List of Puerto Rican scientists and inventors

Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
First row Orlando Figueroa Orlando Figueroa Orlando Figueroa , previously the NASA Mars Czar Director for Mars Exploration and the Director for the Solar System Division in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters and the Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology of the Goddard Space Flight Center... Amri Hernandez-Pellerano Amri Hernandez-Pellerano Amri Hernández-Pellerano is a Puerto Rican electronics engineer and scientist who designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft at NASA's... Sixto Gonzalez Sixto Gonzalez Dr. Sixto González was the first Puerto Rican to be named Director of the Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest single dish radio telescope.-Early years:... Second row Fermín Tangüis Fermín Tangüis Fermín Tangüis , was a Puerto Rican businessman, agriculturist and scientist who developed the seed that would eventually produce the Tanguis cotton in Peru and save that nation's cotton industry.-Early years:... Carlos Albizu Miranda Carlos Albizu Miranda Dr. Carlos Albizu Miranda is the first Hispanic educator to have a North American University renamed in his honor and one of the first Hispanics to earn a Ph.D... Miriam Rodon-Naveira Miriam Rodon-Naveira Dr. Miriam Rodón-Naveira, Ph. D., is a Puerto Rican scientist. She was the first Hispanic woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division within the National Exposure Research Laboratory. She is now responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining research and... Location of the island of Puerto Rico (green)

Before Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...

and the Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

Conquistadors landed on the island of "Borikén" (Puerto Rico), the Tainos who inhabited the island depended on their astronomical observations for the cultivation of their crops.

In 1581, Juan Ponce de León II

Juan Ponce de Leon II

Juan Ponce de León II , was the first Puerto Rican to assume, though temporarily, the governorship of Puerto Rico.-Early years:...

, the grandson of the Conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon

Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...

, studied an eclipse

Eclipse

An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer...

and its effects on the island and was able to establish the exact geographical coordinates of San Juan with his observations.

During the 19th century the economies of many countries in the world suffered from the spread of crop failures. Puerto Rico, whose economy depended heavily on its agriculture, felt the effects of some of the crop diseases. Scientists such as Dr. Agustín Stahl, Fermín Tangüis and Fernando López Tuero conducted investigations and experiments in the fields of agriculture, botany, ethnology

Ethnology

Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...

and zoology

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

. The findings of their investigations helped Puerto Rico's agricultural industry.

With the advances in medical technologies and the coming of the Space Age

Space Age

The Space Age is a time period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events. The Space Age is generally considered to have begun with Sputnik...

of the 20th century, Puerto Ricans have expanded their horizons and have made many contributions in various scientific fields, among them the fields of aerospace and medicine.

There are many Puerto Rican scientists involved in the American space program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

). According to an article written by Margarita Santori Lopez for the official newspaper of the University of Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico

The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...

's Mayagüez Campus, "Prensa RUM", as of 2003, of the 115 Hispanics working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Goddard Space Flight Center

The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...

in Maryland, 70 were Puerto Ricans or of Puerto Rican descent. According to a research conducted during the period of 1990 to 1998 by Puerto Rican scientists in science and technology, Puerto Rican scientific production was greater than in any other Caribbean country and the sixth largest in all of Latin America.

The following is a list of some of Puerto Rico's notable scientists and inventors with short profiles that include the scientific contributions, inventions and achievements in their respective fields.

: Top – Aerospace, Agriculture, Archaeology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Biochemistry, Botany, Ecology, Engineering, Hydrometeorology, Marine biology, Medicine, Microbiology, Mycology, Psychology, Physiology, Rocket scientist, Space exploration, Space physics, Zoology, Inventors

Aerospace

Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...

comprises the atmosphere

Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...

of Earth and surrounding space

Outer space

Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....

. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

and space

Space exploration

Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....

.
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Dr. Juan R. Cruz

Juan R. Cruz

Dr. Juan R. Cruz, Ph.D., is a Puerto Rican scientist who played an instrumental role in the design and development of the Mars Exploration Rover parachute.-Early years:...

is an aerospace engineer and Aero Space Technologist at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia who helped design and qualification of the supersonic parachute for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project.

Dr. Cruz is a senior aerospace engineer in the Exploration Systems Engineering Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. His responsibilities are focused on research and development of entry, descent, and landing (EDL) systems for robotic and human exploration missions. He was a member of the highly successful Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project that placed two rovers on the surface of Mars in 2004. His contributions to the MER project were centered on the design and qualification of the supersonic parachute.

Dr. Cruz is also a member of the Phoenix (Mars 2007), Mars Science Laboratory (Mars 2009), and Crew Exploration Vehicle EDL teams. He has undertaken research on advanced missions to Mars, including robotic airplanes, as well as having been a technical reviewer for the Genesis, Huygens, and Stardust missions. Prior to his involvement with exploration programs he conducted research on high-altitude unmanned aircraft.

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Dr. Orlando Figueroa

Orlando Figueroa

Orlando Figueroa , previously the NASA Mars Czar Director for Mars Exploration and the Director for the Solar System Division in the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters and the Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology of the Goddard Space Flight Center...

is a mechanical engineer, Aero-Space Technologist and the former Director of Solar System Exploration Division and Mars Exploration at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Figueroa headed the cryogenic technology section, played a key role on the Cosmic Background Explorer mission, and managed a Space Shuttle Helium on Orbit Mission. He is the manager for the Small Explorers (SMEX) project, manager for the Explorers Program, and Director of Systems Technology and Advanced Concept Directorate. ::He is currently the Director, Applied Engineering & Technology at the NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center (as the "Director of Engineering" he manages the full scope of engineering activities at Goddard).

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Olga D. González-Sanabria

Olga D. González-Sanabria is a Puerto Rican scientist and inventor. She is the highest ranking Hispanic at NASA Glenn Research Center, and a member of the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame...

is a scientist and inventor. She is the highest ranking Hispanic

Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

at NASA Glenn Research Center

Glenn Research Center

NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is a NASA center, located within the cities of Brook Park, Cleveland and Fairview Park, Ohio between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Cleveland Metroparks's Rocky River Reservation, and has other subsidiary facilities in Ohio...

, and a member of the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame

Ohio Women's Hall of Fame

The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was founded in 1978 and has 356 members. It provides public recognition for the achievements of Ohio women that better their state, their country and their world.-See also:*National Women's Hall of Fame...

. As Director of the Engineering and Technical Services, she is responsible for planning and directing a full range of integrated services including engineering, fabrication, testing, facility management and aircraft services for the Glenn Research Center. She played an instrumental role in the development of the "Long Cycle-Life Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries

Battery (electricity)

An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...

" which helps enable the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

power system.

Among the technical reports which she has authored and or co-authored are:
1. Effect of NASA advanced designs on thermal behavior of Ni-H2 cells (1987)
2. Component variations and their effects on bipolar nickel-hydrogen cell performance (1987)
3. NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program - Issues and actions (1988)
4. Effect of NASA advanced designs on thermal behavior of Ni-H2 cells 2 (1988)
5. Energy storage considerations for a robotic Mars surface sampler (1989)

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Amri Hernandez-Pellerano

Amri Hernández-Pellerano is a Puerto Rican electronics engineer and scientist who designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft at NASA's...

is an electronics engineer and scientist who designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She designed the power systems electronics for the WMAP mission. WMAP is a NASA Explorer mission

Explorer program

The Explorer program is a United States space exploration program that provides flight opportunities for physics, heliophysics, and astrophysics investigations from space. Over 90 space missions have been launched from 1958 to 2011, and it is still active...

satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

which measures the temperature of the cosmic

Cosmos

In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...

background radiation

Radiation

In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...

over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy.

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Dr. Carlos Ortiz Longo

Carlos Ortiz Longo

Carlos Ortiz Longo used to be the Constellation Program Division System Manager for the Structural Engineering Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He is responsible for integrating Constellation Program items related to structures, mechanics, materials, and thermal...

is the Constellation Program Division System Manager for the Structural Engineering Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Dr. Ortiz Longo is responsible for integrating Constellation Program items related to structures, mechanics, materials, and thermal. Formerly the manager of the Crew Health Care System and Exercise Countermeasures for NASA

NASA

's Johnson Space Center. He began his career at NASA working on the Space Shuttle thermal protection system or TPS (the tiles) before transitioning into the ISS program, and was a semi-finalist astronaut candidate on the group 16 selection.

