The Menador cultural space hosted today the awards ceremony for the second edition of the FACSA Chair of Innovation in the Integrated Water Cycle Awards at the Universitat Jaume I. These awards aim to recognize the best undergraduate, master's, and doctoral theses applied to the water sector, as well as to highlight the importance of proper water management for the benefit of the world's population.
During the opening ceremony, FACSA President Enrique Gimeno praised the "importance" of this award in "recognizing talent and effort, as well as serving as a meeting point and forum for dialogue when proposing innovative solutions that allow us to continue moving forward and respond effectively to the future challenges posed by the management of the integrated water cycle.".
For his part, Sergio Chiva, director of the FACSA Chair, has reviewed the activities carried out by the chair in its three years of existence: awards, seminars, conferences, cross-cutting activities, publications and initiatives for the recovery of hydraulic heritage.
Rector Vicent Climent used his speech at this awards ceremony to highlight the work done at universities, "at a time when university degrees are being questioned." "Behind degrees like those Facsa is recognizing today lies a great deal of effort, perseverance, and hard work, and for this reason, we must all defend the work done by students and public university institutions.".
Climent also praised the cooperation between the company FACSA and the Universitat Jaume I, citing it as an example of how the productive sector and public institutions can join forces to make valuable contributions to the progress of their social environments—progress based on the critical production and transmission of knowledge. Finally, he congratulated this year's award winners, saying, "You have presented works that have stood out for their scientific relevance, innovation, and originality, as well as their coherence and connection to the field of water, so fundamental to the future of our societies, their well-being, and their potential for progress.".
Regarding the award winners, Sara Gargallo Bellés, from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, received the award for Best Doctoral Thesis for her work "Modeling of water quality in surface flow constructed wetlands (SFWs). Application to the SFWs of the Tancat de la Pipa in the Albufera of Valencia." Meanwhile, the award for Best Master's Thesis went to Laura Millán Roures, from the Jaume I University (UJI), for "Functional data outliers for the detection of anomalous flows in the hydraulic sector," while the "Energy improvement project in the cogeneration of the Castellón wastewater treatment plant," by Andrés Felipe Reyes Tovar (UJI), was awarded Best Bachelor's Thesis.
Lecture by Gonzalo Delacámara
The event featured Gonzalo Delacámara, Academic Director of the Water Economy Forum and Coordinator of the Water Economy Group at IMDEA Water, as guest of honor. He analyzed the current state of water management and the future challenges it presents. In this regard, he explained the "lack of awareness among the population regarding water scarcity" and encouraged attendees to "better appreciate having access to good water infrastructure and to use it wisely, thereby contributing to long-term water security.".
The academic director of the Water Economy Forum also participated in a round table discussion with Pascual Maximino, director of the Supply Area of FACSA, and Luis Basiero, director of the Sanitation and Purification Area of FACSA.
The FACSA Chair at UJI was created in 2015 with the aim of promoting training, research, knowledge dissemination and R&D in the management of the integrated water cycle, as well as facilitating collaboration between the professional and teaching fields.
