Jorge Bauzá Ortega, scientific director of the San Juan Bay Estuary Program, is currently leading research on contaminants of emerging concern.

Oceanographer Jorge Bauzá Ortega's connection to the sea began at an early age. As a child, the scientific director of the San Juan Bay Estuary Program collected seashells and sponges, among other remains of marine species, and the sample grew so large that his mother created a designated space for him to preserve it.

The non-profit organization, Para la Naturaleza, recently awarded five grants for interdisciplinary research on botany through its Botanical Institute (IB). 

The Botanical Institute is a novel initiative in Puerto Rico that is part of the global trends that seek to highlight the importance of botanical science both in ecosystem conservation efforts and in the enrichment of human culture. This opportunity is aimed at developing new approaches and methods to create knowledge that place botany as an integral part of human affairs in all its dimensions.