By Monica I. Feliú-Mójer, Ph.D.

"My biggest satisfaction has been to graduate the program’s inaugural class of students."

This is how Dr. Lorna Cintrón- González describes the first great milestone of an adventure that began four years ago. In August of 2013, she joined the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Francis Marion University (FMU), as assistant professor and coordinator of the first baccalaureate program in industrial engineering in the history of this academic institution in South Carolina. 

Cintrón-González has embraced her role as a pioneer. She was the first professor in industrial engineering at Francis Marion University. During her first two years there, she was not only the first, but the only one. She came to the institution shortly after graduating with a doctorate in this discipline and a specialty in ergonomics from Penn State University, to start and lead the first program in industrial engineering at FMU. 

"My work as a coordinator consists predominantly of teaching, but I also spend a lot of time establishing relationships with industry for the benefit of students and the program. In addition, I am leading the preparation for the program to be accredited by the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which will help give it prestige and recognition," she says.

The FMU industrial engineering program is special because the school is predominantly liberal arts. In addition, it is the only program of its kind in the Pee Dee region in northeastern South Carolina, and one of two in the state.

The International Space Station (ISS) as well as space shuttles possess a limited amount of energy to keep their equipment working once they have been launched into space. Could you imagine being able to generate energy, for the ISS, using molecules found in the astronauts’ urine? Or being able to turn non-drinking water into one that is actually safe to drink?  Moreover, being able to use special materials, called biomaterials, to develop bone grafts?

Although this may sound like science fiction, Dr. Eduardo Nicolau and his students are working very hard to find solutions to these real-world problems. For instance, astronauts, people with severe health conditions, and countries where water scarcity is an issue, could benefit from Dr. Nicolau’s research.

But, how is he planning to accomplish these solutions? It is by studying the interaction between nanoparticles and biomacromolecules. What this means is that Dr. Nicolau focuses on trying to understand how tiny materials, called nanoparticles, “see” biological molecules. “We would like to know if they ‘meet and greet’ or if they ignore each other”, expressed Dr. Nicolau. Depending on the kind of interaction, Dr. Nicolau decides if these nanoparticles or biological molecules are suitable for solving the aforementioned real-world problems.

At some point in our lives we have asked questions regarding the environment, the animals that inhabit planet earth, and climatic conditions. How does an increase in temperature could affect some organisms? How do small changes in a specific environment can have a large-scale effect on our planet? How does human activity affect our bodies of water? These are some of the questions that Dr. Restrepo, an ecologist and professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras, is attempting to answer through her research projects.

Dr. Restrepo had a very interesting childhood. Since she was a little girl she had many questions about the workings of living organisms around her. Her mom and dad were scientists back in Colombia. Since an early age, she was in awe with her mom’s biology textbook. Her dad was a mathematician and had a large collection of books and magazines on various topics. Carla enjoyed organizing his library. Although she cannot pinpoint a specific event that inspired her to be a scientist, she grew up in an environment were knowledge was highly esteemed.

She grew up in several countries allowing her to be exposed to different cultures. Early in her childhood she lived in the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico and at age 8 moved to Colombia. Shed lived there until she graduate from the  Universidad del Valle in Cali where she majored in Biology. She had her first research experience, published her first peer-reviewed article, and fell-in-love with birds during her undergraduate years.

This year, we are celebrating a decade of promoting science and research in Puerto Rico. Through our programs and initiatives we have transformed the way science and scientists are presented in the media. We have created thousands of resources to make science relevant to the reality and culture of students in our classrooms. We have also established programs that foster the development of the next generation of Puerto Rican scientists and innovators. Our efforts have been recognized by the White House and by the Caribbean Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

A seemingly wild idea

A little over 10 years ago, CienciaPR was as an idea. What if there was a website where anyone in the world who is interested in science and Puerto Rico could find each other? What if scientists could contribute to Puerto Rico no matter where they were located?

This seemingly wild idea was born at Stanford University —in the heart of Silicon Valley—where founder Daniel Colón-Ramos was a postdoc and around the same time where social networks like Facebook were created.

CienciaPR was envisioned as a space for connection, cooperation and the exchange of ideas and resources. We realized that by creating a web-based network that brought together the geographically dispersed Puerto Rican scientific community we could transform the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) ecosystem in Puerto Rico. Ten years ago we could not have imagined that it would become so much more.