We love to learn from our alumni and this global Alumni Engagement blog features Penn State’s remarkable global alumni on a weekly basis. This week we interview Fernando del Solar Dorrego ’22 for our weekly Global Alumni Spotlight column.
What made Penn State stand out as the place you wanted to pursue your graduate degree?
The Graduate Program in Acoustics at Penn State is one of the most prestigious programs in this discipline in the world. I had little hesitation in applying to the program since I knew it would provide me with an outstanding education.
What is your current job? What has Penn State’s education (education and student leadership experiences) supported your capabilities toward your current career?
I am a faculty member teaching acoustics at my alma mater, Argentina’s Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA). I also have an acoustics consulting firm called Patagon Acoustics (www.patagonacoustics.com), where I hold the position of Principal.
At Penn State, I have had a comprehensive education which has helped me tackle the many different applications of the multidisciplinary science of acoustics. I have also embraced the philosophy of Penn State and taken back to Argentina the values of tolerance and diversity, which the university advocates.
Tell us about a couple of Penn State moments that carry with you now.
The Concert Hall Acoustics Measurement trip I participated in in 2017-2018. My colleagues and I traveled across the US and four European countries, measuring the most prestigious concert halls in the northern hemisphere. We measured the acoustics of venues such as Boston Symphony Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and Berlin’s Philharmonic. I will treasure those moments for the rest of my life, and they will surely provide stories for my grandchildren.
What’s one thing that Penn State alumni can do to support today’s students?
Provide orientation, counseling, and guidance. The theoretical knowledge is great, but students need guidance on how to apply theory to practical applications in the real world. Living on campus can make students detach from the needs of society.
Tell us a bit of your current life, such as your family, hobbies and/or community engagement.
I am happily married, and I have a beautiful 3-year-old daughter called Helena. I have a profound love for my profession, and since I started my Ph.D. in 2017, I have made enormous professional growth. I am a very happy person.
Like most acousticians, I love music, and I somehow neglected it in the last couple of years due to my studies. After I graduate, I will continue studying classical piano, an instrument I have played since eight years old. I also enjoy playing tennis and reading.
What skills or traits should our students develop to help them succeed in a global job market?
The world can change in only a couple of months, exemplified by the current pandemic. I will start teaching my course on acoustics in March, and I know that my students have endured many difficulties in the last two years, adapting to remote learning and not seeing their classmates. I will treat these students with compassion.
The last two years have shown me, and I think that also to Humanity, that sometimes things cannot be perfect and that we must accept second best. I believe that compassion, mixed with resilience, are some of the traits that we need to succeed in the current state of world affairs.
What are your two pieces of advice for our international students to become a global-minded citizen?
I know that many international students ambition to secure an outstanding job in a developed-world country. I won’t be as arrogant as to tell them not to do that; each student’s personal story is worthy of respect. However, we need outstanding professionals in the Third World to make a difference, to change the everlasting problems of poverty and underdevelopment. I don’t see how that can change if our greatest minds leave their home countries. As I’ve said, this is a very personal issue, but we need more Penn Staters in Latin America.
Do you plan to visit Penn State after the pandemic is over? If so, what would you like to do after you arrive on campus?
I will graduate in August of this year, and I will be there with my family.