Speakers
PhD. Héctor Cancela Bosi
Héctor Cancela holds a degree in Computer Systems Engineering (University of the Republic, 1990) and a PhD in Computer Science (University of Rennes 1 / INRIA, France, 1996). He is a Full Professor (Group 5) in the Department of Operations Research at the Computing Institute of the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Republic. He has published more than 100 full-length papers in peer-reviewed journals and at the proceedings of international events. He has supervised more than 20 completed master's and doctoral theses. He has participated in more than 30 research projects with national and international funding. He was President of the Latin-Ibero-American Association of Operations Research (ALIO) and President of the Latin American Center for Studies in Informatics (CLEI). He is currently President of the International Federation of Operations Research Societies (IFORS) for the 2025-2027 term.
PhD. Marcela González Araya
Marcela González Araya is an Industrial Civil Engineer (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 1994), holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Sciences (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 1993), a Master's degree in Production Engineering Sciences (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 1997), and a PhD in Production Engineering Sciences (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 2003). She is a Full Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Talca, where since April 2005 she has conducted research and taught in the area of operations research tools applied to the coordination of agri-food supply chains and eco-efficiency evaluation through the combined use of Data Envelopment Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment. She has published over 85 peer-reviewed papers in international journals and conferences, accumulating more than 2,200 citations. She has supervised numerous undergraduate, master's, and doctoral theses, and has participated in more than 20 nationally and internationally funded research projects. In March 2025, she became the first woman to serve as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at University of Talca for the 2025-2028 term, marking a milestone in female representation in STEM.
PhD. José Fernando Camacho Vallejo
José Fernando Camacho Vallejo holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the Faculty of Physical-Mathematical Sciences at UANL (1998), a Master's in Engineering Sciences with a specialization in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University (2004), and a PhD in Engineering Sciences with a specialization in Industrial Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey (2010). He is a Tenured Professor-Researcher in the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Physical-Mathematical Sciences at UANL since January 2009, where he conducts research in bi-level programming, metaheuristics, and supply chain optimization. He is a Level II member of the National System of Researchers (SNI), a regular member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, and holds the desirable profile of PRODEP. He has published over 30 articles in JCR-indexed journals, with more than 1,200 citations on Google Scholar. He has supervised 5 doctoral theses, 12 master's, 3 undergraduate, and 3 postdoctoral projects. He was President of the Mexican Society of Operations Research (2020-2022) and has delivered plenary lectures at national and international conferences.
PhD. Sarfaraz Hashemkhani Zolfani
PhD. Sarfaraz Hashemkhani Zolfani is an associate professor at the School of Engineering, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Coquimbo campus, Chile. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Portsmouth, under the Isambard Kingdom Fellowship Scheme. PhD. Hashemkhani Zolfani is an associate editor in the “Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence”, “Artificial Intelligence Review” and “Fuzzy Extensions & Applications”. He is also an editorial board member of various journals such as Financial Innovation, Technological and Economic Development of Economy, International Journal of Strategic Property Management, Transport, Journal of Dynamics and Games, Decision Making: Applications in Management and Engineering, Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications, etc. PhD. Hashemkhani Zolfani has been recognized among the top 2% of the most cited researchers globally since 2022. He has maintained this distinction for three consecutive years—2022, 2023, and 2024—according to the annual rankings published by Stanford University in collaboration with Elsevier. He actively serves as a reviewer for over 100 ISI and Scopus-indexed journals.