be linked to the institution as a researcher and licensee of a technology for the development of cellulose nanofibers. “I have had the University of Concepción in my heart since I was a student, and I am sure that this will not change,” he concluded.
Source: UdeC News