Gabriela Álvarez

This article is about the Mexican mechanical engineer. For the Spanish actor, see es:Gaby Álvarez.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Álvarez and the second or maternal family name is García.

Gabriela del Socorro Álvarez García (died 2017)^[1] was a Mexican mechanical engineer known for her research on solar energy and heat transfer in buildings and on the use of reflective building roofs to reduce the need for air conditioning.^[2]

Education and career

Álvarez is originally from Mexico City, and as an undergraduate studied physics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). After earning a master's degree in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State University in the US, she returned to UNAM for doctoral study in engineering.^[3] She completed her doctorate in 1994 with the dissertation Transferencia de calor en una cavidad con interaccion termica a traves de una cara semitransparente con controlador optico.^[4]

In 1989, she became a professor and researcher in the department of mechanical engineering at the Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico (CENIDET, the National Center for Research and Technological Development), in Cuernavaca.^[3] In 2014 CENIDET became part of the National Technological Institute of Mexico system.

She also served internationally in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Technical Committee 4.5 on fenestration, the first Mexican to do so.^[5]

Selected publications

• Alvarez, G.; Arce, J.; Lira, L.; Heras, M.R. (2004), "Thermal performance of an air solar collector with an absorber plate made of recyclable aluminum cans", Solar Energy, 77 (1): 107–113, doi:10.1016/j.solener.2004.02.007
• Xamán, J.; Álvarez, G.; Lira, L.; Estrada, C. (July 2005), "Numerical study of heat transfer by laminar and turbulent natural convection in tall cavities of façade elements", Energy and Buildings, 37 (7): 787–794, doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2004.11.001
• Hinojosa, J.F.; Cabanillas, R.E.; Alvarez, G.; Estrada, C.E. (October 2005), "Nusselt number for the natural convection and surface thermal radiation in a square tilted open cavity", International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 32 (9): 1184–1192, doi:10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2005.05.007
• Arce, J.; Jiménez, M.J.; Guzmán, J.D.; Heras, M.R.; Alvarez, G.; Xamán, J. (December 2009), "Experimental study for natural ventilation on a solar chimney", Renewable Energy, 34 (12): 2928–2934, doi:10.1016/j.renene.2009.04.026
• Hernández-Pérez, I.; Álvarez, G.; Xamán, J.; Zavala-Guillén, I.; Arce, J.; Simá, E. (September 2014), "Thermal performance of reflective materials applied to exterior building components—A review", Energy and Buildings, 80: 81–105, doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.05.008

Recognition

Álvarez was given a national prize for renewable energy innovation by the Mexican Secretary of Energy.^[3] She was a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.^[6]

References

1. ComunidadCenidet se encuentra de luto por el lamentable fallecimiento de la Dra. Gabriela del Socorro Álvarez García, CENIDET, 12 December 2017 – via Twitter
2. 'Cool roofs' could save Mexican households 18% on energy bills - GSEP, Bnamericas, 24 May 2014, retrieved 2022-12-29
3. Author biography from Álvarez García, Gabriela del Socorro; Gijón Rivera, Miguel Ángel; Chagolla Gaona, Miguel Ángel, "Viviendas morelenses con menor gasto energético", Revista Hypatia, retrieved 2022-12-29
4. Álvarez García, Gabriela del Socorro (1994), Transferencia de calor en una cavidad con interaccion termica a traves de una cara semitransparente con controlador optico, National Autonomous University of Mexico, retrieved 2022-12-29
5. Méndez, Luis (8 March 2019), "Ola verde se apodera del Palacio del Ayuntamiento en CDMX", Capital Mexico, retrieved 2022-12-29
6. Engineering section members (PDF), Mexican Academy of Sciences, 2022, retrieved 2022-12-29