Chile Program Office
University of North Texas
Environmental Education, Science & Technology Bldg. 325C
PO Box 310920
Denton, TX 76203
Phone: 940-369-8211
Alt Phone: 940-565-2981
Fax: 940-565-4448
Email: chile@unt.edu
Physical Location:
EESAT Building
1704 West Mulberry St.
About Us
Our Team
Professors
Dr. Ricardo Rozzi
rozzi@unt.edu
Dr. Rozzi is an ecologist and environmental philosopher whose main research focuses on environmental ethics and the conservation of biocultural diversity in the Cape Horn Region. He was involved in the creation of the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in Navarino Island and led the efforts to establish the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. He is a founding member of the UNT-Chile Field Station and an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB-Chile). He is currently an Associate Professor at Universidad de Magallanes (Chile) and at the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies at the University of North Texas.
Dr. Francisca Massardo
massardo-rozzi@yahoo.com
Dr. Massardo is an ethnobotanist and plant physiologist. Her research includes ethnobotany, nectar production and the reproductive biology of Magellanic flora. She was involved in the creation of the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in Navarino Island and the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. She is a founding member of the UNT-Chile Field Station and is currently a Professor at Universidad de Magallanes, Chile.
Dr. Robert Frodeman
frodeman@unt.edu
Dr. Frodeman specializes in environmental philosophy and science policy. He has consulted for the US Geological Survey for the last ten years and is a founding member the UNT-Chile Field Station. He is Director of the New Directions Initiative, editor of Earth Matters: the Earth Sciences, Philosophy, and the Claims of Community (Prentice-Hall, 2000). He currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies at the University of North Texas.
Dr. James H. Kennedy
kennedy@unt.edu
Dr. Kennedy is an ecologist and aquatic entomologist. His research includes stream ecology, aquatic insect biology, biodiversity studies, and the use of macroinvertebrates in ecological risk assessment process. He is a Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas and a founding member of the UNT-Chile Field Station. He was involved in the creation of the Department of Biological Sciences’ Field Station located in Denton, Texas and is currently the Director of the Elm Fork Education Center.
Dr. Eugene C. Hargrove
hargrove@unt.edu
Dr. Hargrove specializes in ethics, science, and the care of ecosystems, along with exploring these issues in a philosophical context. He has been critical in the development of environmental ethics within a collegiate curriculum. He is currently a philosophy professor at the University of North Texas and the founding editor of the Journal Environmental Ethics. He is the Director of the Center for Environmental Philosophy at this institution.
Dr. Christopher Anderson
christopher.anderson@umag.cl
Dr. Anderson’s research focuses on understanding the role of invasive species at the landscape scale in the Chilean subantarctic archipelago. He is a post-doctoral fellow of the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB-Chile) where he is involved in themes related to global change impacts, conservation, and society. He was actively involved in the establishment of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve and is currently the President of the Omora Sub-Antarctic Research Alliance (OSARA).
Dr. Juan Armesto
armesto@bio.puc.cl
Dr. Armesto’s research focuses on forest ecology, ecosystem management and conservation of forest biodiversity in southern South American temperate forests. During the mid-90’s, his laboratory showed that southern South American temperate forest have high generic endemism and are very much like tropical cloud forests in their reproductive biology. He helped established the Omora Ethnobotanical Park and played an important role in the creation of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. Today he is a full Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad de Chile. He is the Deputy Director of the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB-Chile), an Adjunct Scientist of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, New York, USA., and the President of the Fundación Senda Darwin, Chile.
Dr. Andrés Mansilla
andres.mansilla@umag.cl
Dr. Mansilla is a phycologist and botanist. He helped established the Facultad de Ciencias of Universidad de Magallanes (Chile), where the research is focused on the sub-Antarctic Magallanes region. He played an important role on the development of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. He is currently a Professor and Coordinator of the Master Program in Sciences and the Director of Research and Graduate Studies at Universidad de Magallanes.
Dr. J. Britt Holbrook
britt.holbrook@unt.edu
Dr. Holbrook's current research focuses on interdisciplinarity and the relationship between science, technology, and society. He is especially interested in the incorporation of societal impacts considerations into the peer review process of publicly supported funding agencies (e.g., NSF's "Broader Impacts" Merit Review Criterion), as well as the integration of "the social" with "the ecological" (e.g., the difference between Long Term Ecological Research and Long Term Socio-Ecological Research). Holbrook is Assistant Director of UNT's Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity and Research Assistant Professor within UNT's Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies.
Dr. Arturo Kunstmann
arturo.kunstmann@umag.cl
Dr. Kunstmann’s research focuses on characterization and sustainability of wind energy implementation in Chile. He is currently a Professor and the Director of the Centro de Estudio de los Recursos Energéticos at Universidad de Magallanes (CERE-UMAG).
Jessica Fernandoy, Architect
jessica.fernandoy@umag.cl
Ms. Fernandoy is a Faculty Member at Universidad de Magallanes, where she teaches architecture. She has been involved in the designing and construction of trails at Omora Ethnobotanical Park. She is also collaborating in the design of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve Field Station. Currently, she is involved in the elaboration of a multimedia CD that describes the Omora Ethnobotanical Park.
