Wendy Tatiana Gonzalez Cano, a captain who graduated at the top of her class from the Naval Academy, received her Ph.D. in ocean convergence engineering at a degree conferment ceremony held on the 19th at the Busan headquarters of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST). Captain Tatiana earned the degree in three years under the guidance of KIOST researcher Kim Gyeong-ryeon of the Marine Environment Research Division. Captain Tatiana is the first among female officers of the Colombia Navy to earn a doctoral degree in science.
Captain Tatiana's dissertation establishes a new scientific standard for assessing and managing toxic heavy metal pollution in marine sediments in Cartagena Bay, Colombia. Cartagena Bay is known to have accumulated heavy metal contamination during industrialization.
Tatiana became interested in marine environmental research while taking part in the Colombia Navy's Antarctic science expedition. "I found plastic waste in the most remote place where no one lives," Captain Tatiana said, noting, "I realized that environmental problems have no borders."
After the Antarctic expedition, Captain Tatiana decided to go to graduate school and in 2020 entered KIOST's two-year specialized master's program for foreign professionals, the "London Protocol Engineering Management (LPEM)" program. LPEM is a master's program operated by KIOST for officials from developing countries responsible for the marine environment, to help countries implement the London Convention and London Protocol regulating the dumping of waste at sea.
As she was finishing her master's, Captain Tatiana considered pursuing a Ph.D. Typically, LPEM graduates return to their home countries after earning their master's to carry out related duties, and there had been no precedent of continuing on to a doctoral program.
The decision on further study rested entirely with the Colombia Navy. In 2023, Captain Tatiana met with Chief of Naval Operations Francisco Hernando during his visit to Korea, requested to remain, and received approval. She then completed the three-year doctoral program and earned the degree.
Captain Tatiana's next goal is to establish scientific grounds to protect the sea of her hometown. Colombia is currently not a party to the London Convention and London Protocol. "Colombia has almost no standards to protect the marine environment," she said. "I want to help build a protection system based on the London Protocol."