THE BITAFAL SUSTAINABLE ASPHALT CHAIR IS BORN – UM
The University of Montevideo together with BITAFAL, announced the creation of the BITAFAL – UM Sustainable Asphalt Chair.
This initiative was born with the vision of creating a bridge between industry and academia, the public and private sectors, with the purpose of promoting applied research in the field of sustainable asphalts and promoting the dissemination of said knowledge.
In the facilities of the UM Faculty of Engineering and before a packed auditorium, BITAFAL's Transformation and Strategy Manager Ignacio Kröger highlighted the project, which aims at sustainability in road construction, taking care of all its dimensions. “We want Uruguay to produce more and better roads at lower economic and environmental costs,” he stressed, while highlighting values such as trust and collaboration as central elements of the proposal, which is open for the participation of students from other universities and from other companies. And finally, addressing the students, he indicated “this is a projection that points to the future, and that begins today.”
The event was attended by the Minister of Transportation and Public Works José Luis Falero, the Undersecretary of the Environment Gerardo Amarilla, the highest authorities of the UM, directors of BITAFAL, experts such as Engineer Lucio Cáceres, graduates and students of the Faculty of Engineering, which will soon be integrated into the world of road construction.
The Dean of the UM Faculty of Engineering, Engineer Rafael Sotelo, appreciated the interest aroused by the initiative among engineers and students of that university, indicating that “in a few hours after having announced internally the birth of the Chair we already had the interest of many students and graduates, who are going to participate and assure us of the success of the project.”
The chair will be a reference and consultation center for all participants, and the development of several research projects has already been announced, for which BITAFAL will enable their experimentation and application in upcoming road developments in the country.
