Gustavo Delfino

Gustavo Delfino started using Mathematica 2.2 in 1992 and used it extensively for his control systems undergraduate thesis. During his stay at the University of Michigan, he used Mathematica in several areas, especially for his machining dynamics research project. At TRW, he learned how to deal with massive amounts of data and applied Mathematica to many of the problems related to this task, especially for visualization and control systems. In 2008, Statistical Science approved the paper “Analysis of the 2004 Venezuela Referendum: The Official Results versus the Petition Signatures” written by Delfino and Guillermo Salas. This paper was developed using Mathematica and found massive inconsistencies in the official 2004 referendum results.

Delfino’s first teaching experience was in 1994 in the area of control systems at the Universidad Metropolitana. In 1995, he went to study at the University of Michigan through the Fundayacucho/World Bank Educational Loan Reform Program. After obtaining his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1997, he worked for the algorithms group at TRW Automotive Electronics Group. He returned to Venezuela in 1999, where he started his own consulting company, GD Solutions C.A. He became a professor at Universidad Central de Venezuela, where he taught Machine Design and Mechanical Vibrations until 2008. In 2007, he joined other Venezuelan electoral researchers and formed ESDATA, an NGO that seeks transparency in the electoral system.