Federico Santa María Technical University

Infobox University
name = Federico Santa Maria Technical University
native_name = Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María


motto = "Ex Umbra in Solem"
(Latin, from the shadow into the sun)
type = Private, Traditional
established = 1929
city = Valparaíso
country = Chile
students = app. 10,000
faculty = 260 full time
300 part time
campus = Urban
website = http://www.utfsm.cl

The Federico Santa María Technical University ( _es. Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María) (UTFSM), situated in Valparaíso, is one of the most reputed engineering universities in Chile.

Campus

The university has three campuses and two seats ("sedes"). These are located in four Chilean cities and Guayaquil, Ecuador. These are:

*Casa Central, main campus. Inaugurated in 1931, located in Valparaíso
*Campus Santiago [http://www.santiago.usm.cl] , located in the Chilean capital, Santiago.
*Campus Guayaquil [http://www.usm.edu.ec] , located in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
*Sede José Miguel Carrera [http://www.jmc.utfsm.cl] , located in Viña del Mar.
*Sede Rey Balduino de Bégica [http://www.rbb.utfsm.cl] , located in seaport city of Talcahuano.

While the campuses are focused on undergraduate, graduate and university academical activities, "sedes" are mainly dedicated to technical degrees.

Casa Central, Valparaíso

The main UTFSM campus is located in Valparaíso, covering most of the front area of Los Placeres hill. The site directly faces the Pacific coast and it is visible from many parts of the bay of Valparaíso.

The building was designed by Josué Smith Solar, one of the most respected Chilean architects of the 20th century, and his son José Smith Miller. The American Neo-Gothic style campus is considered one of the foremost works of Chilean architecture. The campus is also recognised for its beautiful gardening, with native and exotic species.

In 2001, the illumination of the university frontis was renewed through a contest organised by the Chilean branch of Philips.

Organization

Due to the focused nature of the university, its organisation does not include different faculties, only different academic departments.

The "sedes" have their own internal structure.

Within the Chilean campus level, there are 12 departments, which carry out research and graduate/undergraduate educational programs:

*Department of Architecture [http://www.arq.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Materials Science
*Department of Electricity [http://www.eli.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Electronics [http://www.elo.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Physics [http://www.fis.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Industrial Engineering [http://www.ind.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Informatics [http://www.inf.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Mathematics [http://www.mat.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Mechanics [http://www.mec.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Civil Engineering [http://www.ociv.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Chemical, Biotechnologial and Environmental Processes [http://www.pqui.utfsm.cl]
*Department of Chemistry [http://www.qui.utfsm.cl]

Besides, there are two support departments that originated in the educational concept brought by the first German academics.

*Department of Humanistic Studies
*Department of Physical Education, Sports and Recreation [http://www.defider.utfsm.cl]

UTFSM is the only Chilean engineering school that includes sports as an obligatory course in the curriculum.

The university offers careers of Commercial Pilot and Aeronautical Engineering in its Academia de Ciencias Aeronáuticas [http://www.aca.cl] in a joint venture with Chilean airline Lan Chile .

History

The university takes its names from Federico Santa María, a Chilean who lived in France. He raised a huge fortune as broker in the sugar market in Paris.

In his testament, Santa María donated all his fortune to build in Valparaíso—his hometown—a high-standard technical and scientific institution. This institution would be dedicated to prepare students with a deficient socioeconomic condition but great potential to gain technical and scientific knowledge, so they could contribute to the progress of Chile.

Following his philosophy, on March 31, 1926, an institution was created to develop Santa María's legacy. Finally on 1931 the School of Crafts and Arts and School of Engineering José Miguel Carrera was founded. In 1935 its name changed to "Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María".

In 1960 the Graduate School was created. In 1963 the university became the first higher-education institution in Latin America to confer a doctorate.

External links

* [http://www.utfsm.cl Official website]