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Mercedes Reaves

Mercedes Reaves is a Puerto Rican research engineer and scientist. She is responsible for the design of a viable full-scale solar sail and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia.-Early years:...

is a research engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

and scientist. She is responsible for the design of a viable full-scale solar sail

Solar sail

Solar sails are a form of spacecraft propulsion using the radiation pressure of light from a star or laser to push enormous ultra-thin mirrors to high speeds....

and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail at NASA

NASA

Langley Research Center. She must select and apply tools to analyze complex thin film structures characterized by wrinkling, geometric and material nonlinear behavior. She is also responsible for planning experimental studies to validate analytical techniques and study solar sails dynamics.

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Dr. Miriam Rodon-Naveira

Miriam Rodon-Naveira

Dr. Miriam Rodón-Naveira, Ph. D., is a Puerto Rican scientist. She was the first Hispanic woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division within the National Exposure Research Laboratory. She is now responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining research and...

, is a scientist and the first Hispanic

Hispanic

woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division within the National Exposure Research Laboratory

National Exposure Research Laboratory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Exposure Research Laboratory is a national laboratory that conducts research and development to find improved methods, measurements, and models to assess and predict exposures of humans and ecosystems to pollutants and other conditions in air,...

. She is responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining research and educational activities in support of NASA

NASA

's Dryden Flight Research Center

Dryden Flight Research Center

The Dryden Flight Research Center , located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator...

mission. She holds a doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

in Biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

–Aquatic

Aquatic ecosystem

An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem in a body of water. Communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment live in aquatic ecosystems. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems....

Microbial Ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

----

Dr. Pedro Rodriguez

Pedro Rodriguez (NASA)

Dr. Pedro Rodriguez, Ph.D., , is the Director of a test laboratory at NASA and inventor of a portable, battery-operated lift seat for people suffering from knee arthritis.-Early years:...

is a scientist, inventor, mechanical engineer, Aero-Space Technologist and the Director of a test laboratory at NASA

NASA

. He invented a portable, battery-operated lift seat for people suffering from knee arthritis

Arthritis

Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

Dr. Rodriguez was the leader of the Solid Rocket Booster accident investigation team following the Space Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...

accident in February 2003 and was also the project manager for the Space Launch Initiative program. Rodriguez is currently the Director of the test laboratory in the Engineering Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. He is responsible for the engineering services and facilities for environmental, structural, and propulsion testing of NASA programs assigned to the Marshall Space Flight Center. Among his duties are: research, development, qualification, and acceptance testing of critical space and flight hardware, as well as the testing of relevant development hardware.

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Dr. Felix Soto Toro

Felix Soto Toro

Dr. Félix Soto Toro , is an astronaut applicant and an Electrical Designs Engineer in NASA, who developed the Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System .-Early years:...

is a scientist, astronaut applicant and an electrical designs engineer in NASA, who developed the Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (ASPTMS)(Electronic 3D measuring system).

At the Kennedy Space Center, Dr. Soto reviews, designs, builds, tests and implements engineering designs used in the Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

and Payload Operations Development Laboratories. The main project he developed was the Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (ASPTMS)(Electronic 3D measuring system), which consists of a simplified, robust, centrally operated and portable system that automatically measures the spherical coordinates offset between the trunnion and their supports during transfer operations. This system has the potential to become a NASA project with commercial applications. Dr. Soto earned his Doctorate of Philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

Degree in Electrical Engineering and has applied to become an astronaut candidate.

Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

In the 19th Century, Puerto Rico's economy depended on its agricultural industry. Among the products which Puerto Rico exported were tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

, cotton, ginger

Ginger

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

, pineapples and citrus fruits. The two main agricultural products whose production dominated the island's economy were sugar and coffee.
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Coffee industry

The Mariani family of Yauco created a machine out of a cotton gin

Cotton gin

A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...

in the 1860s, which was used in the dehusking of coffee. This represented a significant improvement in Puerto Rico's coffee appearance and an opportunity to stand out in the international coffee market.

Cotton industry

Fermín Tangüis

Fermín Tangüis , was a Puerto Rican businessman, agriculturist and scientist who developed the seed that would eventually produce the Tanguis cotton in Peru and save that nation's cotton industry.-Early years:...

(1851–1930) was a Puerto Rican businessman, agriculturist and scientist who in 1901 developed the seed that would eventually produce the Tanguis cotton in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

when that nation's cotton industry suffered because of a fungus plague caused by a plant disease known some places as "cotton wilt" and in others as "Fusarium wilt" (Fusarium vasinfectum) saving that nation's cotton industry.

Tangüis began to study some species of the plant that were affected by the disease to a lesser extent and experimented in germination

Germination

Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...

with the seeds of various cotton plants. In 1911, after 10 years of experimenting and failures, Tangüis was able to develop a seed which produced a superior cotton plant resistant to the disease. The seeds produced a plant that had a 40% longer (between 29 mm and 33 mm) and thicker fiber that did not break easily and required little water. The cotton grown in Peru (Egyptian cotton) before the fungus plague grew only once a year; the Tangüis cotton grows six times a year. This type of fiber showed a better resistance and performance than other fibers.

Tangüis cotton grows in Canete's valley (south of Lima) and in the Central Coast of Peru. The success of the Tangüis cotton, which is also known in Peru as "Oro Blanco" (White Gold), saved the cotton industry of that nation.

Coconut industry

Ramón López Irizarry

Ramon Lopez Irizarry

Ramón Lopez-Irizarry was an educator and scientist who invented an easier way to extract the cream from the coconut pulp and developed the original formula of Coco López.-Early years:...

(1897–1982) was an educator and scientist who invented an easier way to extract the cream from the coconut pulp. He was a professor of agricultural sciences at the University of Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico

The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...

in the late 1940s when the Government of Puerto Rico

Government of Puerto Rico

The Government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty. Its current powers are all delegated by the United States Congress and lack full protection under the United States Constitution...

gave a grant to the University of Puerto Rico (Universidad de Puerto Rico) to help assist in the development of Puerto Rican industries.

In 1949, Lopez-Irizarry, with the use of some of these funds, was able to work in his laboratory on an idea that he had. Lopez-Irizarry set out to find an easier way to extract the cream from the coconut pulp. The heart of the coconut has always been an important ingredient in many of the desserts in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. The main problem was extracting the coconut cream from the pulp which was a difficult task. Lopez-Irizarry discovered an easier way by blending the cream from the hearts of the Caribbean coconuts with an exact proportion of natural cane sugar. He used his discovery in the development of "Coco Lopez

Coco Lopez

Coco López is a Puerto Rican coconut product which is used in many popular drinks."Coco López" was invented by Ramón López Irizarry, who was an agricultural professor for the University of Puerto Rico. With funds from the government, he worked on his idea inside a small laboratory that he owned...

" a coconut product which is used in many popular drinks.

Sugar industry

Fernando López Tuero

Fernando López Tuero was an agricultural scientist and agronomist who discovered the bug which was destroying Puerto Rico sugar canes.-Agricultural epidemic:...

was an agricultural scientist and agronomist

Agronomist

An agronomist is a scientist who specializes in agronomy, which is the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. An agronomist is an expert in agricultural and allied sciences, with the exception veterinary sciences.Agronomists deal with interactions between plants, soils, and...

who saved the sugar industry of Puerto Rico when he discovered the bug (believed at first to be a germ) which was destroying the island's sugar canes.

In the latter part of the 19th Century, an epidemic was affecting the agricultural industry of Puerto Rico. Among the crops affected was the sugar cane, whose main product "sugar" was vital to Puerto Rico's economy. The Spanish colonial government, created an emergency commission composed of scientists, which included Dr. Agustín Stahl and Fernando López Tuero, to study the situation. Dr. Agustín Stahl concluded that the epidemic was caused by a "germ" in the terrain, however his findings were inconclusive. In 1894, Fernando López Tuero, who was the head agronomist of the Agronomical Station of Río Piedras, discovered that the cause of the epidemic was the white grub (Phyllophaga

Phyllophaga (genus)

Phyllophaga is a very large genus of New World scarab beetles in the subfamily Melolonthinae. Common names for this genus and many other related genera in the subfamily Melolonthinae are May beetles, June bugs, and June beetles. They range in size from and are blackish or reddish-brown in colour,...

The Phyllophaga is a very large genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

(more than 260 species) of New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

scarab

Scarabaeidae

The family Scarabaeidae as currently defined consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide. The species in this large family are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family is fairly unstable, with numerous competing theories, and new proposals appearing quite...

beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

s in the subfamily Melolonthinae

Melolonthinae

Melolonthinae is a subfamily of the scarab beetles . It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains many familiar species. Some authors include the scarab subfamilies Euchirinae and Pachypodinae as tribes in the Melolonthinae.Unlike some of their relatives, their...

