A man from Tijuana who has stood out in the area of science and technology is Christian Peñaloza, who currently serves as director of the Mirai Innovation Research Institute in Japan. He urged young people to explore emerging sciences, since they have a promising future worldwide. professional.
In an interview with Dr. Christian Peñaloza, he explained that his field of action focuses on projects related to neuroscience, artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality, space technologies, among others.
“I specialize in cognitive neuroscience applied to robotics, where we develop interfaces called brain-machine, that is, we place electrodes on a person’s head to read brain waves, and decode thought patterns to move a prosthesis. robotics, a wheelchair, an assistance system”, he pointed out.
These types of applications, he noted, are very useful for people with motor disabilities, but also to increase the physical abilities of people who do not necessarily have a disability, for example, to increase strength or even augment robotic limbs, such as controlling a third arm.
“One of the main challenges was to find the areas of the brain that are activated when a person imagines controlling a third arm, so through research we were able to decode that activation, with which we verified that the brain has that plasticity,” he explained.
From the point of view of talent, Dr. Peñaloza assured that there is no great difference with Japan, since in Mexico there are academically well-prepared young people, however, from the point of view of equipment and investment in science and technology, Japan is much more advanced.
“I am from Tijuana and I had the opportunity to study in San Diego, because we have that possibility at the border, and I studied Computer Engineering at San Diego State University, and then a master’s degree and doctorate at Osaka University, in Japan, where the Japanese government offered me a scholarship to study for a doctorate and a post-doctorate in Kyoto, where I am also a researcher”, he commented.
It was thus that the Tijuana native stood out for his talent and founded the innovation center that he now directs in Japan, from which he promotes technological development both in Japan and in Mexico, since through the alliances he has generated with universities in Mexico, he has invited students to learn about new technologies.
“Studying engineering is very promising from a professional point of view, and if you like to develop technology, the opportunities are much greater, so I recommend young people to explore emerging sciences,” he concluded.
