Hernán Sarmiento is the new director of the IMFD Innovation area.
To put the scientifically backed knowledge generated by the Millennium Institute Foundational Research on Data at the service of the People : this is the objective of the IMFD's Innovation and Technology Transfer Department, under the new leadership of Hernán Sarmiento, PhD in Computer Science from the University of Chile.
"One of my main challenges is to understand the needs, problems and ailments that public and private institutions have. Currently, many processes could be enhanced through the design and implementation of tools that support decision making. To achieve this, it is very important to establish relationships with the main actors involved in these processes and thus adapt technologies in order to turn them into an asset for society", emphasizes the new IMFD Innovation Director.
Hernán Sarmiento is a Civil Computer Engineer from Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Master and PhD in Computer Science from Universidad de Chile. In his work as a researcher, he highlights the transversal view that must be taken to solve real problems of society. "Today, it is necessary to collaborate with other disciplines in order to design comprehensive and innovative solutions that involve as many actors as possible. I learned this thanks to the topics I researched, where I was able to collaborate with people from different disciplines, from geophysical sciences to communications." His work includes publications on digital data management in crisis episodes and the development of robust information structures applied to problems in online media. Currently, he is a professor at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María and the Universidad de Chile, in the areas of engineering and data science.
One of the main strengths recognized by the new director is the capacity of the Innovation area to adapt to the emergence of new technologies, which are used in the products and solutions developed locally. "We enhance this characteristic with our constant link with the academic area of IMFD, which allows us to be at the frontier of knowledge on issues of data management, artificial intelligence and natural language processing," he adds. "I also highlight the capacity for learning and integration that the People who make up the DITT team possess. Today, we have an interdisciplinary team, with experience in both the academic world and the productive sector, which allows us to address complex challenges from an integral perspective. This combination of technical skills, applied knowledge and collaborative approach positions us as a strategic player in the national ecosystem of technological development".
"We are proud to have Hernán leading DITT, as he knows very well the potential we have at IMFD. The team we form in the Innovation area seeks, especially, to shape our goal as an institute: to extract value from data and turn it into an asset for society. For this, we have a highly qualified team, which is strengthened by the work of our researchers," says Camila Díaz, executive director of the IMFD.
Hernán Sarmiento began his relationship with the IMFD as a student at the institute: "It is a great joy to belong to the IMFD. I have been linked to this institution for many years, as a student, researcher and engineer. This has made me understand the human quality that exists and the capabilities that each of the People who belong to the institution possess," he says.
The IMFD Innovation area aims to apply the most effective techniques, based on cutting-edge science and technology, to extract value from data to enhance the development of Chile and the region, providing data solutions for industry, the public sector and society.