Advanced Design of Chemical and Biochemical Reactors
2022–2026Universidad de los Andes · Undergraduate · Taught 5 times (2022–2026)
Teaching
I teach modelling and simulation in engineering, and supervise undergraduate and master's theses at the intersection of CFD and environmental processes.
How I approach teaching
- Courses as lecturer
- 4
- Theses supervised
- 9
- Training
- Graduate Diploma in University Teaching (2024–2025)
I teach modelling and simulation subjects that many students meet with some apprehension: courses where the maths, the physics and the code all arrive at once. My approach is to make the model something students build rather than something they receive — starting from a problem they can picture, and adding complexity only when the previous layer is genuinely understood.
That means working with real cases, open-source tools students can keep using after the course (OpenFOAM, Python), and assessment that rewards reasoning about results rather than reproducing a procedure. A simulation that gives the "right" number for the wrong reason is a failed simulation, and saying so out loud is part of the training.
I complemented this practice with a Graduate Diploma in University Teaching, which pushed me to be more deliberate about planning, assessment design and metacognition in my courses.
Classroom
Courses
Lecturer in charge
Fluid Modelling
2023–2024Universidad de los Andes · Undergraduate · Taught twice (2023, 2024)
CFD Simulation of Multiphase Flows
2022Universidad de los Andes · Graduate
Fluid Mechanics
2023–2024Universidad Andrés Bello · Undergraduate · Laboratory instructor. Taught twice (2023, 2024)
Teaching assistant
Simulation
2018–2019Universidad de los Andes · Taught 3 times
Numerical Solutions of Environmental Engineering Problems
2020Universidad de los Andes
Introduction to Turbulent Flow Modelling
2020Universidad de los Andes
Students
Supervised theses
Students I have supervised or co-supervised.
Ongoing
Cristóbal Núñez
2026 –Co-supervisor Chemical Engineering · Universidad de los Andes · Dr. César Huiliñir
Effect of emerging contaminants on autotrophic denitrification in biofilters for groundwater treatment
Sara Stevanovic
2026 –Supervisor Chemical Engineering · Universidad de los Andes
Development of a proper orthogonal decomposition reduced-order model, driven by CFD simulations of random packed beds, to study geometric design parameters in an elemental sulfur autotrophic denitrification biofilter
Javiera Riderelli
2026 –Supervisor Chemical Engineering · Universidad de los Andes
Assessing the fate of nitrogen discharges in Lake Llanquihue by coupling reactive transport to the three-dimensional hydrodynamic model Si3D
Completed
Santiago Vila
2025–2026Co-supervisor Chemical Engineering · Universidad de los Andes · Dr. César Huiliñir
Start-up and operational assessment of an elemental sulfur autotrophic denitrifying biofilter for nitrate removal from groundwater
Samuel Abogabir Schacht
2025–2026Supervisor Environmental Engineering · Universidad de los Andes · Dr. César Huiliñir
Development and experimental validation of a three-dimensional CFD model of a fixed-bed reactor for sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification through residence time distribution analysis
Andrés Orellana Molnar
2025–2026Supervisor Environmental Engineering · Universidad de los Andes · Dr. César Huiliñir
Modelling and simulation of an autotrophic denitrifying biofilm with S⁰ as electron donor
Amparo Melgarejo Araya
2024–2025Co-supervisor MSc in Engineering Sciences · Universidad de los Andes · Dr. Sichem Guerrero
CO₂ hydrogenation for methanol production using CeO₂- and TiO₂-supported catalysts with Zn, Co and Fe active phases
Juan Iturralde Spiniello
2022–2023Co-supervisor Environmental Engineering · Universidad de los Andes · Dr. Felipe Scott
Development of a turbidostat controlled by a low-cost optical density sensor for the growth and evolution of methylotrophs
Natalia Fernández Sepúlveda
2022–2023Co-supervisor Environmental Engineering · Universidad de los Andes · Dr. Felipe Scott
Development and demonstration of a methanol feeding control system for methylotrophic cultures in a bioreactor
Want to do your thesis with me?
I am looking for students in Chemical, Environmental or related Engineering with an interest in numerical simulation, water treatment or biological processes. Previous CFD experience is not required — curiosity and a willingness to code are. Write to me with a short note on what interests you.