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Florencio Utreras, Director of CopernicusLAC Chile, has been honored with the 2025 Mateo Valero prize, granted by the Advanced Computing System for Latin America and the Caribbean (SCALAC). This recognition highlights his leadership and outstanding contributions to the development of advanced computing across the region, as well as his pivotal role in strengthening collaboration between Latin America and Europe in science, engineering, and large-scale data analysis.
The Mateo Valero Prize acknowledges prominent figures who have significantly fostered scientific cooperation through High Performance Computing (HPC). The award is conferred by a committee composed of members of SCALAC, the steering committee of the CARLA conference, and representatives from the Latin American advanced computing community.
The award ceremony took place during the CARLA 2025 International Conference, a key event aimed at strengthening the HPC community in the region. The recognition of Florencio Utreras underscores his crucial role in building research communities in advanced computing and his strategic vision for consolidating scientific collaboration networks.
Utreras’ career has been instrumental in the creation of scientific connectivity networks. His leadership as Executive Director of RedCLARA and, previously, of the National Research and Education Network of Chile (REUNA), laid the foundations for digital collaboration among universities and research institutions in Chile and throughout Latin America.
Regarding this distinction, Ginés Guerrero, Executive Director of the National Laboratory for High Performance Computing (NLHPC) at CMM, emphasized: “Florencio’s vision was fundamental. He led the creation of REUNA, an initiative that decisively boosted scientific collaboration in Chile by establishing the high-speed connectivity that linked us to the world. At NLHPC, we view that experience as our great example to follow.”
Guerrero also highlighted the lasting collaborative legacy that Utreras has built within the scientific community: “The NLHPC was born with that same spirit, initially bringing together eight institutions. Today, we are a network of 65, forming the largest national collaboration in advanced computing. That very principle drives SCALAC — joining forces among all supercomputing centers in Latin America and the Caribbean. In rapidly evolving fields like supercomputing and artificial intelligence, collaboration is the only way forward.”
It is worth noting that CopernicusLAC is part of the Infrastructure Area of the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) at the University of Chile. Funded by the European Union, this project operates as a regional node dedicated to the storage, processing, and distribution of satellite data from the Copernicus Programme, while also providing regional services that benefit all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Press release by CopernicusLAC and photographs by CMM Communications.
Posted on Oct 8, 2025 in News
