Electrical engineer and entrepreneur Riccardo Delfini Mechelli received a very emotional tribute on July 28th, where ESPOL University conferred upon him the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.
In an auditorium full of guests and ESPOL University authorities, colleagues, former students, family, and lifelong friends, the ceremony took place where the honoree received the highest recognition given by ESPOL University to remarkable local and international citizens.
Riccardo Delfini Mechelli, Ethiopian by birth, Italian by nationality, and Ecuadorian at heart, is part of the polytechnic history and has become a reference in Engineering in Ecuador due to his countless achievements and contributions to the country.
Principal Mrs. Cecilia Paredes read the resolution number 22-06-167, in which the Polytechnic Council, in its session of June 16, 2022, approved the bestowment of the Doctor Honoris Causa title to the former professor and former director of the Department of Electrical Engineering at ESPOL University.
RICCARDO DELFINI MECHELLI’S PROFFESIONAL TRAJECTORY
Mathematician Juan José Illingworth recalled Riccardo Delfini Mechelli’s main achievements in a homage. He recounted how Delfini arrived in Ecuador at the age of eleven and stood out in the educational field by being accepted into sixth grade, despite his lack of formal education by then. However, he received his early education with love and dedication from his mother.
At the age of 17, he graduated from high school, pursued his higher education in Electrical Engineering at Michigan Tech, and completed postgraduate studies in Physics, Nuclear Engineering, and Advanced Mathematics.
He began his teaching career at ESPOL University in 1965, where did not only teach Power and Distribution and Applied Mathematics, but also became director of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the age of 26.
Juan José Illingworth also mentioned how some professors -who were Delfini’s students- described him as some sort of genius who came to their classes without notes and proceeded to fill the blackboards, sharing knowledge with great passion that still builds up the basis for many professionals in the country.
In 1966, along with his brothers Enrico, Alfonso, and Francesco, he founded the engineering company Delfini & Cía. Ltda. (DELTA DELFINI), whose early activities were related to consulting in Electrical Engineering and the representation of industrial equipment. Later, the company added new representations in the areas of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. It also offered industrial refrigeration equipment and air conditioning systems.
The DELTA DELFINI company became a benchmark in production support in the oil and cement sectors being a pioneer in the creation of turbomachinery. The company used advanced technological tools, such as one of the three existing personal computers in Engineering in Ecuador in 1984.
The company also got involved in the aquaculture sector, supporting the modernization of shrimp farms with the design and engineering of modern pumping systems. It also promoted engineering in the country through research, development laboratories, and the use of specialized software. Its products were sent to the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, reaching a total of 26 countries.
Throughout his extensive career, Riccardo Delfini kept a close relationship with ESPOL University motivating students, offering permanent internship positions, and hiring graduates with the ESPOL UNIVERSITY MINDSET and DNA at DELTA DELFINI.
During the ceremony, Riccardo Delfini Mechelli shared a message of gratitude through his daughter María Elvira Delfini Matheus. “It is very rewarding to come back to this institution where I served for several years during the beginning of my professional career in Ecuador. It was very fulfilling at that time to have been part of the teaching staff that took the initial steps to form the prestigious and solid academic institution that this institution is today. And what’s even more rewarding is to return to ESPOL University to receive an honor that I never expected to deserve,” Delfini said.
His son Riccardo Delfini Matheus also expressed word of gratitude to the audience in and recounted that, despite not having many memories when his father was a professor—for he was very young—his mother always told him anecdotes. “She told us how she woke up in the mornings to find the dining table full of books and checked exam papers. My father has always said how much he enjoyed that moment of his life at ESPOL University,” he said, mentioning that teaching has been one of his father’s lifelong passions. “(…) I believe that his teaching era deeply marked him, for he never stopped studying or teaching,” Delfini Matheus proudly said.
During the ceremony, various remarkable people appeared in a projected video in the auditorium. Former ESPOL University Principal, Sergio Flores; Member of the Advisory Council of Bank of Guayaquil, Carlos Lasso Mendoza; General Manager of Herrera Chang & Associates, Francisco Herrera Jurado; and Director of Research and Development at DELTA DELFINI, Ricardo Naranjo; also expressed their admiration for the honoree.
56 years have passed since Riccardo Delfini Mechelli began his professional life; his valuable contribution to the academic, technological, and industrial development of the country remain even after all this time.
Thank you, Riccardo, for upholding the ESPOL UNIVERSITY DNA!
See video at: https://youtu.be/2BQABlMboTo
Reference: https://www.espol.edu.ec/es/noticias/espol-otorga-titulo-de-doctor-honoris-causa-riccardo-delfini-mechelli-exprofesor
