Mario Alejandro Alvarez Salas
Personal Bio
Where do you call home Mario ? Can you describe it?
I grew up and went to school and university in Guatemala City. Still, most of my family and friends are over there. I still call it home. It’s a big, crowded, and chaotic city with many green spots and a landscape dominated by hills and volcanoes. Forested ravines separate the different districts of the city (we call them Zonas). It has its charm but its deeply and sometimes disturbingly unequal. The weather is amazing all year round.
What are some of your personal interests and hobbies?
I like music, both playing and listening to it. I like classical, folk rhythms - especially Latin American folk -, and of course some hits and pop. I also enjoy taking walks, swimming in lakes and rivers, and cooking. I love coffee (we have great coffee in Guatemala), beer and licuados -tropical fruit smoothies that are very popular at home-.
On the interest side, I care about politics and political discussions, learning about different cultures and world views and participating in scientific and educational outreach activities.
What is your biggest personal achievement so far?
A long-lasting relationship with my partner and having group of good, close friends. Thanks to her and them, I’ve had so far a good and fun young adulthood.
Mario's Research
What is the title of your PhD project? Can you explain it to a non-academic?
The title is “Determining crop uptake and fate of nutrients from waste and bio-based fertilizers: the case of phosphorus”.
Well, in simple terms we study the transformation that fertilizer phosphorus goes through when the fertilizers are applied to the soils. We are specially interested in the phosphorus that is contained in some biological wastes such as manures and sewage sludge because they are quite complex and add a very diverse mixture of components if compared to commercial NPK fertilizers. We believe that each bio-waste might influence soils distinctly and favor biological mechanisms that modify P in different ways.
What drives your interest in bio-based fertilisers?
Agriculture, in general, is a very important field of research, we need agriculture for feeding the world, but we need to make it sustainable while efficient. Manures have been used as fertilizers for centuries, but we still waste nutrients contained in manures, especially human ones. A better understanding of nutrient cycling is important, to design better fertilization techniques and better fertilizers, that puts the nutrients where they are better needed and maximize their utility, at the same time preventing them from causing environmental problems.
The International Training Network and the Marie Curie Program
Describe your experience with the FertiCycle ITN so far?
Great! It has certainly been a big challenge to not be able to meet in person, nonetheless, we have developed a quite motivated network of young and senior researchers that are cooperating effectively with each other.
What would you say are the benefits of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Fellowship?
They offer well-funded well-organized research projects, that come with a big interconnected network of researchers and universities. It is an amazing opportunity to grow and learn in a high performance and intercultural environment.
How has the experience traveling abroad for this program been for you?
I already lived abroad before starting this fellowship, but Switzerland and ETH have made it so far a quite remarkable experience. I did not expect the locals to be so friendly and welcoming and, the food and snacks are fantastic here. The swiss landscapes are stunning.