10 RECOGNIZED PERUVIAN SCIENTISTS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Some famous Peruvian scientists are Antonio Brack Egg, Piermaria Oddone, Fabiola León Velarde and Pedro Paulet, among many others. Their contributions have been of importance both for the scientific advancement of the country and for science in general.

Peru is the house of great figures who represent a point of reference for their commitment to science and the use of these to obtain benefits both for their nation and for the other nations of the world.

Next, you will discover who are some of these exemplary Peruvian citizens in the field of science. Also, if you are interested, you can see another list with the 50 most famous and important scientists in history.

10 famous scientists from Peru

1- Antonio Brack Egg

Antonio Brack Egg was a Peruvian scientist, environmentalist and conservationist, born in 1940. He was one of the pioneers in nature conservation and created the Ministry of the Environment in Peru. He served as minister from 2005 to 2010.

Brack Egg collaborated on different occasions with the FSZ, Frankfurt Zoological Society, an environmental organization in Germany, highlighting the project of the 70s that aimed to protect vicuñas, a species that was in danger of extinction. This scientist passed away on December 30, 2014, at the age of 74.

2- Alberto Barton

Image retrieved from: scienceandtechnopam.blogspot.com.

Alberto Barton was a Peruvian microbiologist who discovered Bartonella bacilliformis, the bacterium responsible for Oroya fever. This discovery led to him being considered one of the most famous Peruvian scientists.

Alberto Barton studied at the University of San Marcos and in 1900 graduated from the School of Medicine. He received a scholarship to continue his studies in bacteriology at Edinburgh and at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

After completing his studies in the United Kingdom, he returned to Peru and began working at Guadalupe Hospital. At this time, a strange fever attacked foreigners working on the construction of the Oroya-Lima railway system.

These workers were transported to Guadalupe Hospital, giving Barton the opportunity to study the disease. Thus, in 1905, he discovered Bartonella bacilliformis. This scientist passed away on October 25, 1950.

3- Fabiola León Velarde

Image retrieved from: unmsm.edu.pe.

Fabiola León Velarde is a Peruvian physiologist, born on June 18, 1956. She has dedicated her scientific career to the study of adaptation to high altitudes from a biological and physiological point of view. She is currently rector of the Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru.

4- Pedro Paulet

Image recovered from the Schiller Institute.

Pedro Paulet was a Peruvian scientist, pioneer of aerospace aviation. He was born on July 2, 1874, in Tiabaya. It was Paulet who discovered the advantages of using liquid fuels to propel rockets.

He designed, built, and tested the first liquid fuel-powered rocket motor - the gyro. He also designed a prototype spacecraft, the "torpedo plane."

He died in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1945. July 2 was officially declared as the National Aeronautics Day in Peru.

5- Mariano Eduardo de Rivero and Ustariz

Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz was a Peruvian scientist, geologist specialized in minerals, chemist, archaeologist, politician, and diplomat. He was born in 1798 and died in 1857.

He was a student and friend of Alexander Von Humboldt, the famous German scientist. He worked for Simón Bolívar in Gran Colombia, doing an investigation on the resources available in the territory of this nation.

Among his contributions to science, the following stand out: the discovery of humboldtine (a mineral that he named in honor of his mentor Alexander Von Humboldt), which demonstrated the existence of organic minerals, the theorization around guano, bird excrement, and its possible industrialization to favor the economy of Peru.

6- Gustavo Paz-Pujalt

Gustavo Paz-Pujalt is an inventor and scientist, born on August 9, 1954, in Arequipa, Peru. He studied at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and did his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

He is the owner of 45 US patents and 59 other patents around the world; many of his inventions have been in the area of ​​photographic material.

7- Carlos Carrillo Parodi

Carlos Carrillo is a microbiologist, professor, and founder of the Cayetano Heredia University. He was the coordinator of the global program for the eradication of smallpox in Peru. He is also one of the founders of the Peruvian Society for Infectious and Tropical Diseases (1972).

8- Piermaria Oddone

Piermaria Oddone (on the right in the picture) with Atsuto Suzuki (on the left)

Piermaria Oddone is a Peruvian scientist. In 1961, he moved to the United States to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), graduating in 1965. Later, he did a graduate degree in Physics at Princeton University.

In 1972, he began work at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Here he served as director of the Physics Division (1989-1991) and deputy director (1991-2005). In 2005, he received the Panofsky Award from the American Science Society. That same year, he became the director of Fermilab, a position he held until 2013.

9- Barton Zwiebach

Image retrieved from web.mit.edu.

Barton Zwiebach is a Professor of Physics scientist, specialist in string theory and the theory of particle physics. He was born in Lima, Peru.

In 1977, he graduated from the National University of Engineering (Peru) as an electrical engineer. Subsequently, he studied physics at the California Institute of Technology and completed a doctorate in 1983.

His greatest contributions to science have been in the area of ​​string theory. He participated in the development of open string theory and later in that of closed strings.

In 2002, Zwiebach designed and taught a course at MIT: String Theory for Graduates. In 2003, he wrote a book compiling the lessons taught in his course, "A First Course in String Theory," published by Cambridge University Press. Currently, he is Professor of Physics at MIT.

10- Francisco Ruiz Lozano

Francisco Ruiz Lozano was a Peruvian soldier, astronomer, mathematician, and educator. He was born in 1607. He studied with the Jesuits at the University of San Martín, where he discovered his passion for mathematics. Later, he studied Hydrography as a mathematical science.

In 1951, he moved to Mexico, where he studied navigation and took his first steps in the field of astronomy by observing the comet of 1652.

He returned to Peru and held the position of senior cosmographer. In 1665, he published T ratado de Cometas, observation and judgment of what was seen in this city of the Kings, and generally throughout the World, around the end of 1664 and the beginning of 1665. He died in 1677, in Mexico City.

References

1. In Memorian Dr Antonio Brack Egg. Retrieved on March 22, 2017, from fzs.org.
2. Piermaria Oddone - Biography. Retrieved on March 22, 2017, from history.fnal.gov.
3. Barton Zwiebach. Retrieved on March 22, 2017, from web.mit.edu.
4. Pedro Paulet: Peruvian Space and Rocket Pioneer. Retrieved on March 22, 2017, from 21centurysciencetech.com.
5. Mayor-Mongrut, A. (1964). "Mariano de Rivero, pioneer of mining education in South America". Chymia (Annual Studies in the History of Chemistry, Univ. Penn.).
6. USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved on March 22, 2017, from patft.uspto.gov.
7. Marquis (1999). Who's who in the world. 16th Edition.
8. Fabiola Leon Velarde. Retrieved on March 22, 2017, from upch.edu.pe.