Name: Ana V. Arache

Education info: BS in Civil Engineering from Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico

Country of origin: Puerto Rico

Academic interest: My research is focused on human ecology and the sustainability of food and water systems through the recycling of organic materials. The main goal of my work is to improve human-environment relationships promoting research, education and technology transfer in schools and communities.

Email address: anaveroa@gmail.com

Advisor: Jorge Ortiz Zayas

Name: Sofia Olivero Lora

Education info: BS in Biological Sciences with an Emphasis on Ecology and Sustainable Management; MS in Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation

Country of origin: Puerto Rico

Academic interest: Local perception and provision of ecosystem services by urban residential green infrastructure, particularly by urban yards.

Email address: sofia.olivero@gmail.com

Advisor: Dr. Elvia Melendez-Ackerman

Name: Arelis I. Arocho-Montes

Education info: B. Sc., Marine Biology, May 1997: University of Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus; MP, Environmental Planning, June 2007: University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus; Ph. D. Candidate, Environmental Science:University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus

Country of origin: Puerto Rico

Academic interest: As a marine biologist and planner, my major research interests include different but integrated themes such as marine conservation, gentrification of traditional coastal communities, changes in environmental public policy, the uses of land on coasts and the effects of degradation of marine habitats on the human coastal communities.

Email address: arelis.arocho@gmail.com

Advisor: Alberto Sabat

Name: Rohit K. Sharma

Education info: MSc. in Biotechnology from HNB Garhwal University, India. Candidate of PhD in Environmental Science.

Country of origin: India

Academic interest: Renewable energy and Non-aqueous enzymology.

Email address: investigations7@gmail.com

Advisor: Dr. Kai Griebenow

Name: Xianbin Liu

Education info: BS in Horticulture at Agricultural University of Hebei Province, China; MS in Horticulture at Agricultural University of Hebei Province and Botanic Garden in Chinese Academy of Science; Phd in Environmental Science in UPR-RP

Country of origin: China

Academic interest: Wild fire pattern and frequency in tropical primary forest. The effect of soil calcium heterogeneity on plant diversity in tropical primary forest.

Email address: liuxianbin002@gmail.com

Advisor: Xiaoming Zou

Name: Wilmer O. Rivera De Jesús

Education info: B.A. Educación Secundaria, Especialidad en Biología y Ciencia General, UPR-Río Piedras, M.S. Manejo Ambiental, Universidad Metropolitana; Actualmente estoy en mi segundo año de Ph.D. en Ciencias Ambientales con enfoque interdisciplinario.

Country of origin: Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

Academic interest: Me interés se basa en la aplicación de la ecofisiología vegetal en procesos de rehabilitación de humedales urbanos y el re-establecimiento de servicios del ecosistema.

Email address: wilmer777@gmail.com,wilmer.rivera2@upr.edu

Advisor: Dr. Elvira Cuevas

Name: Jessica Castro Prieto

Education info: BS in Biological Sciences at Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo-Uruguay. MS in Ecology in the University of Puerto Rico.

Country of origin: Uruguay

Academic interest: I am interested in understanding urban growth dynamics in adjacent lands of protected areas and how this land use affect natural ecosystems, ecosystem services and biodiversity inside protected areas. Also, I am particularly interested in measuring the perception that neighbors have from living next to a national park, a wildlife refuge or any other kind or protected area.

Email address: chechiasp@gmail.com

Advisor: Jess Zimmerman and William Gould (co-advisor)

Name: Molly Ramsey

Education info: Bachelor of Arts in Biology at College of Wooster, Ohio; Masters of Science in Environmental Science at University of Maryland, College Park

Country of origin: United States

Academic interest: As a step towards building the adaptive capacity of urban coastal watersheds to flood risk, I am studying the social-ecological dynamics that have created vulnerability to flooding within the highly urbanized Rio Piedras watershed in Puerto Rico. Drawing on theory and analytical approaches from social-ecological systems, urban political ecology, hydrology, and knowledge systems, I will examine how changes in the hydrological regime are related to urban transformationsand assess the flooding vulnerability of a particular community with the Rio Piedras watershed.

Email address: ramsey.molly@gmail.com

Advisor: Elvia Melendez-Ackerman and Tischa Munoz-Erickson

Name: Xian Wang

Education info: BS in geographic information system at Anhui Normal university, Phd in Environmental Science at University of Puerto Rico

Country of origin: China

Academic interest: Land use and land change in China, especially, build visual criteria estimating land use/land cover classes

Email address: ahunwx@gmail.com

Advisor: Qiong Gao

Name: Dieunel Derilus

Education info: BS in biology at the “ Université d’ Etat d’Haïti “

Country of origin: Haiti

Academic interest: I’m working on characterization of the structure and microbial community dynamics in saltwater anaerobic digesters by using next sequencing generation technology.

Email address: dieunelderilus@yahooo.fr , dieunelderilus@gmail.com

Advisor: Steven Massey, PhD

Name: Chao Wang

Education info:BS in geographic information system at Anhui Normal university, Master in GIS at Anhui Normal University?Phd in Environmental Science at University of Puerto Rico

Country of origin: China

Academic interest: My research interest is in using mid-high resolution remote sensing to study the effects of land use and land cover change and climate change on ecosystem function and biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Currently, I am working on land cover change detection using MODIS and TM data.

Email address: waynechao128@gmail.com

Advisor: Mei Yu

Name: María José Andrade Núñez

Education info: BS in Biological Sciences, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay. 2004; MS in Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. 2009; MS Student. Geographical Information Systems On-line program. Lund University, Sweden. PhD Student. Environmental Science Department. University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.