. These beetles are nocturnal, coming to lights in great numbers. The adults are chafers, feeding on foliage of trees and shrubs. They may cause significant damage when emerging in large numbers. The larvae (called white grubs) feed on the roots of grasses and other plants.

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

is the science that studies human

Homo (genus)

Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and species closely related to them. The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old, evolving from australopithecine ancestors with the appearance of Homo habilis....

culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

s through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, artifacts

Artifact (archaeology)

An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...

, features, biofact

Biofact (archaeology)

In archaeology, a biofact is an object, found at an archaeological site and carrying archaeological significance, but previously unhanded by humans. A common type of biofact is a plant seed...

s, and landscapes

Cultural landscape

Cultural Landscapes have been defined by the World Heritage Committee as distinct geographical areas or properties uniquely "..represent[ing] the combined work of nature and of man.."....

.
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Dr. Ricardo Alegría

Ricardo Alegría

Ricardo Alegría was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology".-Early years:...

is a scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology". He is credited with being a pioneer in the anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

of the Taino culture and the African heritage in Puerto Rico. His extensive studies have helped historians to understand how the Taínos lived and suffered, before and after the Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

Conquistadores arrived in the island. Alegría estimated that about one third of all Puerto Ricans (2 million out of 6 million) have Taíno blood and therefore the Taínos were not completely extinct and some had to survive. Recently, the results of recent DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

studies have proved him right.

----

Dr. Osvaldo Garcia Goyco is an archaeologist, sociocultural anthropologist, ethnologist and Curator of Achaeological Collections.

Dr. Garcia Goyco has conducted numerous scientific investigations in the Iconography

Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...

, Cosmology

Cosmology

Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...

, Mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

, Shamanism

Shamanism

Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...

and Religion of the Indians of the West Indies (Taino) and the Orinoco and Amazon Basins. He has also investigated the Mesoamerican Religions and Codex Epigraphy (Aztec and Mixteca Puebla Region); the Cultural Ecology of the Circumcaribbean and Orinoco-Amazon Basin and the Archaeology of Circum-Caribbean Indigenous Cultures and Sugarcane Slave Plantations.

Dr. Garcia Goyco is the principal investigator of "Paso del Indio Inc." (Archaeology, Anthropology & Museum Consultants). He is responsible for the administration of a 120 persons field and field laboratory archaeological team which has unearthed more than 140 human remains. The archaeological excavations at Paso del Indio in Vega Baja have been the most extensive up to date in Puerto Rico. Dr. García Goyco coordinated multidisciplinary scientific studies with various educational institutions among them: USDA Forest Service, University of Puerto Rico; University of Colorado

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

; Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; US Geological Survey and the US Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Astronomy

Astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects

Astronomical object

Astronomical objects or celestial objects are naturally occurring physical entities, associations or structures that current science has demonstrated to exist in the observable universe. The term astronomical object is sometimes used interchangeably with astronomical body...

(such as star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

s, planet

Planet

A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

s, comet

Comet

A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...

s, and galaxies

Galaxy

A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...

) and phenomena

Phenomenon

A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...

that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere

Earth's atmosphere

The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...

(such as the cosmic background radiation

Cosmic microwave background radiation

In cosmology, cosmic microwave background radiation is thermal radiation filling the observable universe almost uniformly....

). It is concerned with the evolution, physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

, chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, meteorology

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

, and motion

Motion (physics)

In physics, motion is a change in position of an object with respect to time. Change in action is the result of an unbalanced force. Motion is typically described in terms of velocity, acceleration, displacement and time . An object's velocity cannot change unless it is acted upon by a force, as...

of celestial objects, as well as the formation and development of the universe

Physical cosmology

Physical cosmology, as a branch of astronomy, is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of the universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. For most of human history, it was a branch of metaphysics and religion...

.
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Dr. Victor Manuel Blanco

Victor Manuel Blanco

Dr. Víctor Manuel Blanco, PhD, was a Puerto Rican astronomer who in 1959 discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster. Blanco was the second Director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, which had the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. In 1995, the telescope...

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

, is an astronomer who in 1959 discovered a Galactic Cluster "Blanco 1" which was named after him. Blanco was the second Director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, which has the largest 4-m telescope in the Southern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...

, In 1995, the telescope was dedicated in his honor and is known as the Blanco 4m

Victor M. Blanco Telescope

The Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, also known as the Blanco 4m, is a 4m telescope located at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. Commissioned in 1974 and completed in 1976, this telescope is similar to the Mayall 4m telescope located on Kitt Peak. In 1995 it was dedicated and named in...

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Dr. Sixto Gonzalez

Sixto Gonzalez

Dr. Sixto González was the first Puerto Rican to be named Director of the Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest single dish radio telescope.-Early years:...

was the first Puerto Rican to be named Director of the Arecibo Observatory

Arecibo Observatory

The Arecibo Observatory is a radio telescope near the city of Arecibo in Puerto Rico. It is operated by SRI International under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation...

, the world's largest single dish radio telescope

Radio telescope

A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...

. In 2001, Dr. Gonzalez was named assistant director for space and atmospheric sciences at the telescopic facility. On September 29, 2003, Dr. Gonzalez became the first Puerto Rican to be named Director of the observatory. The appointment was made by Robert Brown, director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC). Dr. Gonzalez was responsible for the overall management of the facility, including the executions of basic policy that maintains the observatory at the front of research in astronomy, planetary studies and atmospheric science. He stepped down as Director on September 15, 2006, although he continues as assistant director for space and atmospheric sciences.

Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...

is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics

Physics

of the universe

Universe

The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...

, including the physical properties (luminosity

Luminosity

Luminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...

, density

Density

The mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...

, temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

, and chemical

Chemistry

composition) of celestial object

Astronomical object

s such as star

Star

s, galaxies

Galaxy

, and the interstellar medium

Interstellar medium

In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter that exists in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, dust, and cosmic rays. It fills interstellar space and blends smoothly into the surrounding intergalactic space...

, as well as their interactions.
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Dr. Enectalí Figueroa-Feliciano

Enectalí Figueroa-Feliciano

Dr. Enectalí Figueroa-Feliciano a.k.a. "Tali", Ph.D., is an astrophysicist and researcher with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center who pioneered the development position-sensitive detectors. He is an expert and researcher on dark matter....

is a mechanical engineer, Astronaut applicant and an Assistant Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

(MIT) and the author of various papers including "Position-sensitive low-temperature detectors".

Dr. Figueroa's research interests revolve around the development of high-energy-resolution imaging spectrometers for space-borne applications in experimental astrophysics and cosmology. Dr. Figueroa pioneered the development of position-sensitive detectors that will provide an order of magnitude more pixels (and thus larger field of view) than traditional single-pixel X-ray microcalorimeters." He is an expert and researcher on dark matter

Dark matter

In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...

. and a researcher with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA

and a professor of physics MIT.

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Dr. Adolfo Figueroa-Viñas

Adolfo Figueroa-Viñas

Adolfo Figueroa-Viñas, Ph.D. is the first Puerto Rican astrophysicist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is an expert in solar and space plasma physics at the Heliophysics Science Division...

is the first Puerto Rican astrophysicist at NASA working in solar plasma physics. As a senior research scientist he is involved in many NASA missions such as Wind, SOHO, Cluster and MMS projects in which he is the author and co-author of numerous scientific papers in his field.

Dr. Figueroa-Viñas has served as Guest Co-Investigator of the International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE-1) mission and the Voyagers program. He is currently a Co-Investigator in the WIND/SWE experiment of the International Solar Terrestrial Program (ISTP) and the Space Physics Theory Program grant entitled The Role of Turbulence in Heliospheric Plasmas. Dr. Viñas has participated in the organizing committee of "La Conferencia Espacial de las Américas" held in Costa Rica, Chile and Uruguay. He is the recipient of the NASA Special Service Award.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

is the study of the chemical

Chemistry

processes in living organism

Organism

In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...

s. It deals with the structure

Structure

Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...

and function of cellular components, such as protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

s, carbohydrate

Carbohydrate

A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...

s, lipid

Lipid

Lipids constitute a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others...

s, nucleic acid

Nucleic acid

Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...

s, and other biomolecule

Biomolecule

A biomolecule is any molecule that is produced by a living organism, including large polymeric molecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and nucleic acids as well as small molecules such as primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and natural products...

s.
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Dr. Nitza Margarita Cintron

Nitza Margarita Cintron

Dr. Nitza Margarita Cintron is a scientist who is currently the Chief of Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center.-Early years:...

is a scientist who originated the Biochemistry Laboratory

Biochemistry

at the Johnson Space Center. She is the Chief of Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office at NASA

NASA

's Johnson Space Center. In 1979, Dr. Cintron originated the Biochemistry Laboratory

Biochemistry

at the Johnson Space Center and served from (1979–85) as the project scientist for the Space Lab 2

Spacelab

Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...

mission which was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger

Space Shuttle Challenger

Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...

in 1985. In 2004 she was named "Chief of NASA's (JSC) Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office", position which she currently holds.

