Research Professor to Discuss Surviving Chilean Earthquake

Contact: Leisa Preble, (207)581-1016

A first-hand look at the 2010 earthquake in Chile by William Desisto, associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Maine, is the topic for the Department of Physics & Astronomy’s Friday, Feb. 4 colloquium at 3:10 p.m. in 137 Bennett Hall, a free and public event. Desisto’s talk, “Reflections from a Sabbatical in Chile,” will include Desisto and his family’s experiences as the 8.8 magnitude quake rocked the country. The experiences, he says, “gave us an up close and personal view of the Chilean people and culture.”

Desisto also will discuss his observations on Chile’s efforts to increase research and development in forest bioproducts, cultural differences with the U.S., in addition to “our experiences in this beautiful country.” The professor was living in Concepcion, Chile during a sabbatical and was near the epicenter and coastal cities devastated by the accompanying tsunami.