Lari R. Gibbons
gibbons@unt.edu
Lari R. Gibbons is an Associate Professor of Art in the College of Visual Arts and Design and an artist who specializes in drawing and printmaking. With the support of a 2008-09 UNT Faculty Research Grant, she traveled to Chile in order to develop strategies for incorporating visual art into the Chile Program.
Dr. Guillermo A. Oyarce
oyga@unt.edu
Dr. Oyarce is an Information Scientists whose main research focuses on computer-based text processing to facilitate human access to large amounts of digital information. His international activities are well regarded. He is currently an Associate Professor in the College of Library, Information Science and Learning Technologies of the University of North Texas, where he teaches courses about computer technology and information retrieval systems.
Will Senn
William.Senn@unt.edu
Will is a masters student in Information Science. He is the Director of Decision Support at the University of North Texas and is an active participant in the campus community. He has an interest in international issues, environmental concerns and information research.
Education Coordinators
M.Sc. Ximena Arango
xae_arango@yahoo.es
Ms. Arango’s research has focused on the definition and implementation of the Magellanic Woodpeckar as a flagship species for the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve and the exploring of other potential flagship species at the regional scale in collaboration with Fundación Senda Darwin. She is the Education Coordinator at Puerto Williams (IEB-UMAG) where she carries out local environmental education programs with the school in Puerto Williams.
M. Sc. Paula Caballero
pp.caballero.s@gmail.com
Ms. Caballero is the Regional Coordinator of Science Outreach at Punta Arenas (IEB-Omora-UMAG). She is in charge of promoting science in the community through education. For this reason she has worked, along with Omora Ethnobotanical Park, in the development of workshops for teachers, tourism agencies, and the community of Puerto Williams.
Students
B.Sc. Candidate Kelli Moses
kelli.moses@gmail.com
Ms. Moses is an undergraduate student in biology at the University of North Texas (UNT) conducting research for her Honors Thesis at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park on aquatic bryophytes, aquatic invertebrates and conservation of the characteristic communities of the sub-Antarctic forests. In December 2006, Ms. Moses was introduced to the region through a study abroad course entitled Tracing Darwin’s Path: Nature writing at the Beagle Channel held in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve and has since been helping to develop a partnership between the University of North Texas, the University of Magallanes and the Omora Ethnobotanical Park. In 2007 she assisted the coordination and again participated in Tracing Darwin’s Path: Integrating Natural History and Environmental Field Philosophy, which included students from UNT and UMAG. Currently she is helping to develop programs for the UNT and UMAG courses at Omora Park on the topic of “Miniature Forests” conservation for June and December 2008.
M.A. Candidate Alexandria Poole
alexandria.poole@gmail.com
Ms. Poole is currently working on her Masters in the Philosophy department at the University of North Texas. Her research focuses on interdisciplinarity and integrating both the cultural and scientific components of knowledge within education and conservation policy. Ms. Poole is also a research assistant to Dr. Rozzi and Dr. Frodeman of UNT. Her work with these individuals includes an exploration of the common heritage principle as it relates to ownership within space policy, the Arctic and Antarctic continents, and the Laws of the Seas. She is also exploring the nature of education and the presence or absence of eco-literacy and its influence on decision-making within a disciplinarian's careers. Currently she is helping with the construction of the new UNT-Chile Field Station website.
M. Sc. Candidate Yanet Medina
yanet_medin@yahoo.es
Ms. Medina is a graduate student studying non-vascular plants at the University of Magallanes (UMAG) in Punta Arenas and works for the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB) and the Omora Ethno-botanical Park. As part of her thesis project, Yanet is participating in work associated with the design and construction of the “Miniature Forests of Cape Horn” at Omora Park. This trail is the first of its kind in the world, as a tool for the conservation of the non-vascular flora in this pristine region. She is working to design and implement the interpretative trail with 19 stations to emphasize each of the many distinct habitats and species represented. As preparation for this, she has participated in an expedition with a team of scientists (from the University of Complutense in Madrid, Spain) led by Dr. Leopoldo Garcia-Sanchez to become familiar with lichens species of the region.
Ph. D. Canditate Tamara Contador
tac0097@unt.edu
Ms. Contador is an international student from Santiago, Chile at the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of North Texas. She is working with Dr. J.H. Kennedy in the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory at this institution. Her dissertation (in progress) focuses on the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna associated to the Róbalo River watershed. She will be using the information obtained from her dissertation for conservation initiatives of watershed and education outreach. One component of this research is the use of the ecological knowledge to inform policy-making and monitor stream health. She helped to teach the Biology section of the 2007-2008 Tracing Darwin’s Path UNT course. Currently she is helping with the construction of the new UNT-Chile Field Station website.
M. Sc. Candidate Cristóbal Pizarro
jcpizarrop@gmail.com
Mr. Pizarro is a Master’s candidate at Universidad de Magallanes, where he focuses on birds and the link between marine and terrestrial habitats. He is currently involved in the coordination of courses, workshops, and other events at Omora Ethnobotanical Park. In addition, Mr. Pizarro is involved in the designing Marine-terrestrial SEELP for his Master’s thesis.
M. Sc. José Tomás Ibarra
Mr. Ibarra’s research focuses on the history and protection of the Róbalo River in Navarino Island. In January of 2008, Mr. Ibarra and Ms. Ximena Arango launched a book entitled Habitats and Inhabitants of the Robalo Watershed, which explores the different “tracks” left behind by the different cultures that have inhabited the watershed.