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

is a branch of biology

Biology

and is the scientific study

Scientific method

Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...

of plant life and development.
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Dr. Agustín Stahl

Agustín Stahl

Dr. Agustín Stahl , was a medical doctor and the first renowned Puerto Rican scientist, with diverse interests in the fields of ethnology, botany and zoology. He advocated Puerto Rico's independence from Spain....

(1842 – 1917), considered as Puerto Rico's first renowned scientist, conducted investigations and experiments in the fields of botany, ethnology

Ethnology

and zoology

Zoology

. Dr. Stahl wrote "Estudios sobre la flora de Puerto Rico" (A study of the Puerto Rican Flora), published in 6 fascicles from 1883-88. Copies of his plant collection with approximately 1,330 plants can be found in various botanical gardens around the world. His collections were the basis for numerous studies by specialists, some of them resulting in new taxa to science. He has a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

, Stahlia

Stahlia

Stahlia is a monotypic genus of legume in the Fabaceae family, containing the single species Stahlia monosperma .It is found in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands, U.S.....

, and five valid species, Argythamnia stahlii, Senna pendula var. stahlii , Eugenia stahlii, Lyonia stahlii, and Ternstroemia stahlii, named in his honor. The genus Stahlia is represented by a single species, S. monosperma (Tul.) Urb., known to occur only in Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic. Known in Puerto Rico as Cóbana Negra, this species is currently listed as threatened in the USFW Federal Register, April 5, 1990.

Ecology

is the scientific

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

study of the distribution and abundance

Abundance (ecology)

Abundance is an ecological concept referring to the relative representation of a species in a particular ecosystem. It is usually measured as the large number of individuals found per sample...

of life and the interaction

Interaction

Interaction is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect...

s between organism

Organism

s and their natural environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

.
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Dr. Ariel Lugo

Ariel Lugo

Dr. Ariel Lugo is a scientist, ecologist and Director of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry within the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, based in Puerto Rico...

is a scientist, ecologist and Director of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry within the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, based in Puerto Rico. He is a founding Member of the Society for Ecological Restoration and Member-at-Large of the Board of the Ecological Society of America. His current research is focused on assessments of the role of tropical forests in global processes and comparisons between tropical tree plantations and natural forests. He has over 300 publications in scientific journals and books and has served on federal interagency committees and frequently required to appear as an expert witness in federal court in cases considering environmental issues. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Conservation Ecology, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Forest Ecology and Management, Restoration Ecology, Journal of Sustainable Forestry, Acta Cientifica (Editor) and Journal of the Littoral.

Engineering

Asdrubal Garcia Ortiz was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez, and an MS degree in Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis.

He began his engineering career as a Technology Engineer for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., and is now an Engineering Staff Scientist for DRS - Support Systems Inc. He has been awarded 16 U.S. Patents, is the author of 36 technical publications, and editor of 2 special issues of the international journal Mathematical and Computer Modelling, both on Intelligent Transportation Systems. Together with fellow inventors Sunggyu Lee and John R. Wootton, Garcia Ortiz was granted various patents. A sample of these patents includes: US Patent No 6,177,885, "System and method for detecting traffic anomalies", US Patent No 7,186,345, "Systems for water purification through supercritical oxidation", and US Patent No 7,688,605, "Systems and methods for reducing the magnitude of harmonics produced by a power inverter". His areas of specialty are systems engineering, control systems, embedded systems and electronics. He is a registered Professional Engineer, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and a member of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).

Hydrometeorology

Hydrometeorology is a branch of meteorology and hydrology that studies the transfer of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere....

is a branch of meteorology

Meteorology

and hydrology

Hydrology

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...

that studies the transfer of water and energy

Energy

In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

between the land surface and the lower atmosphere

Atmosphere

.
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Dr. Rafael L. Bras

Rafael L. Bras

Dr. Rafael L. Bras is an American Civil Engineer and currently serves as Provost to the Georgia Institute of Technology.-Academic:...

is an engineer and expert in hydrometeorology

Hydrometeorology

Hydrometeorology is a branch of meteorology and hydrology that studies the transfer of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere....

and global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

. As an engineering hydrologist, his major areas of interest include land-atmosphere interactions and geomorphology. He is considered one of the world's leading experts in global warming, and has also served as a professional consultant in multiple projects around the world. As a hydrologist, Dr. Bras has specialized in the interpretation of natural phenomena as random functions. He has been recognized for his use of modern probabilistic methods in the design of networks to monitor rainfall and river flow, and in rainfall and river discharge forecasting. Presently his interests span the areas of fluvial geomorphology and hydroclimatology.

Marine biology

Marine biology is the scientific study of living organism

Organism

s in the ocean or other marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

or brackish bodies of water.
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Dr. Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni

Antonio Mignucci

Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, PhD is a biological oceanographer specializing in the biology, management and conservation of marine mammals...

is a biological oceanographer specializing in the biology, management and conservation of marine mammals. He is the founder of the international conservation organization Red Caribeña de Varamientos (Caribbean Stranding Network) dedicated to the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of injured or stranded marine mammals, sea turtle and sea birds. As a scientist, Mignucci is an expert in endangered tropical marine mammals and a specialist in the West Indian manatee

West Indian Manatee

The West Indian Manatee is a manatee, and the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia . The West Indian Manatee, Trichechus manatus, is a species distinct from the Amazonian Manatee, T. inunguis, and the West African Manatee, T. senegalensis...

Medicine

Biotechnology

Dr. Gualberto Ruaño

Gualberto Ruano

Dr. Gualberto Ruaño, MD, PhD, is a pioneer in the field of personalized medicine and the inventor of molecular diagnostic systems used worldwide for the management of viral diseases...

Dr. Ruaño is a pioneer in the field of personalized medicine and the inventor of molecular diagnostic systems, Coupled Amplification and Sequencing (CAS) System (U.S. patent 5,427,911), used worldwide for the management of viral diseases. Dr. Ruaño is President and Founder of Genomas, a genetics-related company and now the bio-tech anchor of Hartford Hospital's Genetic Research Center; he also serves as Director of genetics research at the Center

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Cardiology
Cardiology

Cardiology

Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

is the branch of internal medicine

Internal medicine

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

dealing with disorders of the heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

and blood vessel

Blood vessel

The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...

s.
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Dr. Antonio Fernós-Isern

Antonio Fernós-Isern

Dr. Antonio Fernós-Isern was the first Puerto Rican cardiologist and its longest serving resident commissioner.-Early years:...

(1895 – 1974) was the first Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

cardiologist and its longest serving resident commissioner

Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico

The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the voters of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico every four years...

. From 1919 to 1921, he was the Under-Secretary of Health; from 1921-23 the Director of Health in city; from 1923-29 he was once again Under-Secretary of Health and from 1930-33 the Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico. In 1933, Fernos-Isern resigned as health commissioner and went to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, where he completed his residency in cardiology at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

and thus became the "first" Puerto Rican cardiologist. He returned to Puerto Rico and became a professor at the "School of Tropical Medicine of Puerto Rico

School of Tropical Medicine (Puerto Rico)

The School of Tropical Medicine , was an educational institution created in 1926 by an act of the Puerto Rican Legislature, to further the research initiated by the Anemia Commissions and the Institute of Tropical Medicine on anemia and its causes...

", where he had previously served as assistant and associate professor.

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Dr. Ramón M. Suárez Calderon

Ramón M. Suárez Calderon

Dr. Ramón M. Suárez Calderon was a scientist, cardiologist, educator and hematologíst whose investigations led him to identify the proper and effective treatment of a specific anemia known as tropical sprue...

(1895–1981) was a cardiologist and scientist whose investigations led him to identify the proper and effective treatment of a type of anemia

Anemia

Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...

known as Tropical Espru, the application of complex methods, such as electrocardiography and radioisotope, to be used in clinics and the identification and treatment of the disease which causes heart rheumatism

Rheumatism

Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...

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Embryology
Embryology

Embryology

Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...

is the study of the development of an embryo

Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...

