The interest in researching this topic started from the review of the book "Tres años de realizaciones ferrocarrileras. Síntesis gráfica", edited by José G. Escobedo in 1950. On page 18, he tells us, with the use of a photograph, that PhD Sandoval Vallarta gave a conference as part of the inauguration of the Railway Technical School No. 3, which was in Monterrey city and took place on March 20, 1947. It is important to mention that the Railway Technical Schools were training centers for workers who worked within the public company Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México.

According to a review of what was written of his work, we found that he was director of the National Polytechnic Institute from 1944 to 1947, but it is striking that this work made no reference to the position he held at that time. It seems that he attended as the president and physical-mathematical member of the Promoting and Coordinating Commission of Scientific Research, a position he held between 1943 and 1951.

The objective of this presentation is to demonstrate if PhD Sandoval Vallarta's participation within the Railway Technical Schools was limited to giving lectures or if he made any decision within the organization of these training centers.

The objective of this paper is to present, through three scientific societies, the importance of knowledge of science after the consummation of Mexican Independence in 1821. The first society addressed will be the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics founded in 1833, whose first director was the Count of Cortina, a character of the time who cultivated in the knowledge of several fields. Another of great importance was the scientific society established during the empire of Maximilian of Habsburg in 1864 called the Scientific Commission of Mexico, aimed, among other things, at the geographical and economic exploration of Mexican territory for the use of national resources. Finally, the preponderant role of the Antonio Álzate Scientific Society created in 1884 during the modernizing government of Porfirio Díaz will be raised, which had among its main objectives the study and dissemination of exact, physical, and natural sciences, especially in Mexico. With this, the aim is to show that scientism was not characteristic of the Porfiriato, but that it began to take shape decades ago and depended largely on the impulse that these scientific organizations gave it throughout the 19th century.

Dr Elvia Lizbeth Cortés López

In Mexico, from the second half of the 19th century and during the first decades of the 20th century, the promotion of science was seen as an element that would lead to the progress and modernization of the country, which was an important moment for the development of scientific education. In this sense, academic personalities emerged who stood out in various fields of knowledge.

One of these was Sotero Prieto Rodríguez (1884-1935), who was interested in mathematics. He is recognized for his role as a professor at institutions such as the National Preparatory School and the National University of Mexico. Among his main legacies was his influence on the training of future mathematicians and academics. As a teacher he inspired many generations of students. Some of his students became important figures in the field of science in the country, among them: Alfonso Nápoles Gándara (1897-1992) and Manuel Sandoval Vallarta (1899-1977).

Prieto also contributed to the development of academic programs in mathematics and science at the university, helping to establish the foundations for mathematical research, as well as the publication of articles in journals dedicated to the dissemination of scientific knowledge, mainly the Boletín de la Sociedad Científica ‘Antonio Alzate’.

The aim of this paper will be to show some of the elements that demonstrate Sotero Prieto's contributions to scientific knowledge and his career as a mathematician during the years from 1911 to 1935.