Director

Jose Santana is an Ambassador and Executive Director of the International Commission of Science and Technology of the Dominican Republic. He is also an Associate Scientist of the Massachusetts Technological Institute (MIT). Dr. Santana was born in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. He is an economist and a specialist in Technology and Development.

Following the advice of Professor Juan Bosch, Santana migrated to Costa Rica at the age of 13 where he finished high school and then pursued his college degree at the Social Sciences Faculty of the University of Costa Rica. Throughout his studies, he was a taught by Professor Helio Gallardo, exiled Chilean philosopher and Oscar Arias Sanchez, current President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1987. Jose Santana's political views were highly influenced by both professors, as well as by Dominican political leader Juan Bosch. In the beginning of the 1980's he was involved in the Central American process as an activist volunteering in the reconstruction of Nicaragua.

In 1987, he finished his bachelor's degree in Economy at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC). He started his post- graduate studies at the University of Ilmenau (Erfurt, Germany) in a program designed by this university concentrating on globalization, development, and technology.

In 2001, Jose Santana finished his Post- Graduate studies at Columbia University in New York City and later began studying at the Massachusetts Technological Institute (MIT) where, at the end of 2003, he finished a two- year postgraduate program in Developmental Technology Management of the Electrical Engineering faculty of MIT.

As a result of his work at MIT, at the end of 2003, Dr. Santana finished an important investigation titled "Value, Return on Investment and Information Technology", where he proposes a modern definition of the different financial variables that affected the economic crisis of the DOT COM in the United States at the end of the 1990's.

At MIT, Dr. Santana was an Associate Investigator and Director of Operations for Latin America for the Central Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) directed by Professor Daniel Engels. Currently, Jose Santana is an Associate Investigator and General Coordinator of the project One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in the Dominican Republic, of MIT's Media Lab, which operates under the management of Nicholas Negroponte.

In September of 2004 the President of the Dominican Republic, Doctor Leonel Fernandez, designated him as Executive Director of the International Commission of Science and Technology of the Dominican Republic, with a special rank as Ambassador and Special Advisor of the President. Jose Santana is an activist and a visionary in the development of science and technology in countries under development.

Publications

Revista Global
volume 3, #11
july/ August 2006

Article: Open Code: Education for New Generations [see article]

Interviews

Channel 4, La Red
program: Punto de Vista
10/09/2005
title: conversation with Jose Santana, Consultant of the Presidency of the Dominican Republic [see interview]

Interview in Contribuyente y Sociedad

Senator of New Jersey, Robert Menendez meets with Dominican authorities

Interview on CDN La Radio- November 2007

Conferences:

Conference at the Congreso Mundial de Juventudes Cientificas

Publications

Revista Global
Volume 3 No.11
July/ August 2006

Article: Código Abierto: Educación Para las Nuevas Generaciones

Interviews

Channel 4, La Red
Program: Punto de Vista
10/09/2005

Title: Conversation with José Sanatana, Adviser for the Presidency of the Dominican Republic

Interview in Contribuyente y Sociedad

NJ Senator Robert Menendez meets with Dominican officials

Interview in CDN Radio- November 2007

Conferences

Conference at the Congreso Mundial de Juventudes Científicas