Alejandra Melfo Explained

Alejandra Melfo
Birth Date:1965 2, df=yes
Birth Place:Montevideo, Uruguay
Nationality:Venezuelan
Uruguayan
Occupation:Physicist, Microbiologist
Alma Mater:Universidad de Los Andes
International School for Advanced Studies
Employer:Universidad de Los Andes (Venezuela)

Alejandra Melfo (born 26 February 1965) is a Uruguayan-born Venezuelan physicist. She is known for her efforts studying and conserving glaciers, especially the Humboldt Corona, the last glacier in Venezuela.

Early life

Melfo was born in Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, and moved to Venezuela with her family in 1976 as refugees from dictatorship when she was 11.[1] She later became a naturalized Venezuelan citizen.[2] She studied at the University of the Andes (ULA) in Mérida and received her undergraduate degree in 1989, her master's degree in 1994, and became a faculty member at ULA whilst studying for a PhD in astrophysics at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy.[1]

Career

At the University of the Andes, Melfo has worked in the Department of Physics and as director of the Center for Fundamental Physics. She has contributed to more than twenty scientific publications since the early 1990s.

Originally working on supersymmetric theory,[1] her work later became focused on deterioration of glaciers, specifically La Corona, the last glacier in Venezuela,[3] [4] after being introduced to the research of Andrés Yarzábal, a microbiologist at the University of the Andes.[1] Melfo is the leader of a group of scientists who are dedicated to studying the disappearance of ice forms due to climate change.[5]

She has also undertaken field work while researching glaciers, fronting an expedition to the Pico Bolívar glacier. She undertook training in climbing for months before traveling to the glacier, which has since melted completely. This is one of two expeditions from which 600 largely previously unknown microbial strains were recovered to be studied at the university, where they are preserved in deep freezers.[1]

Post-retirement

Melfo officially retired in 2016, but has continued to work through Venezuela's crisis as other academics, including the majority of her Vida Glacial project team, leave. The remaining scientists face difficulties with their work, primarily with keeping the samples frozen amid blackouts.[1] Though Melfo is disturbed by the disappearance of the glaciers, she knows that with samples collected research can continue for a long time,[1] and also believes that new ecosystems developing on the site of former glaciers will be "beautiful to see". She has also called the disappearance of glaciers a reminder of humanity's responsibility to look after the planet and to attempt to slow down climate change.[6]

She worked with her cousin,[7] the Uruguayan musician Jorge Drexler, to write the song "Despedir a los glaciares", which is included on the 2017 album Salavidas de hielo and is about the disappearance of the glaciers and the problems that cause it.[8] [9] Also in 2017, she was one of the jury deciding the recipients of the Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury Science Prize.[10]

In 2019 Melfo and biology students of the University of the Andes began working with the GLORIA-Andes Project, focusing on the effects of climate change on biodiversity from high-altitude climates. They again face problems being unable to use computers for notes due to a lack of printing ink, and relying on second-hand or donated climbing gear that they store in a CLAP box.[1]

Personal life

Melfo disagrees with the Maduro administration. She wrote a famous 2014 letter to Drexler that was widely published in Uruguay, where she explains her feelings towards the crisis in Venezuela, especially the tupamaros of Mérida, and her personal reasons for participating in the 2014 Venezuelan protests.[7]

Publications

Articles

Books

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Scientific Cost of Glacial Retreat in Venezuela: Watching Venezuela's Last Glacier Disappear. Gutiérrez. Jeanfreddy. Rodríguez. María Fernanda. 15 January 2019. The Atlantic. 1 April 2019.
  2. Web site: Curriculum Vitae. Melfo. Alejandra. University of the Andes. 1–7. 24 April 2019.
  3. Web site: Pico Humboldt y Glaciar la Corona. Sierra Nevada de Mérida. Spanish. 12 March 2019. 2016-03-14.
  4. Web site: Solo queda el 1 % del Glaciar la Corona en el Pico Humboldt según la NASA. Sierra Nevada de Mérida. Spanish. 12 March 2019. 2018-11-28.
  5. Web site: El último glaciar de Venezuela no tiene quién lo estudie. Gutiérrez. Jeanfreddy. 26 November 2018. Efecto Cocuyo. Spanish. 12 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190401150842/http://efectococuyo.com/la-humanidad/el-ultimo-glaciar-de-venezuela-no-tiene-quien-lo-estudie/. 1 April 2019. dead.
  6. Web site: Venezuela, primer país del mundo en quedarse sin glaciares. Rodríguez. Érika. 25 September 2018. Revista Claves21. Spanish. 1 April 2019.
  7. Web site: Prima de Jorge Drexler expone su clara visión sobre lo que sucede en Venezuela. 24 February 2014. Todo el Campo. Spanish. 1 April 2019. 1 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190401215150/http://www.todoelcampo.com.uy/prima_de_jorge_drexler_expone_su_clara_vision_sobre_lo_que_sucede_en_venezuela-15?nid=11330. dead.
  8. Web site: Salvavidas de hielo de Jorge Drexler. 22 September 2017 . discogs. Spanish. 12 March 2019.
  9. Web site: Esta canción de Jorge Drexler habla sobre el último glaciar de Venezuela. https://web.archive.org/web/20181130144038/http://www.noticias.com.ve/jorge-drexler-habla-sobre-el-ultimo-glaciar-de-venezuela/. dead. November 30, 2018. 28 November 2018. Noticias ve. Spanish. 1 April 2019.
  10. Web site: Fundación Empresas Polar anunció ganadores de la XVIII edición del Premio Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury. 27 April 2017. Globovision. Spanish. 1 April 2019.

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