He was born in Maravillas, Hidalgo, in 1937. He studied Civil Engineering and earned master's and doctorate degrees in engineering at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico]. He conducted a research stay at Harvard University. He is a Researcher Emeritus of the Instituto de Ingeniería [Engineering Institute] of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico].
A geotechnology specialist, he has been a consultant for dozens of engineering projects in Mexico and abroad. He also stands out for his contribution to the education sector, where he was very active in designing public policies for higher education, science and technology.
He is a former director of the Facultad y del Instituto de Ingeniería [Faculty and the Institute of Engineering] of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [National Autonomous University of Mexico]; president of the Academia de la Investigación Científica [Academy of Scientific Research], today Academia Mexicana de Ciencias [Mexican Academy of Sciences]; secretary general of the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Conacyt) [National Council of Science and Technology]; member of the UN Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development.
In the public sector, he served as deputy technical director of the Comisión Federal de Electricidad [Federal Electricity Commission] and the Comisión Nacional del Agua [National Water Commission]; subsecretario de Educación Superior e Investigación Científica en la Secretaría de Educación Pública [undersecretary of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Ministry of Public Education]. He is a member of the Consejo Consultivo de Ciencias de la Presidencia de la República (CCC) [Science Consulting Council of the President’s Office].
He has received the Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes [National Award for Science and Arts]; the Premio Sourasky de Ciencias [Sourasky Science Prize], and some 23 prizes in his field.
He is the author, co-author or editor of 6 books and 130 scientific or technical papers, as well as 31 chapters in specialized books. |