Country of origin: Durazno, Uruguay.

Academic interest: Throughout my career as a biologist one of my major concerns has been how human activities affect biodiversity, and how knowledge and technologies can be applied to minimize the negative impacts of human activities on natural ecosystems and wildlife. Specifically, for my PhD dissertation I will evaluate the effect of urban expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean to determine its spatial location, drivers, and implications for biodiversity conservation, food supply and ecosystem service provision.

Email address: mj_andradenunez@yahoo.com

Advisor: Mitchell Aide

Name: MANOJ SAXENA

Education info: B.Sc. at HNB Garhwal university India , MS at Pennsylvania State University, USA.

Country of origin: India

Academic interest: Environmental pollutants are the leading cause of cancer. My interest is in developing cancer drug delivery systems using protein modifications.

Email address: mks131@gmail.com

Advisor: Dr. Kai Griebenow

Name: Luis Villanueva-Cubero

Education info: BS Computer Science (Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus; 1997); MP (Master in Planning), Environmental and Economics concentrations (Graduate School of Planning, UPR Rio Piedras; 2011)

Country of origin: Aguadilla, PR

Academic interest: Land Cover / Land Use Change (LCLUC) in coastal vegetative wetlands in Puerto Rico from the period of decline in large-scale agriculture to present (1940-2010).

Advisor: Mei Yu, PhD

Name: Shweta Sharma

Education info: BS in biotechnology at Ranchi University (India); MS in biotechnology at Garhwal University (India)

Country of origin: India

Academic Interest: Learn basic methodologies for protein engineering toward generating novel enzyme constructs so as to enhance biofuel production.

Email address: shwetasharmabio@gmail.com

Advisor: Dr. Abel J Baerga Ortiz

Name: James Aaron Hogan

Education info: BS in Ecology and Biodiversity at The University of Denver, MS in progress in Environmental Sciences UPRRP

Country of origin: Colorado, USA

Academic Interest: Tropical Plant Ecology, Tropical Forest Ecology, Climate Change, Statistics

Email address: jamesaaronhogan@gmail.com

Advisor: Jess Zimmerman

Name: Xiucheng Zeng

Education info: BS in Science of Environment and Resources at South China Agricultural University, MS in progress in Environmental Sciences UPRRP

Country of origin: GuangDong, China

Academic Interest: Soil Chemistry; Biodiversity; Forest Ecology; Plant Nutrition; Mathematical Modeling and Statistics.

Email address: zeng.xiucheng@gmail.com

Advisor: Xiaoming Zou

Name: Hagmel Vega

Education info: BS in Wildlife Management. University of Puerto Rico, Humacao. M.P. Environmental and Urban Planning. University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.

Country of Origin: Puerto Rico.

Academic interest: An integrated approach is essential to the development of green cities, which combines social values, the built environment, and the natural elements of urban green spaces in regional planning in order to achieve a better quality of life for the citizens. I’m interested in urban environment and urban planning issues, particularly in green urban spaces and the relationship between these spaces and the people in the city, and the importance of these spaces in the development of livable cities. I would like to study urban green spaces from several perspectives: (a) How urban planning has influenced their development? (b) What are the relationships between these green spaces and the city's population? (c) What are their ecological services?

Email address: hagmel.vega@upr.edu

Advisor: Gabriel Moreno Viqueira Ph.D

Name: Benjamin Branoff

Education info: B.S., Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida M.S., Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University Ormond Beach, Florida, USA

Country of origin: Florida, USA

Academic Interest: My current research will focus on urban mangroves ecosystems, in their function compared to those of relatively pristine conditions, as well as in their relationship with surrounding human communities and metropolitan areas. I hope to answer questions regarding the influence of human activities on specific mangrove function, such as: habitat provision, nutrient processing and/or shoreline stabilization. I also hope to gauge human perceptions of the above listed functions (services) in these ecosystems.

Advisor: Ariel Lugo

Name: Christopher Nytch

Education info: BA in Geology from Oberlin College; MS in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont

Country of origin: United States

Academic Interest: My research is focused on the interconnected hydrological functions of green and gray infrastructure in urbanized contexts. In particular I am studying/modeling stormwater runoff and flooding in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Email address: chris.nytch@ites.upr.edu

Advisor: Elvia Meléndez-Ackerman

Name: Elvis Torres Delgado

Education info: BS in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.

Country of Origin: Puerto Rico

Academic interest: Mainly interested in atmospheric sciences. Specially interested in mineral dust and how it can affect the optical and microphysical properties of clouds, how can it affect the radiative budget, and how can it affect local climate.

Email address: elvis.torres810@gmail.com

Name: Marianne Cartagena Colón

Education info: Environmental Sciences, BS and Sciences Demography Periti, MS

Country of origin: Guayama, P.R.

Academic interest: My research experience is in urbanism process and human population dynamics as well as watersheds and land use planning through population statistics data process with Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Other of my interests is the background history of the natural resources related to Remote Sensing analysis.

Email address: mcartagena82@gmail.com

Advisor: Prof. Gabriel Moreno, Phd

Name: Osé Pauléus

Education info: Bachelor's degree in Agro-Forestry and Environmental Sciences at the American University of the Caribbean, Southern Haiti. Master's degree at agronomy department, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus

Country of origin: Haiti

Academic interest: I am interested in understanding the different factors that affect Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) in the tropics. Generally, I am interested in restoration ecology, Biodiversity conservation and human impacts on the environment.

Email address: paulose81@gmail.com

Advisor: Mitchell Aide