UniversidaddeCádiz

The University of Cádiz has held the ceremony in which Juan Carlos Valenzuela Tripodoro officially took office as the new Director of the School of Engineering of Algeciras (ETSIA). The event took place at the School itself and was presided over by the Rector of the University of Cádiz, Casimiro Mantell, accompanied by the Vice-Rector for Teaching Staff, José Antonio Perales; the Vice-Rector for Degrees and Quality, Manuel Arcila; the Vice-Rector of the Bahía de Algeciras Campus, María Luz Martín; and the University’s Secretary General, Manuel Rozados.

Valenzuela succeeds Professor Paloma Cubillas, who has served as Director since May 2021 and played an active role in the recent celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the School. In the electoral process for the leadership of the ETSIA, both candidates stood for election, with Valenzuela receiving 50.4% of the weighted vote, compared to 49.6% obtained by Cubillas.

Juan Carlos Valenzuela is a Senior Lecturer in the Area of Applied Mathematics at the University of Cádiz, where he has developed his entire teaching and research career since 1996. He holds a PhD from the University of Seville and received the Extraordinary Doctoral Award in 2005. He has been recognised with five teaching periods and three research periods, including the most recent one corresponding to 2018–2023.

His research is carried out within the group FQM-371 Combinatorics and Optimisation: application of discrete mathematical models, with a consolidated track record that includes more than forty publications in international journals, as well as participation as a speaker and invited lecturer at national and international conferences. He has supervised one doctoral thesis and is currently supervising another in progress. In addition, he has taken part in a range of national and international research projects and is a member of the research team of the COVER European project, funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme.

In terms of university management, Valenzuela has continuously held various positions stipulated in the Statutes of the University of Cádiz, including President of the Academic Staff Board (Junta del PDI), Prevention Delegate, permanent member of the Board, and member of both the Department Council and the PEUCA Commission. He has also served at different times as Director of the Mathematics Department Section at the ETSIA, a position he has held uninterruptedly since 2017.