. An embryo is defined as any organism in a stage before birth or hatching, or in plants, before germination

Germination

occurs.
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Dr. Juan R. Correa-Pérez

Juan R. Correa-Pérez

Juan R. Correa-Pérez, Ph.D. is a scientist credited with becoming the first clinical Andrologist and Embryologist established in Puerto Rico . He has a particular interest and expertise in male-factor infertility with an impressive resume of research. Dr...

, Ph.D. is a scientist who is credited with becoming the first clinical Andrologist and Embryologist in Puerto Rico.

Dr.Correa-Pérez is involved in the development, implementation and oversight of research protocols in which the use of animals is required for investigational purposes. According to U.S. federal law, institutions that use laboratory animals for research or instructional purposes must establish an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee(IACUC) to oversee and evaluate all aspects of the institution's animal care and use program. He is also involved in the development of a research program in conjunction with the establishment and implementation of a reproductive physiology laboratory. As Scientific Director, Centro de Fertilidad del Caribe, Río Piedras PR, his responsibilities include: overall operation, administration, and technical and scientific oversight of the Andrology and Embryology laboratories.

Dr.Correa-Pérez was featured in the "Who's Who in America- Biography" 60th (2006) Edition (Diamond Edition) of Who's Who in America. In 2005 he was named in 6th Annual Royan International Research Award nominations for the best five research papers in reproductive biomedicine and stem cells at the Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran- Nomination of the manuscript entitled "Development of differential sperm tail swelling patterns during exposure of human spermatozoa to hypoosmotic environments regulated by a colloid osmotic pressure effect" by Correa-Pérez JR, Fernández-Pelegrina Ra and Zavos PM., published in the journal Andrologia 2004;36:84-86.

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Endocrinology
Endocrinology

Endocrinology

Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...

is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the endocrine system

Endocrine system

In physiology, the endocrine system is a system of glands, each of which secretes a type of hormone directly into the bloodstream to regulate the body. The endocrine system is in contrast to the exocrine system, which secretes its chemicals using ducts. It derives from the Greek words "endo"...

and its specific secretions called hormone

Hormone

A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...

s.
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Dr. Pedro Beauchamp

Pedro Beauchamp

Dr. Pedro Beauchamp is an endocrinologist who is the first Puerto Rican specialist certified by the American Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Board. In 1985, he performed the first in vitro fertilization technique in Puerto Rico....

is the first Puerto Rican specialist certified by the American Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Board who in 1985 performed the first in vitro fertilization (IVF) technique in Puerto Rico. In 1982, Dr. Beauchamp was responsible and is credited with delivering the first triplets born by in-vitro fertilization in the United States and the first in-vitro baby born in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. His work is known as GIFT (in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer) and TET (Tubal Embryo Transfer). Dr. Beauchamp returned to Puerto Rico in 1985 and established his practice in reproductive endocrinology and infertility in the city of Bayamón

Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...

. In 1986, he delivered the first child born from the in-vitro fertilization procedure in all of Puerto Rico at the Regional Hospital of Bayamón.

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Immunology
Immunology

Immunology

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...

is the branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the immunological system that helps the body protect itself from foreign substances and illnesses.
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Dr. Angel M. Marchand

Angel M. Marchand

Angel M. Marchand was a Puerto Rican allergy researcher and clinician.Educated at Case Western Medical School, where he obtained his M.D. in 1935, after obtaining his B.A. in 1931 at Miami University in Hamilton, Ohio, he was one of Puerto Rico's first board-certified allergist and immunologists...

, a Case Western-trained physician and one of the first Puerto Rican doctors board-certified in allergy

Allergy

An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...

and immunology

Immunology

, dedicated his life to researching tropical allergies and developing vaccines that would effectively prevent or minimize allergic reactions to substances prevalent in tropical environments in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and other tropical areas of the world.

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Nephrology
Nephrology

Nephrology

Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.-Scope of the specialty:...

is a branch of internal medicine

Internal medicine

and pediatrics

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney

Kidney

The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

.
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Dr. Manuel Martínez Maldonado

Manuel Martínez Maldonado

Dr. Manuel Martínez Maldonado , MD; MACP, is a Nephrologist, educator, poet and author. He discovered a natriuretic hormone and has authored numerous scientific publications. His research interests are the regulation of blood pressure and the effect of high blood pressure on the kidneys...

, a Nephrologist, is the executive vice president for research at the University of Louisville

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

. Dr. Martínez-Maldonado has authored numerous scientific publications. His research interests are the regulation of blood pressure and the effect of high blood pressure on the kidneys. He also focuses on the renin angiotensin system, a hormone system that helps regulate long-term blood pressure and blood volume in the body and which is controlled primarily by the kidneys.

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Odontology
Odontology is the scientific study of the structure, development, and abnormalities of the teeth.
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Dr. Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas

Fernando E. Rodriguez Vargas

Major Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas, DDS was an odontologist , scientist and a Major in the U.S. Army who discovered the bacteria which causes dental caries.-Early years:...

, DDS

Doctor of Dental Surgery

There are a number of first professional degrees in dentistry offered by schools in various countries around the world. These include the following:* Doctor of Dental Surgery * Doctor of Dental Medicine * Bachelor of Dentistry...

, (1888–1932) was an odontologist

Dentist

A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

(dentist), scientist and a Major in the U.S. Army who discovered the bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

which causes dental caries

Dental caries

Dental caries, also known as tooth decay or a cavity, is an irreversible infection usually bacterial in origin that causes demineralization of the hard tissues and destruction of the organic matter of the tooth, usually by production of acid by hydrolysis of the food debris accumulated on the...

Dr. Rodríguez Vargas was assigned to the Army Dental Corps

Army Medical Department (United States)

The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army – known as the AMEDD – comprises the Army's six medical Special Branches of officers and medical enlisted soldiers. It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the medical care required by the Continental Army during the...

as an educator and investigator of the bacteriological aspects of dental diseases. His research led him to discover the bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

which causes dental caries

Dental caries

. According to his investigations, three types of the Lactobacillus

Lactobacillus

Lactobacillus is a genus of Gram-positive facultative anaerobic or microaerophilic rod-shaped bacteria. They are a major part of the lactic acid bacteria group, named as such because most of its members convert lactose and other sugars to lactic acid. They are common and usually benign...

species, during the process of fermentation, are the causes of cavities. In December 1922, he published an original and fundamental work on the specific bacteriology

Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...

of dental caries. His findings were published in the December issue of the Military Dental Journal titled "The Specific Study of the Bacteriology of Dental Cavities". Dr. Rodríguez Vargas also developed the techniques and methods of analysis. On September 28, 1928, Dr. Rodriguez Vargas published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" his findings in the effectiveness of Iodine and other chemical agents as disinfectants of the mucous membranes of the mouth. Since then, other scientists have used the findings of his investigations as the basis in the study of the bacteriology of dental caries.

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Oncology
Oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

is the branch of medicine that studies tumors (cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

) and seeks to understand their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
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Dr. Isaac González Martínez

Isaac González Martínez

Dr. Isaac González Martínez was the first Puerto Rican urologist, and a pioneer in the fight against cancer throughout the island. Dr. González Martínez conducted many investigations and experiments in parasitology, bilharzia, lepra and typhoid fever. Dr. González Martínez and Dr. Bailey K...

(1871–1954) was one of the first urologist in Puerto Rico and pioneer in the fight against cancer

Cancer

in the island. Dr. González Martínez conducted many investigations and experiments in parasitology

Parasitology

Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question, but by their way of life...

, bilharzia, lepra

LEPRA

LEPRA Health in Action is a health and medical development charity fighting diseases of poverty and working towards a world without leprosy...

and typhoid fever

Typhoid fever

Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...

. Dr. González Martínez and Dr. Bailey K. Ashford formed the first commission in Puerto Rico to study the causes of anemia

Anemia

. In 1914, he was named director of the biological laboratory of the sanitation service of Puerto Rico. In 1935, Dr. González Martínez founded The Puerto Rican League against Cancer. He also promoted the construction of Puerto Rico's first hospital specializing in oncology.

