The Ambassador of Costa Rica to the Federal Republic of Germany, Jose Joaquin Chaverri, recently visited the prestigious Technical University of Hamburg, an institution of research and higher learning that is considered a global leader in the fields of technology, environmental science, and nanotechnology. This university teaches more than 6,500 students at any given time.

 

Ambassador Chaverri was accompanied by the Consul General in Germany, Carlos Lizano; they were welcomed to particiapte in a work session by school official, and they also attended a meeting with Professor Christina Ringles of the School of Management and International Affairs of this prestigious German institution.

 

They also met with Dr. Wolfgang Krautschneider, Head of the Institute of Nanoelectronics, who has directed and collaborated with numerous research projects in Costa Rica. Some of Dr. Krautschneider’s research partners include Professor Paola Vega at the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, commonly referred to as TEC. Professor Krautschneider congratulated the Government of Costa Rica and the scholarship earned by Juan José Montero, a graduate student from Tres Rio who is currently on his doctoral studies program.

 

Mr. Montero was directed by Dr. Krautschneider and Dr. Vega in Costa Rica, but he is now working in Germany with German researchers in a project that seeks to eliminate cancer cells through the application of small electrical fields. This research project is being closely followed by the medical and oncology community in Hamburg since it is an issue of great importance for medical science.

 

In Costa Rica, reasearchers and faculty members and TEC also have high hopes for the success of this project, which Mr. Montero believes it will take a lot time and effort to accomplish. The use of electrical fields to kill cancerous cells has been previously considered by Israeli researchers as reported by the MIT Review in 2007. Costa Rica has also explored the effect of the oxygen paradox in cancer treatment, but more research is neede in this regard.

 

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs institutional communication #4029