SECTEI INTERNATIONAL 2025 Montology and Chimborazo: Convergence in Ecoregional Sustainability for Science, Technology, and Innovation Tate Student Center, Room 473, UGA campus. Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. October 8th,9th, and 10th, 2025 In-person and virtual hybrid event To celebrate the Week of Science, Technology and Innovatiosponsoredn (SECTEI for the Spanish acronym “Semana de Ciencia, Tecnología, e Innovación), and as a preparatory gathering for the upcoming “Global Conference IPSI-10” of the Satoyama Initiative of the United Nations University's (UNU) Institute of Advanced Studies of Sustainability (IAS), to be held in Riobamba, Ecuador, in March 3 to 5, 2026, the Neotropical Montology Collaboratory of the University of Georgia (UGA) and Escuela Politécnica Superior de Chimborazo (ESPOCH) are organizing an International Conference of SECTEI XI on campus. Originally sponsored and organized by ESPOCH since 2014, the International SECTEI 2025 in Athens, GA is sponsored by the Commission of Mountain Studies (CMS) of the International Geographical Union (IGU), and the local sponsorship of the Geography Department, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Global Engagement, and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute. Monday, October 6th Visit to Magma Mía Lab, Geology. Visit to the Geography green roof, Tate Center, and Bookstore. Visit to the Center for Integrated Conservation Research (CCR) Visit to the Institute of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Group Picture at the Arch, North Campus. Tuesday, October 7th Visit the Fluvial Geomorphology Lab and the Center for Geospatial Research, Geography Visit different laboratories and cabinets of interest for potential UGA-ESPOCH collaborative projects according to the specialty of ESPOCH’s delegates visiting the campus. Wednesday, October 8th. Tate Student Center, room 473. https://zoom.us/my/montologylives 9:00. Welcome. General information from UGA-ESPOCH coordinators Fausto Sarmiento, Geography (UGA) and Renato Chávez, Facultad de Recursos Naturales (ESPOCH) 9:10. Opening remarks from Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo Rector, Dr. Byron Vaca. 9:20. Inaugural remarks from the University of Georgia Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, and Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Dr. Elizabeth Weeks. 9:30. Keynote greetings. Andrea Fisher, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Science, Innsbruck, Austria. “The montology of glaciers, ecosystems, and people: How a joint climate signal needs local views for adaptation and mitigation” 10:05 Geopoetics framing. Elena V. Sarmiento, Romance Languages, UGA. “Glaciated origins and fluvial despair: echoes from the Frozen Past 6: Science, Humanities and Aesthetics of Ice Through Time International Conference at PUCE, Quito, Ecuador” 10:15 Refreshments 10:30 Kyle Woosnam, Forestry and Natural Resources. UGA. "Resident empowerment from ecotourism in Chimborazo" 11:00 Danny Daniel Castillo-Vizuete, Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Smart Tourism en los Andes: Diseño de rutas interactivas, conectando culturas desde lo urbano hacia lo rural” 11:30 Mattia Pistone, Geology. UGA. “Volcanology of Chimborazo” 12:00 Jordan Pickett. Classics and Croatia Study Abroad Program. UGA. “American Volcanoes and Roman History?” 12:30 Lunch break 14:00 Keynote address. Carla Marchant. Natural Laboratory Andes del Sur. Faculty of Environment and Evolutive Sciences, University Austral, Chile. “Desarrollo sustentable en el marco del cambio climático en los Andes del Sur” 14:45 Christiam Paul Aguirre-Merino. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH Institute of Andean Studies, ESPOCH. “El paisaje agroritualizado prehispánico del Monte Puñay y el origen de la agricultura del maíz en las estribaciones occidentales de los Andes del Ecuador” 15:15 Quint Newcomer, . Architectural Collaborative LLC“Environmental planning of an Andean Field Station in the Eastern Andean flank of Ecuador” 15:45 Refreshments 16:00 Sidney Eigeman. Geography/Biology. UGA. “ARC-Storymap and GIS for fieldwork in Zuñac, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador” 16:30 Jesse B Abrams. Forestry and Natural Resources. UGA. “Land titling and livelihood resilience: Insights from the Argentine Chaco” 17:00 José Fernando Esparza-Parra. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Allometric Models to Estimate Aboveground Biomass of Individual Trees of Eucalyptus saligna Sm in Young Plantations in Ecuador” 17:30 David Leigh. Geography, UGA. “Tracing Anthropogenic Impacts in Mountainous Terrain through Paleo-Fluvial and Colluvial Archives” 18:00 Adjourn Thursday, October 9. Tate Student Center, room 473. https://zoom.us/my/montologylives 9:00 Keynote address. Neslihan Dal. Department of Architecture and Urban Planning. Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. Türkiye. “Geospatial models of mountain dynamics in changing climates” 9:45 Jhony Fernando Cruz Román. