Latin American Microscopists – Paraguay

While relatively new to the field of microscopy, Paraguay is already home to several impressive universities thwart on staking their claim on Latin American scientific research, such as American University-Paraguay and Universidad Nacional de Asunción, the latter of which boasts Andrea Maldonado as one of their alumni, an engineer in Material Sciences and an SEM specialist. Andrea’s first experience in microscopy occurred when she applied for the job of Microscopy Specialist, for the only electron microscope in the country, straight after finishing her undergraduate degree. Thus, Andrea’s role revolves around sample preparation and sample analysis for research groups; Andrea relishes in being able to provide support for Paraguayan researchers. Due to this, Andrea specialises in many different fields, such as Odontology, biology, material science and construction. Being a forerunner for Paraguayan microscopy, Andrea is always looking towards the next generation of scientists for inspiration. She hopes that a collaborative community of scientists will emerge in Paraguay, which would bring more funding and equipment for her home country. This blog details the emergence of microscopy in Paraguay, focussing on SEM microscopy, as well as image processing.