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The Process Systems Engineering Laboratory (PSE Lab) at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (UACH) strengthened its presence within the national and international Process Systems Engineering community through the participation of Javier Tovar Facio as an invited speaker at PSE México 2026, the Fourth Summer Workshop on Process Systems Engineering in Mexico.

Held from July 20 to 23, 2026, at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) in Mexico City, PSE México 2026 brought together researchers, professors, students, and industry professionals working at the forefront of Process Systems Engineering (PSE). The workshop provided a high-level forum for discussing emerging methodologies in process modeling and simulation, mathematical optimization, data science, advanced process control, machine learning, process sustainability, and process design and intensification.

The participation of the PSE Lab was particularly significant given the distinguished group of researchers and professionals invited to contribute to the event. The program included internationally recognized experts from leading universities, national laboratories, and industry.

Among the invited speakers was Prof. Ignacio E. Grossmann of Carnegie Mellon University, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and one of the most influential researchers in Process Systems Engineering, whose work has made fundamental contributions to mathematical optimization, process synthesis, energy systems planning, and supply-chain optimization. The program also included Prof. Luis Ricardez-Sandoval of the University of Waterloo, Canada Research Chair in Multiscale Modeling and Process Systems; Prof. Antonio del Rio Chanona of Imperial College London, who leads research at the intersection of optimization, machine learning, and Process Systems Engineering; Prof. Rosa M. Cuéllar-Franca of the University of Manchester, an expert in sustainability assessment and carbon capture and utilization; and researchers from Sandia National Laboratories, Argonne National Laboratory, University College Dublin, Aspen Technology, and several leading Mexican universities.

Within this international setting, Javier Tovar Facio represented the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua and its PSE Lab, contributing to a scientific community focused on developing advanced computational approaches for addressing increasingly complex industrial, energy, and environmental challenges.

Javier is a faculty member at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences at UACH, where his research focuses on Process Systems Engineering, mathematical optimization, sustainability, and the analysis of energy and environmental systems. His academic background includes a Fulbright postdoctoral fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University under the supervision of Prof. Ignacio E. Grossmann, as well as research experience at the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change in Mexico, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Texas A&M University, and the University of Salamanca.

The participation of the PSE Lab in PSE México 2026 represents an important opportunity to strengthen UACH's links with the broader Process Systems Engineering community and to position the research conducted in Chihuahua within an international network of researchers developing advanced approaches in optimization, artificial intelligence, sustainable process design, and energy systems.

PSE México 2026 also highlighted the increasingly important role of Process Systems Engineering in addressing major technological and societal challenges. Beyond its emphasis on computational methods, the workshop focused on the application of these tools to areas such as energy transition, sustainable manufacturing, climate-change mitigation, automation, and the transformation of chemical production systems.

For the Process Systems Engineering Laboratory at UACH, participation in this forum contributes to its objective of advancing the use of mathematical modeling, optimization, simulation, and computational tools for the development of more efficient and sustainable energy and chemical systems. It also provides opportunities to establish new academic collaborations and expose UACH students to an international research community working on some of the most important challenges facing modern chemical engineering.

The presence of UACH alongside researchers from internationally recognized institutions at PSE México 2026 reflects the growing participation of the university in the Process Systems Engineering community and reinforces the PSE Lab's commitment to developing research with national relevance and international impact.