Lecturers
Marisol Vereda, PhD
Marisol is a professor of tourism at the National University of Tierra del Fuego (Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur), in Ushuaia. She has postgraduate degrees in university education, and also earned a masters degree in tourism planning and a PhD in geography. She has developed extensive research work on tourism in natural areas and Antarctic tourism. More specifically, she studies Antarctic visitors’ representations, as well as the impacts of Antarctic tourism in Ushuaia as a gateway city. Currently, she leads a research team that studies Antarctic tourism and the relationships with Tierra del Fuego. She has participated in the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings since 2010 as part of the Argentine Delegation. She has published in and reviewed for journals specialized in the field and has lectured at different universities, both in Argentina and abroad. She is co-author of the books, “Exploring Tierra de Fuego: A handbook for the traveler at the end of the world,” and “Tourism in Antarctica.” Additionally, she is member of a range of networks, both national and international, that care for Antarctic issues.
Cristian Lorenzo, PhD
Cristian grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and decided to move to Ushuaia to study the relationships between environment and international relations. He holds a PhD in international relations from Universidad del Salvador (Buenos Aires). He is currently working as an adjunct researcher at Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CADIC-CONICET), and as adjunct lecturer at Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales – Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego (ICPA-UNTDF). He is a visiting scholar at Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He has also been working on different environmental issues in Latin America and Antarctica. He is a member of the executive committee of the Standing Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences (SC-HASS) within the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). His most recent edited book is, “Latin America in Times of Global Change,” published by Springer Nature Switzerland (2019).
Luciana Riccialdelli, PhD
Luciana holds a doctoral degree in biology from the National University of La Plata (Argentina). She is a researcher with Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CADIC-CONICET). Her research aims to understand the trophic structure and dynamics of the sub-Antarctic waters adjacent to Tierra del Fuego, including the Beagle Channel, the Atlantic coast of Tierra del Fuego and the oceanic Marine Protected Area Namuncurá – Burdwood Bank. She has a special focus on the ecological role of marine mammals as top predators, so her work is tightly linked with the Acatushún Museum and is part of Proyecto IMMA (Investigaciones en Mamíferos Marinos Australes).
Mariano Diez, PhD
Mariano is a marine biologist with a PhD in biological sciences from the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (Argentina). His research currently focuses on the acoustics ecology of Tierra del Fuego. Particularly, Mariano studies the interactions between key species that are potential fishery resources, and also present a key ecological role in the Beagle Channel. He has numerous publications about submarine acoustics applied to respond to ecological questions.
Paula Sotelano, PhD
Paula holds a doctoral degree in marine biology from the University of Buenos Aires. She is currently a researcher in the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), and also teaches in the National University of Tierra del Fuego (UNTDF) in Ushuaia. She participated in several studies and workshops to help improve the management of the local Southern King Crab fishery. Today, her research focuses mainly on the optimization of indoor and outdoor aquaculture of the early stages of the Southern King Crab (Lithodes santolla) for the future implementation of a stock-enhancement program.
Juan Federico Ponce, PhD
Juan Federico is a geologist and researcher with the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), and a professor in the geology department of the Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego. His research is aimed at understanding past climate and environmental changes in Tierra del Fuego and South Patagonia. His research interests include glacier fluctuations, geomorphology, paleoenvironmental reconstructions from lakes and peat bogs cores, Quaternary Geology, geological-geomorphological mapping, and drone photogrammetry.
Ulises Balza, PhD
Ulises Balza is a biologist and PhD candidate specializing in ecology and conservation of wildlife from Río Grande (Tierra del Fuego). Since 2007, he has worked with several NGOs focused on environmental education. Since 2014, he has studied the ecology and status of Striated Caracara, found on islets off extreme South America, such as the Argentine island of Isla de los Estados, in his PhD project with the University of Buenos Aires.