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Organ transplantation
An organ transplant

Organ transplant

Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...

is the moving of a whole or partial organ

Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues . The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are...

from one body to another (or from a donor site on the patient's own body), for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site. Organ donors can be living or deceased (previously referred to as cadaveric). In Puerto Rico, the first Kidney

Kidney

organ transplants were realized in the city of Ponce

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

between 1968 and 1972.
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Dr. Ivan Gonzalez Cancel

Ivan Gonzalez Cancel

Ivan F. Gonzalez Cancel is a prominent Cardiovascular and Heart Transplant Surgeon. He is credited for having performed the first heart transplant surgery in Puerto Rico.-Early life:...

is a Cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon who is credited with the realization of the first heart transplant in Puerto Rico. He participated in his first heart transplant at the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

. Dr. González Cancel returned to Puerto Rico in 1993 and was named Director of the Department of Surgery of the Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean (Centro Cardiovascular de Puerto Rico y el Caribe). Dr. González Cancel implemented a cardiovascular program in the institution and on June 27, 1999, with the help of Dr. Hector Banchs Pieretti, made history when he performed the first heart transplant in Puerto Rico.

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Dr. Diego R. Solís

Diego R. Solís

Dr. Diego R. Solís is the founder and director of the "Centro de Cirugias de Higado y Pancreas" . He made Puerto Rican medical history when he performed the first simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant in Puerto Rico....

is the founder and director of the "Centro de Cirugias de Higado y Pancreas" (Liver and Pancreas Surgery Center), made history when he performed the first simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant in Puerto Rico.

On March 9, 2007, Dr. Solís performed, in the "Hospital Auxilio Mutuo" (Mutual Aid Hospital), the first simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant in Puerto Rico, a procedure which lasted 8 hours. Dr. Solís, who is also the director of the pancreas transplant program of said institution, has made numerous scientific investigations in the field of hepatobiliar surgery with a special interest in the causes and treatment of advanced tumors of the liver.

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Dr. Eduardo Santiago Delpín

Eduardo Santiago Delpín

Dr. Eduardo Santiago Delpín is a physician, surgeon, educator and author who wrote the first book in Spanish about organ transplants. Dr. Santiago Delpín is the founder of the Latin American Transplant Register, The Pan-American Society of Dialysis and Transplants, plus the Latin American and...

is a surgeon who wrote the first book in Spanish about organ transplants. Dr. Santiago Delpin is the founder of the Latin American Transplant Register, The Pan-American Society of Dialysis and Transplants, plus the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Transplants. He is a professor of surgery at the University of Puerto Rico and program director of transplantation of organs of the "Hospital Auxilio Mutuo" (Mutual Aid Hospital). His book, "Organ transplantation", the first to be published in Spanish on the topic, won the Prize of Graphic Arts in Mexico and sold out in a year and a half. It covers the history of transplants in different countries, their conditions and their effects religious, ethical, psychological and cultural aspects in addition to considering immunological and clinical procedure. The book now is in its second edition.

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Dr. Reinaldo Rampolla-Selles

Reinaldo Rampolla-Selles

Dr. Reinaldo Emilio Rampolla-Selles is the co-director of the Lung Transplants Services and transplant pulmonologist at Oschner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana...

is the co-director of the Lung Transplants Services and transplant pulmonologist at Oschner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rampolla-Selles re-opened the Lung Transplant Services and performed the first lung transplant in the state after the program was shutdown during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

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Pediatrics
Pediatrics

Pediatrics

is the branch of medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

that deals with the medical care of infant

Infant

A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...

s, children, and adolescents.
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Dr. Antonia Coello Novello

Antonia Novello

Antonia Coello Novello, M.D., is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as fourteenth Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993...

is a pediatrician who served as the 14th Surgeon General of the United States

Surgeon General of the United States

The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...

from 1990 to 1993.

In 1978, Dr. Novello joined and received a commission in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the federal uniformed service of the United States Public Health Service and is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States....

(PHSCC) rising all the way up to flag officer

Flag Officer

A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...

/medical director grade. Her first assignment being as a project officer at the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases of the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

(NIH). She held various positions at NIH, rising to the medical director/flag rank in the PHSCC and to the job of Deputy Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 1986. She also served as Coordinator for AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

Research for NICHD from September 1987. In this role, she developed a particular interest in pediatric AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

. Dr. Novello made major contributions to the drafting and enactment of the Organ Transplantation Procurement Act of 1984 while assigned to the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

Committee on Labor and Human Resources, working with the staff of committee chairman Orrin Hatch

Orrin Hatch

Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...

. She was the first woman and the first Hispanic

Hispanic

(Puerto Rican) to hold the position of Surgeon General.

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Dr. Milagros (Mili) J. Cordero

Milagros J. Cordero

Dr. Milagros J. Cordero a.k.a. "Mili" is a pediatrician and a licensed, registered occupational therapist with board certification in Pediatrics...

is a licensed, registered occupational therapist with board certification in Pediatrics. She is the founder and President of ITT’S for Children, a professional group that assists and empowers parents to develop a better understanding of the strengths and needs of their children and to enhance their children's development to the full extent of their capability.

Dr. Cordero is certified in the use of SAMONAS and Tomatis sound therapies. She is a member of the national DIR Institute faculty and serves as vice-chair to Georgia 's State Interagency Coordinating Council for the Babies Can’t Wait Program, the professional advisory council of the National Cornelia De Lange Association, and the board of the Frazer Center in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

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Public health

Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias

Helen Rodriguez-Trias

Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias M.D. was a pediatrician, educator and women rights activist. She was the first Latina president of the American Public Health Association, a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association, and the recipient of the Presidential Citizen's...

was a Pediatrician and activist. She was the first Latina president of The American Public Health Association, a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association and the recipient of the Presidential Citizen's Medal. She testified before the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for passage of federal sterilization guidelines. The guidelines, which she drafted, require a woman's written consent to sterilization, offered in a language they can understand, and set a waiting period between the consent and the sterilization procedure. She is credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations in the United States, Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

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Teratology
Teratology

Teratology

Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development. It is often thought of as the study of human birth defects, but it is much broader than that, taking in other non-birth developmental stages, including puberty; and other non-human life forms, including plants.- Etymology :The...

refers to disfiguring birth defects or malformations. Another term for this is dysmorphology, meaning "the study of abnormal form."
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Dr. José F. Cordero

José F. Cordero

Dr. José F. Cordero is a pediatrician, epidemiologist, teratologist and Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Puerto Rico...

is a Pediatrician, Epidemiologist, Teratologist and Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Cordero was an Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service and the Founding Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 1994, Dr. Cordero was appointed deputy director of the National Immunization Program, where he made important and long-lasting contributions in many areas of one of the nation's most successful public health programs. In 2001, he was named the first director of the NCBDDD that was created by the Children's Health Act of 2000. In a few years, NCBDDD became a leading international institution devoted to research and prevention of birth defects and developmental disabilities and health promotion of people of ages living with disabilities.

Dr. Cordero, whose work has been published in many national and international journals, has promoted the eradication of Rubella

Rubella

Rubella, commonly known as German measles, is a disease caused by the rubella virus. The name "rubella" is derived from the Latin, meaning little red. Rubella is also known as German measles because the disease was first described by German physicians in the mid-eighteenth century. This disease is...

(German measles), a major cause of birth defects that can be prevented through vaccination. He has also promoted research to determine the causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities, and has promoted efforts to prevent serious birth defects (such as use of folic acid to prevent Spina Bifida

Spina bifida

Spina bifida is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through...

). He is a strong supporter of programs that promote wellness of persons with disabilities.

Microbiology

is the study of microorganisms, which are unicellular or cell-cluster microscopic

Microscopic

The microscopic scale is the scale of size or length used to describe objects smaller than those that can easily be seen by the naked eye and which require a lens or microscope to see them clearly.-History:...

organism

Organism

s. This includes eukaryote

Eukaryote

A eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes may more formally be referred to as the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear...

s such as fungi and protists, and prokaryote

Prokaryote

The prokaryotes are a group of organisms that lack a cell nucleus , or any other membrane-bound organelles. The organisms that have a cell nucleus are called eukaryotes. Most prokaryotes are unicellular, but a few such as myxobacteria have multicellular stages in their life cycles...

s, which are bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

and archaea

Archaea

The Archaea are a group of single-celled microorganisms. A single individual or species from this domain is called an archaeon...

. Virus

Virus

A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...

es, though not strictly classed as living organisms, are also studied.
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Monserrate Roman

Monserrate Roman, is a Puerto Rican scientist in NASA who helped NASA build part of the International Space Station. She is the Chief Microbiologist for the Environmental Control and Life Support System project who determines how microbes will behave under different situations and in different...

is a scientist in NASA

NASA

who helped NASA build part of the International Space Station

International Space Station

. She is the Chief Microbiologist

Microbiologist

A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists...

for the Environmental Control and Life Support System project who determines how microbes will behave under different situations and in different locations, such as the nooks and crannies of the Space Station. Roman was a member of the team which built the International Space Station

International Space Station

. The Station was designed with materials that are microbe-resistant. Temperature and humidity are controlled to discourage microbe growth. Roman must study an international, multicultural group of the microbes, since crewmembers, visitors, experiments and hardware hail from 15 Station partner countries and comes with his or her own unique set of microbes.

