The nation’s first molecular laboratory was inaugurated last Wednesday in the state capital by Governor Miguel Márquez, who was accompanied by CONACYT’s General Director Enrique Cabrero Mendoza, the dean of the University of Guanajuato, José Manuel Cabrera Sixto and the head of the Department of Chemistry, Mario Ávila Rodríguez.
Some 35 million pesos ($2.6 million) were invested in the building of the National Physicochemical Properties and Molecular Structure Laboratory, located on the University of Guanajua- to’s main campus. The labora- tory is equipped with the latest technology, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and highperformance computing (HPC), which will boost the university’s leading edge and contribute to the technological development of Mexico as a whole.
“Science and technology must be at the service of progress in the state and the country. Not only is this project fundamental for the academic community, it will drive company productivity and competiveness, and therefore, serve the community itself,” declared Miguel Márquez.
The national laboratory will enable over 8,500 students and 300 professors of the departments of Engineering and Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Guanajuato to work in collabora- tion with Mexico’s top research centers: the National Council of Science and Technology (CONA- CYT), Center for Optics Research (CIO), Center for Mathematical Research (CIMAT), Center of Ap- plied Innovation in Competitive Technologies (CIATEC) and the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV).
The creation of the National Physicochemical Properties and Molecular Structure Laboratory places Guanajuato at the fore- front of science, technology and innovation and is a major step forward in the field of scientific research in Mexico.
