Fabricio Casco - Study Objective

One of my objectives in the field of optical sciences is to research the

applications of lasers in different fields of sciences and how these tools can help
through its many usages (laser cooling, trapping, processing and characterization of
new materials, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) and applying them to both
industrial and research areas. The reason for this is because optics is a field where
there hasn’t been many developments here in Paraguay, even when this topic is one
with so many useful applications in science in general, so researching it and making
it more prominent will definitely help the scientific community in general at national
level and also will help the general population as the usages of optical sciences
extend to many angles of our day-to-day life going from mirrors and lenses to the
medical applications that help improve the life of people every day.
As a physicist, I’ve worked with optics in general and lasers in particular a lot
during my career, with courses like optics and its respective lab practices being very
helpful for this. I have also taken the course called “Laser and its Applications” as
one of the four elective courses in order to get my degree, where I’ve learned a lot
more about the intricacies of lasers and their applications. In regard to the tools
necessary to complement my preparation, I’ve also got a good grasp on the
mathematical tools needed to study the phenomena of optics and lasers, specifically
things related to electromagnetism, which are of ultimate necessity for any
researcher in the field of optics, as optics is the study of light and its interactions with
matter, and light behaves in part as an electromagnetic wave, so everything related
to the study of electromagnetism is of utmost importance for anyone studying optical
sciences. I’ve also got plenty of preparations in the mathematical tools needed such
as the study of differential equations, multivariable and vector calculus.
The main reason for trying to achieve everything mentioned earlier through
this scholarship is because there is a big lack of funds and support in general here at
Paraguay for this kind of research projects, and not many people try to venture into
these topics. Although in the last few years there have been new laboratories that
can work in this field, they still aren’t enough to study more about the many
applications these topics have to offer, and even though they are better prepared
than before, there still is a lot of equipment and tools that we can’t find here because
of the lack of funds given to them. We can also mention that in general not many
companies are interested in researching optics since there aren’t many professionals
here that specialize in the topic or want to research it.
Given the scenario that the scholarship is granted to me and I do in fact
complete the master’s program, my plan is to implement everything that I learned
here in Paraguay. One of the methods will be working with the College of Exact and
Natural Sciences and Multidisciplinary Center for Technological Research at their
laboratories, looking always not only to pure physics research, but also
multidisciplinary projects with professionals from the fields of chemistry, biology,
engineering, biotechnology and many more to apply the tools of optical sciences in
different areas of research, industry and manufacturing; looking always to develop
methods and materials useful for the population in general.
Also, by means of research, I’ll be trying to push Paraguay into the international
scene and positioning it as a country where advances are being made in both pure
and applied science, looking to make my country a renowned place first at regional
level and, with time and a lot of hard work, at global level.