Francisco Barnés de Castro
Encyclopedia
Francisco José Barnés de Castro (born on 11 September 1946 in Mexico City
) is a Mexican
academic and consultant. From 6 January 1997 to 12 November 1999 he served as rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico
(UNAM), the largest university in the Spanish-speaking world.
Barnés de Castro graduated with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering
from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and received both a master's degree and a doctorate degree in the same discipline from University of California, Berkeley
. He is a long-standing academic and researcher at the National Autonomous University, where he has led the Faculty of Chemistry and served as rector until a major student strike
, provoked by his proposal to significantly increase its tuition, forced him to resign.
In the public sector, he has served as Undersecretary of Hydrocarbon
s and Undersecretary of Energy Policy Technological Development at the Mexican Secretariat of Energy and as Director-General of the Mexican Petroleum Institute. Overseas, he has worked as an international consultant for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
of the U.S. Department of Energy and in the Joint Public Consultative Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America
.
Barnés de Castro has authored more than 27 articles, proceedings and papers in specialized journals and over 15 on educational subjects. He has chaired the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Mexican Chemical Society, the National Collage of Chemical Engineers and Chemists and he is a member of the Mexican Academy of Engineering.
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
) is a Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
academic and consultant. From 6 January 1997 to 12 November 1999 he served as rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
(UNAM), the largest university in the Spanish-speaking world.
Barnés de Castro graduated with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and received both a master's degree and a doctorate degree in the same discipline from University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He is a long-standing academic and researcher at the National Autonomous University, where he has led the Faculty of Chemistry and served as rector until a major student strike
1999 UNAM strike
The 1999 strike at the UNAM had its origins in the January 1999 announcement by its rector that tuition would increase from about 0.02 dollars to about $150 a semester. A group of students declared a strike and blockaded the main campus...
, provoked by his proposal to significantly increase its tuition, forced him to resign.
In the public sector, he has served as Undersecretary of Hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
s and Undersecretary of Energy Policy Technological Development at the Mexican Secretariat of Energy and as Director-General of the Mexican Petroleum Institute. Overseas, he has worked as an international consultant for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington....
of the U.S. Department of Energy and in the Joint Public Consultative Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Barnés de Castro has authored more than 27 articles, proceedings and papers in specialized journals and over 15 on educational subjects. He has chaired the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Mexican Chemical Society, the National Collage of Chemical Engineers and Chemists and he is a member of the Mexican Academy of Engineering.