The University's Materials Research Group (GIMaT, in Spanish) took part in the TORONTO'2014 AES – ATEMA 25th International Conference in Toronto, Canada from the 10th to the 14th of August. 

Researchers and scientists from Germany, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Holland, Canada, India and Ecuador got together to present the progress and tendencies in materials engineering as well as its applications. Jorge Fajardo and Jonnathan Santos, from UPS, were the only South American representatives in the conference and they presented two papers:

•    "Improving the Processing and Rheological Properties of Natural Fibre/ Polypropylene Composites". Authors: Jorge I. Fajardo, Diego R. Lasso, César A. Paltán, Luis M. López, Diego Perguachi and Luis J. Cruz. 
•    "Effects of Orientation State of Short Natural Fiber on Mechanical Properties in Polypropylene-Bamboo Based Composite by Experimental and Computational Methods". Authors: Jorge I. Fajardo, Jonnathan D. Santos and Luis Garzón. 

In both papers, the researchers try to deepen their understanding of the effect of natural reinforcers on several properties of polymeric materials (plastic) in order to improve its performance and optimize its processing for engineering applications. These materials are light, easy processing, high availability, renewable and low cost. According to Jorge Fajardo "the country can become a world power in the production of this type of materials and stimulate the economy. The most appealing sectors are construction and automobile components"

Both research projects are part of the university's research funds and were supported by Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana during 2013-2014; they will be part of the AES-ATEMA Conference Proceedings by Elsevier Amsterdam and the SCOPUS data base. 

 The university's researchers were delighted to see how the world's scientific community appreciates and highlights the work done at UPS. International events "are important to meet other research centers around the world and perhaps work with them in future projects. On behalf of everyone from the materials research group (GiMaT), I'd like to thank the support from UPS" said Jorge Fajardo in his interview from Canada.

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