Leadership
Jorge I. Le Dantec, President
Jorge is a Chilean industrial engineer and master in applied finance with seven years of experience on performance management and financial analysis in the port/logistic and consumer goods sectors. Jorge is a fellow at MIT's Systems Design and Management program where he is a candidate for a Master of Science in Engineering and Management. He is very interested in the interrelations between energy supply and socio-economical growth, with a particular interest in the power requirements of the mining industry as a main driver for Chilean economy. Currently he is Officer of the MIT-Chile Club and member of the MIT Electricity Students Research Group.
Mohammad Haytham Al-Tayyar, Officer
Mohammad's background is in the energy industry. He worked for 9 years for Saudi Aramco, first as a process engineer supporting the Kingdom's downstream operations and later in research and technology development. Most recently, Mohammad worked in Saudi Aramco's New Business Development organization were he led commercialization activities for the company's technology portfolio and supported the creation of new business opportunities. He was also part of the team that supported the creation and development of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Mohammad is currently pursuing a masters degree in Engineering and Management as a System Design and Management Fellow.
Juan Andres Carvallo, Officer
Juan Andres is an industrial engineer with 6 year of experience in private equity and business development. He is currently studying an MBA at Babson College and before coming here he was the co founder and investment manager of Fondo Tridente, the first investment fund dedicated exclusively to acquire and ramp up product and services companies which are strategyc suppliers to the big mining companies in Chile. Before that he worked as a private equity analyst at Penta Capital de Riesgo, part of Grupo Penta Holding. Juan Andres has a major in Industrial Civil Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Catolica.
Rachel DeLucas, Officer
Rachel DeLucas is a Research Engineer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT in the groups of Prof. Allanore and Prof. Sadoway. Her current research is dedicated to applying the Molten Oxide Electrolysis process to the extraction of rare-earth metals from their oxides. She earned a MS in Manufacturing Engineering at Boston University (Thesis: Scale-up and Modeling of the Solid Oxide Membrane Process for the Direct Reduction of Magnesium from Magnesium Oxide, with Prof. Uday Pal) and a BS in Archaeology and Materials from MIT. Previously she spent three years working as a Process Engineer in tantalum refining and powder manufacturing factory. She currently serves on the Extraction and Processing Division Council as the Continuing Education Representative and as a member of the Materials and Society Committee for the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS).
Tomas Folch, Officer
Tomas is a Chilean architect, master in architecture and master in landscape architect from Harvard University. Through his five years of professional experience, he has addressed solutions for urban renovation, heritage, urban infrastructure, social housing and landscape architecture. His actual studies and research are focused on landscapes of extraction, going beyond the reclamation as a final stage to incorporate ecological process and environmental externalities as values for the equation of production. His work has been recognized and presented in the Chilean Biennale of Architecture 2008, the Shanghai Exposition 2010, the Venice Biennale 2010 among others.
Yuly Fuentes-Medel, Officer
Yuly Fuentes-Medel graduated with a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA, and is currently a postdoctoral trainee at the MIT Sloan School under the supervision of Professors Fiona Murray and Pierre Azoulay. Her work is focused on validating novel metrics to supplement the traditional funding allocation approaches inherited from the post-World War II era used by a wide variety of grant-making institutions in both the public sector and in private philanthropy. Yuly is energetically involved in fostering scientific interest and career diversity in the sciences as a current intern for Propel Careers. One of her major undertakings is to create a connection between Propel Careers and the Universities and Biotech companies located in the MA area. She is an active member of Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (WEST) and recently received a volunteer giving back award at the 2011 WEST Giving Back award event. During her time as a Ph.D. student, she pioneered the co-organization of the biannual international workshop called “Small Brains Big Ideas: Biomedical Insights from Invertebrate Neuroscience Research”, held in Santiago, Chile, in 2010 and 2012. This initiative has so far successfully trained, sixty Latin-American students in the application of genetic model organisms. Currently she is the President of Encuentros Conference, the largest meeting of Chilean students, researchers, and entrepreneurs abroad and also the scientific advisor of the Mining, Oil & Gas MIT Club. Trained as a biochemist at University of Concepcion in her native Chile, she has a passion for science development and innovation.
Juan Esteban Montero, Officer (Past-President)
Juan Esteban is a Chilean mining engineer and master of science in finance with five years of experience working as a senior engineer for BHP Billiton’s Escondida copper mine in Antofagasta, Chile. Currently he is a first year student in System Design and Management Program at MIT where he is the Chair of Communication for the Industrial Relations Committee. He is also a business development researcher for Broadrock Renewables LLC. in NY. Montero is involved in research with Keio University in Tokyo, Japan about collaboration mechanisms between the mining industry in South America and Japan. He is also founding a startup related to services for the mining industry as well as developing a thesis project oriented toward incorporating Flexibility in Engineering in the design of major mining projects with Professor Richard de Neufville.
Miguel Paredes, Officer
Miguel is pursuing a PhD in Decision and Uncertainty Analysis in the Department of Urban Planning at MIT, focusing on how to design and optimize large-scale investments. He is currently working as a Research Assistant in the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), where he is part of a team designing an integrated computer model of the transportation and land-use system of Singapore. Miguel is half Peruvian and half US, holds a B.S. in systems engineer and two master from MIT: one in Technology and Policy from the Engineering Systems Division, and one in International Development / Urban Planning from the Department of Urban Planning. Miguel has experience in the private, public, and non-profit sector, both in the US and in South America. He is very interested in understanding how concepts of uncertainty and risk are (un)accounted for in investments decisions such as those in Mining, Oil, and Gas, and how these concepts should be incorporated and modeled in decision making models.
Pum Thammongkol, Officer
Pum's is a Thai Chemical engineer and she spent 7 years in the energy and Petrochemical industries. She worked for 2.5 years for Dow chemical, as an improvement engineer supporting the operations and technology implementation. Most recently, she worked as a facilities engineer for Chevron Exploration & Production in Bangkok, Thailand where she was part of team that support risk assessment and safety engineering design activities for the company's Asia South Business Unit. Pum is currently pursuing a masters degree in Engineering and Management as a System Design and Management Fellow and her interests are in system engineering, system safety and flexibility in engineering design.
Emele Uka, Officer
Emele Uka is an undergraduate at MIT working towards a degree in Chemical Engineering. He is interested in sustainability and energy. Emele currently serves as an executive member of the Alternative Spring Break Club and as president of the National Organization of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers at MIT.
Angel Vargas, Officer