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Climate Vulnerability Analysis of Marginal Populations of Yew (Taxus baccata L.): The Case of the Iberian Peninsula” 10:15 Kade McClain. Geology, UGA. “Filling the gaps in the Northern Andean Volcanic Zone: Integrated petrological, geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological analysis of Mt. Chimborazo” 10:45 Refreshments 11:00 Carlos Arturo Jara Santillán. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Análisis espacial y temporal de la calidad del agua en lagos altoandinos con productos automáticos del satélite Sentinel-2” 11:30 Kamal Gandhi. Forestry and Natural Resources. UGA. “Mt. Etna biomonitoring of volcanic activity using a biodiversity approach, and how it could be applied to active volcanoes in Ecuador” 12:00 Angélica María Saeteros Hernández. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Agrowaste to Value: Innovation and Circular Strategies in Agro-Industrial Production in the Ecuadorian Amazon — A Case Study of the Kallari Production Chain” 12:30 Lunch 14:00 Keynote Address. José Sánchez Agudo, Biodiversity Conservation Division. University of Salamanca, Spain. “Connecting territories through resilient beekeeping: a case study in central Spain” 14:45 Alex Vinicio Gavilanes Montoya.Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Heterogeneidad sociodemográfica y socioeconómica en torno al empoderamiento de los residentes mediante el ecoturismo” 15:15 John Weatherford. New Media Institute. UGA. “Training of future communicators on mountain topics: the Wayusada experience” 15:45 Refreshments 16:00 Paula Alejandra Abdo Peralta. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Implementation of an Enhanced Edge Computing System for the Optimization of Strawberry Crop in Greenhouses: A Smart Agriculture Approach” 16:30 Alden Yépez-Noboa. Water and Glaciers Regional Archaeology Laboratory. Pontific Catholic University of Ecuador, PUCE. “Pacha Lab: a living laboratory for the Chimborazo volcano – Ecuador” 17:00 Andrea Damaris Hernández Allauca. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Espacios Verdes Urbanos en Ecuador: Desafíos y Oportunidades desde la Gestión Pública y el Modelado Matemático” 17:30 Keynote Address. Mark B. Bush. Florida Institute of Technology. “Andean paleoecology as guide for biocultural conservation” 18:30 Adjourn Friday, October 10 Tate Student Center, room 473. https://zoom.us/my/montologylives 9:00 Keynote address. Irasema Alcántara-Ayala. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. “Understanding and assessing disaster risk in disturbed mountainscapes” 9:45 Xavier Soria Poma. ESPOCH at Morona‑Santiago, Polytechnic School of Chimborazo. “Low level image processing for the forest monitoring” 10:15 David Fastovich. Geography. UGA. “Ancient Climate Clues from Ecuador's Coast Predict Future Rainfall Patterns” 10:45 Refreshments. 11:00 Emilio Díaz-Varela. Department of Plant Production and Project Engineering. University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. "Challenges Posed by Climate Uncertainty to Socio-Ecological Systems in Mountain Landscapes of the Northwestern Iberian Peninsula" 11:30 Darío J. Chávez-Velásquez. Horticulture, UGA Griffin Campus. “Capuli, an Andean super fruit, its genetic diversity and breeding.” 12:00 Vilma Fernanda Noboa-Silva. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Caracterización botánica y anatómica de especies maderables del bosque siempre verde en tierras bajas: implementación de la xiloteca ESPOCH” 12:30 Lunch 14:00 Keynote address. Lynn Resler. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. “Advancing Treeline Research in Flagship Mountainscapes” 14:45 Fausto Oswaldo Sarmiento-Rodríguez. Geography, UGA. “Evidence of manufactured landscapes: Debunking the Humboldtian paradigm for mountain ecology” 15:15 Carlos Renato Chávez-Velásquez. Facultad de Recursos Naturales y Turismo. ESPOCH. “Qhapaq Ñan para la Vida: Gestión del desarrollo sostenible de las poblaciones y territorios vinculados al Sistema Vial Andino del Qhapaq Ñan (Sección Nizag) mediante la conservación, salvaguarda y gestión del patrimonio cultural y memoria social” 15:45 Refreshments 16:00 Juan Ureña Moreno. Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “La ‘estera’ andina como aislante para la rehabilitación energética de viviendas rurales en el páramo ecuatoriano” 16:30 Rolando Fabián Zabala Vizuete Facultad de Recursos Naturales. ESPOCH. “Evaluación de la composición y estructura del bosque protector El Triunfo del cantón Patate provincia de Tungurahua” 17:00 Charles Van Rees. Odum School of Ecology. “Montane Ecosystems as Nature-based Solutions: The Montology of Sustainable Water Management in the Anthropocene” 17:30 Closing remarks. Rector of ESPOCH, Dr. Byron Vaca, Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute Dr. Lewis Howe, Dean of Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Anna Stenport. 18:45 Adjourn.