Mycology

Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...

is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

and their use to humans

Ethnomycology

Ethnomycology is the study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi , and can be considered a subfield of ethnobotany or ethnobiology...

as a source for tinder

Tinder

Tinder is easily combustible material used to ignite fires by rudimentary methods. A small fire consisting of tinder is then used to ignite kindling. Anything that can be ignited by a match can be considered tinder; or by more rigorous definition, anything that begins to glow under a shower of...

, medicinals (e.g., penicillin

Penicillin

Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....

) as well as their dangers, such as poison

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

ing or infection

Infection

An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...

. Published in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, this seminal work laid the foundations for the systematic classification of grasses, mosses and fungi. The term mycology and the complimentary mycologist were first used in 1836 by M.J. Berkeley.
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Dr. Carlos E. Chardón

Carlos E. Chardón

Dr. Carlos E. Chardón, D.Sc., D.Litt, was the first Puerto Rican mycologist. He was also known as "the Father of Mycology in Puerto Rico". He discovered the aphid "Aphis maidis", the vector of the sugar cane Mosaic virus. Mosaic viruses are plant viruses...

(1897–1965) a.k.a. the "Father of Mycology in Puerto Rico" Chardón is the first Puerto Rican mycologist. In 1922, he discovered the aphid "Aphis maidis", the vector of the mosaic of sugar cane. He was also the first Puerto Rican to hold the position of Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico. Chardón was involved in the organization of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) and initiated a project known as the Plan Chardón which involved a plan for the development of Agriculture Technicians.

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

is an academic and applied

Applied science

Applied science is the application of scientific knowledge transferred into a physical environment. Examples include testing a theoretical model through the use of formal science or solving a practical problem through the use of natural science....

discipline involving the scientific

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

study of mental processes

Mental function

Mental processes, mental functions and cognitive processes are terms often used interchangeably to mean such functions or processes as perception, introspection, memory, creativity, imagination, conception, belief, reasoning, volition, and emotion—in...

and behavior.
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Dr. Carlos Albizu Miranda

Carlos Albizu Miranda

Dr. Carlos Albizu Miranda is the first Hispanic educator to have a North American University renamed in his honor and one of the first Hispanics to earn a Ph.D...

(PhD) (1920–1984) was one of the first Hispanics to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology

Psychology

in the United States and the first Hispanic Educator to have a North American

North American

North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

renamed in his honor. Dr. Albizu Miranda, cousin of the Puerto Rican Nationalist

Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...

leader Pedro Albizu Campos

Pedro Albizu Campos

Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...

, was born in Ponce

Ponce, Puerto Rico

. In 1953, he earned his Doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in Clinical Psychology from Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

located in West Lafayette, Indiana

West Lafayette, Indiana

As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...

, becoming one of the first Hispanics to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology in the United States.

He was concerned that the Universities in Puerto Rico did not offer graduate programs in psychology and that the few students who pursued a career as psychologist had to study outside of Puerto Rico where they were trained with models and techniques that were not always sensitive to the needs and sociocultural characteristics of Hispanic clients. In 1966, he established in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the first independent professional school of psychology in North America, initially known as the "Instituto Psicológico de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rican Institute of Psychology) which is modeled after the institutes of psychology in Europe where the practice and internship are done at the same time.

The American Psychological Foundation Awards for 1980, presented Dr. Albizu Miranda with the "Award for the Development of Psychology Education in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean." On January 1, 2000, the Board of Trustees of the Caribbean Center for Advanced Studies, which includes the Miami Institute of Psychology, renamed the two-campus institution "Carlos Albizu University

Carlos Albizu University

Carlos Albizu University is a private non-profit university offering undergraduate and graduate studies in psychology, business, and education. It has two campuses: one in San Juan, Puerto Rico , and the other in Doral, Florida, near Miami...

----

Dr. Joseph O. Prewitt Diaz

Joseph O. Prewitt Diaz

Joseph Orlando Prewitt Díaz, PhD is a retired psychologist who specialized in psychosocial theory. He was the recipient of the American Psychological Association's 2008 International Humanitarian Award.-Early years:...

(PhD) a humanitarian psychologist developed the psychosocial support program within the American Red Cross

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...

, used in Central and South America as well as the Gujarat, India earthquake, and the South Asia Tsunami response and reconstruction, considered the leader of the second generation of humanitarian psychology, who systematized the staff development process of psychosocial responders for Central and South America as well as South Asian countries . A native of Cayey, Puerto Rico

Cayey, Puerto Rico

Cayey is a mountain town in central Puerto Rico located on the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Salinas; and west of San Lorenzo Cayey is spread over 21 wards and Cayey Pueblo...

he was the recipient of the 2008 APA International Humanitarian Award. as well as the Kellogg Foundation National Fellowship in 1983-1985, and the participated in the 1986 Woodrow Wilson Hispanic Leadership Fellows Program at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

Physiology

Dr. María Cordero Hardy

María Cordero Hardy

Dr. María Cordero Hardy,This name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name "Cordero" and the second or matrimonial family name is "Hardy". M.D., a.k.a...

, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a renowned physiologist. Physiology is the study of life, specifically, how cells, tissues, and organisms function. She is a scientist who did her research on vitamin E. Her work helped other scientists understand about how vitamin E works in the human body. She is now a professor at Louisiana State University and teaches students how to be medical technologists. A medical technologist is a person who studies your blood and other body fluids in the human body.

Rocket scientist

A Rocket scientist is an aerospace engineer who specialty are the rocket

Rocket

A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...

s which launch spacecraft

Spacecraft

A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....

into or operate in outer space

Outer space

.
----

Lissette Martinez

Lissette Martinez , is the lead electrical engineer for the Space Experiment Module program at the Wallops Flight Facility which is part of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.-Early years:...

is an Electrical Engineer and Rocket Scientist

Rocket

. Martinez is the lead electrical engineer for the Space Experiment Module program at the Wallops Flight Facility

Wallops Flight Facility

Wallops Flight Facility , located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other U.S. government agencies...

located in Virginia which is part of NASA's Goddard Flight Facility. She is responsible for providing electrical engineering support to Code 870 Space Experiment Module (SEM) program. She also is responsible for the testing of ground and flight hardware. Martinez works with students around the world, helping them with science experiments that will actually ride along on Space Shuttle missions and blast into space. Martinez was a member of the team that launched a rocket from White Sands, New Mexico to gather information on the Hale-Bopp Comet

Comet Hale-Bopp

Comet Hale–Bopp was perhaps the most widely observed comet of the 20th century, and one of the brightest seen for many decades...

in 1999. She was featured in the November 2002 issue of Latina magazine.

Space exploration
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....

Joseph Michael "Joe" Acaba

Joseph M. Acaba

Joseph Michael "Joe" Acaba is an educator, hydrogeologist, and NASA astronaut. In May 2004 he became the first person of Puerto Rican heritage to be named as a NASA astronaut candidate, when he was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Training Group 19...

is a teacher, hydrogeologist, and the first Puerto Rican NASA

NASA

astronaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

. In May 2004 he became the first person of Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

heritage to be named as a NASA astronaut candidate when he was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Training Group 19. He completed his training on February 10, 2006 and is currently assigned to STS-119

STS-119

-Crew notes:This mission was originally scheduled to bring the Expedition 9 crew to the ISS. This crew would have consisted of:-Mission parameters:* Mass:* Orbiter liftoff: * Orbiter landing: * Perigee: * Apogee:...

, which launched on March 15, 2009 to deliver the final set of solar arrays to the International Space Station

International Space Station

. Acaba carried a Puerto Rican Flag

Flag of Puerto Rico

The flags of Puerto Rico represent and symbolize the island and people of Puerto Rico. The most commonly used flags of Puerto Rico are the current flag, which represents the people of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico; municipal flags, which represent the different regions of the island; political...

aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...

during his flight.

Space physics
Space physics
Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the universe. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of topics, including the sun, solar wind, planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, auroras, cosmic rays, and synchrotron radiation...

Space physics is also known as space plasma physics.

Dr. Ramon E. Lopez is a Space Physicist and author, played an instrumental role in the implementation of a hands-on science program in elementary and middle grades Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland. Lopez, who leads a research group that is working in both space physics and science education, is the co-author of a book on space weather entitled "Storms from the Sun", which discusses the magnetic properties of the sun and solar wind and how these effect the magnetosphere of earth. Lopez is the 2002 recipient of the prestigious Nicholson Medal for Human Outreach which recognizes the humanitarian aspect of physics and physicists.

