Dr. Ricardo Alberto Rodríguez Carvajal is a professor, researcher, and innovation manager specializing in strategic planning, technology transfer, industrial property, sustainability, and higher education. He holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Planning and Technology Management from the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, a Master of Science in Computer Science from the Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo, a specialization in Sustainable Development, and a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Universidad de Sonora. In 2023, he completed a postdoctoral sabbatical focused on value creation in Indigenous communities in northern Mexico through social innovation and solutions addressing energy, water, and food security.
Since 2016, he has served as a full-time professor at the Universidad de Guanajuato and, since 2021, as an online faculty advisor at the Universidad Virtual del Estado de Guanajuato. His professional experience also includes teaching at the Universidad de Sonora, leading innovation and new-project launches at Grupo Industrial SOGO Hermosillo, consulting in corporate finance, and mentoring and advising undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students.
He currently serves as Coordinator of the Master’s Degree Program in Technology and Innovation Management and as liaison officer for external engagement at the Division of Natural and Exact Sciences of the Universidad de Guanajuato. Throughout his career, he has held a range of academic management positions, including department chair, deputy director of academic services, academic program coordinator, and supervisor of laboratories and academic infrastructure projects. He also chairs the Academic Committee of the Master’s Degree Program in Technology and Innovation Management and serves on the Academic Committee of the Bachelor’s Degree Program in Chemical Engineering.
He is a Level I member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (Sistema Nacional de Investigadoras e Investigadores) for the 2023–2027 term. He has served as a PRODEP evaluator, an academic reviewer for MDPI journals, an external evaluator of graduate projects, a state-level judge in scientific activities, and an evaluator for the Council for the Accreditation of Engineering Education. He also participates in national and international networks and associations related to technology management, innovation, the sociology of organizations, and solar energy.
His scientific and technological work has focused on the development and transfer of solutions in social innovation, agriculture, solar energy, advanced materials, atomic layer deposition, digital transformation, Industry 4.0, and knowledge management. He
has participated in and led funded projects in collaboration with academic institutions and companies, including the development of solar tracking systems, concentrated solar power plants, desalination systems, photovoltaic technologies, and technology transfer methodologies. His scholarly output includes research articles, books, book chapters, and papers presented at national and international conferences, with recent contributions to sustainable innovation models, agri-food systems, digital governance, sustainable infrastructure, and photovoltaic technologies.
He has also contributed to patent applications and industrial design registrations related to ergonomic devices, prosthetic technologies, semiconductor characterization, biomedical thermography, and solar tracking systems. His career integrates applied research, teaching, thesis supervision, university–industry collaboration, and project management, with the aim of transforming scientific and technological knowledge into solutions that generate economic, social, and environmental impact.