Zoology

is the branch of biology concerned with the study of animals.
----

Dr. Juan A. Rivero

Juan A. Rivero

Dr. Juan A. Rivero, the founder of the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo at the University of Puerto Rico's Mayagüez Campus, was born on March 5, 1923 in Puerto Rico.-Education:...

is a scientist and zoologist who discovered over a hundred animal species and founded the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo

Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo

Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo is a zoo located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It is the only zoo on the island. It is named in honor of Juan A. Rivero, its first director. It has an extensive collection of animals from all continents, as well as new facilities.-History:...

at the University of Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico

The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...

's Mayagüez Campus.

Dr. Rivero served as an Assistant Plant Physiologist, Instructor, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor before becoming a full Professor of Biology at UPR-Mayagüez in 1958. After founding the institution's zoo in 1954, he served as its first director, as well as founder and director of the UPR's Institute of Marine Biology. From 1959 to 1960 he served as director of the Biology Department and from 1962 to 1966, as Dean of Arts and Sciences, oversaw the work of over 200 faculty members and a two million dollar annual budget. Between 1966 and 1968, he served as a Research Associate at Harvard University and Visiting Scientist at the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Investigation.

Dr. Rivero discovered over a hundred animal species, particularly amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s and reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s, many of which were named in his honor and has written over 200 papers and articles and numerous books.

Inventors

Puerto Rican inventors earned an average of sixteen patents per year in the late seventies, twenty patents per year in the eighties, and twenty-seven patents per year in the nineties. The total number of patents issued by the U.S. Patent Office has seen similar increases.

In the field of Aerospace (see "Aerospace" section) Olga D. González-Sanabria contributed to the development of the "Long Cycle-Life Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries" which helps enable the International Space Station power system; Mercedes Reaves conrtbuted to the design of a viable full-scale solar sail and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail; Dr. Pedro Rodriguez invented a portable, battery-operated lift seat for people suffering from knee arthritis; Dr. Felix Soto Toro developed the Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (ASPTMS) (Electronic 3D measuring system) and Dr. Juan R. Cruz contributed in the development of entry, descent, and landing (EDL) systems for robotic and human exploration missions. Puerto Ricans have also invented products for commercial use.

Art

Ileana Sánchez invented a book for the blind that brings together art and braille

Braille

The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...

. Ms. Sanchez used a new technique called TechnoPrint and TechnoBraille. Rather than punch through heavy paper to create the raised dots of the Braille alphabet for the blind, these techniques apply an epoxy to the page to create not only raised dots, but raised images with texture. The epoxy melds with the page, becoming part of it, so that you can't scrape it off with your fingernail. The images are raised so that a blind person can feel the artwork and in color, not just to attract the sighted family who will read the book with blind siblings or children, but also for the blind themselves. The book "Art & the Alphabet, A Tactile Experience" is co-written with Rebecca McGinnis of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

. The Met has already incorporated the book into their Access program.

Electronics

Hydroelectric Wave-Energy Conversion System

Jorge Negron Crespo of San Juan, Puerto Rico, has invented a hydroelectric wave-energy conversion system. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method and system to capture kinetic energy of the sea waves and convert it to electrical power is presented. The hydrodynamic power of the waves is converted to mechanical power after impacting and moving a special panel. The mechanical power is converted into a controlled-cycle hydraulic power to activate a hydraulic motor, which in turn activates an electrical generator."

Semiconductors

David O. Ramos of Isabela, and Martin Bresciani of Guaynabo, developed a semiconductor substrate that includes electronic circuitry and has a machined feature formed therein. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A semiconductor substrate is formed by a process which includes providing the semiconductor substrate having the electronic circuitry formed therein, and performing a machining process on the substrate to form the machined feature therein."

Musical instruments

The cuatro

Cuatro (instrument)

The cuatro is any of several Latin American instruments of the guitar or lute family. The cuatro is smaller than a guitar. Cuatro means four in Spanish, although current instruments may have more than four strings....

is the national instrument of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

. It belongs to the lute

Lute

Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....

family of string instruments. Very little is known about the exact origin of the Cuatro.

William Richard Cumpiano

William R. Cumpiano

William Richard Cumpiano is a world-renowned authority on the making of stringed musical instruments who is also renowned for his writing and teaching of the art of luthiery. He has been involved in the preservation and understanding of the fading musical and musical-craft traditions of his...

is a world-renowned authority on the making of stringed musical instruments who is also renowned for his writing and teaching of the art of luthiery. He has built numerous cuatros for musicians in the United States and also has crafted cuatro variants of his own design: he developed a "seis", or six-course (12-string) cuatro that can be tuned in the same string intervals as a guitar. He also developed the "thinline" cuatro with a body depth of only two inches instead of the traditional three.

Plastics

Three Puerto Rican inventors, Guanglou Cheng and Carlos A. Ramirez, both of Mayagüez

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...

and Maria Aponte of Añasco, Puerto Rico

Añasco, Puerto Rico

Añasco , named after one of its settlers, Don Luis de Añasco, is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the west coast of the island bordering the Mona Passage to the west, north of Mayagüez, and Las Marias; south of Rincón, Aguada, and Moca and west of San Sebastián and Las Marias...

, developed biodegradable polymers. A polymer is a large molecule

Molecule

A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...

(macromolecule

Macromolecule

A macromolecule is a very large molecule commonly created by some form of polymerization. In biochemistry, the term is applied to the four conventional biopolymers , as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as macrocycles...

) composed of repeating structural unit

Structural unit

In polymer chemistry, a structural unit is a building block of a polymer chain. It is the result of a monomer which has been polymerized into a long chain....

s connected by covalent chemical bond

Chemical bond

A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances that contain two or more atoms. The bond is caused by the electromagnetic force attraction between opposite charges, either between electrons and nuclei, or as the result of a dipole attraction...

s. Well-known examples of polymers include plastics, DNA

DNA

and protein

Protein

s. According to the abstract released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Degradable polymides are prepared in high yield by polymerizing a monomer containing at least two anhydride groups, and a monomer containing at least two primary amine groups and at least one acidic group, in bulk or in a solvent. The polymides are very strong in terms of their mechanical properties, yet degradable under standard physiological conditions." The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 7,427,654.

Public health

Ceramic Water Filter

Ronald "Ron" Rivera

Ron Rivera (public health)

Ronald "Ron" Rivera was an American activist best known for developing an inexpensive ceramic water filter used to treat gray water in impoverished communities and for establishing community-based factories to produce the filters around the world.-Life and career:Born in The Bronx of Puerto Rican...

(1948–2008) invented an inexpensive ceramic water filter used to treat gray water in impoverished communities. He established community-based factories to produce the filters around the world.

The filter has been cited by the United Nations’ Appropriate Technology Handbook

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, and tens of thousands of filters have been distributed worldwide by organizations such as International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, Plan International, Project Concern International, Oxfam and USAID.

Floating Strainer

Angel Torres-Collazo of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, developed a big water floating strainer that is constructed with a rectangular frame. According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A cylindrical drum is attached to each corner of the rectangular frame. Below the rectangular frame, a box-strainer is fixed. The distance between the box-strainer and the rectangular frame is adjustable so that the level at which water is drawn can be raised or lowered."

Soft drinks

Ángel Rivero Méndez

Ángel Rivero Méndez was a Puerto Rican soldier, writer, journalist and a businessman who is credited with inventing the "Kola Champagne" soft drink...

(1856–1930) was a soldier, writer, journalist and a businessman who is credited with inventing the "Kola Champagne" a soft drink

Soft drink

A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...

After Rivero retired from the military, he founded the "Fabrica Polo Norte" (North Pole Factory) a soft drink company. Rivero is credited with the invention and elaboration of the "Kola Champagne" soda. Kola Champagne became, and still is, a very popular drink in Puerto Rico. It is also elaborated and sold in other countries, such as the United States, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

and Mexico.

Footnotes

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Aerospace

Archaeology

Astronomy

Astrophysics

Biochemistry

Botany

Ecology

Engineering

Hydrometeorology

Marine biology

Medicine

Microbiology

Mycology

Psychology

Physiology

Rocket scientist

Space explorationSpace explorationSpace exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....

Zoology

Inventors

Art

Electronics

Musical instruments

Plastics

Public health

Soft drinks

See also

Footnotes

Space exploration
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....