Dr. Manuel Jimenez
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Principal Investigator
Collaborative Industry Partnerships
Executive Board
Project Core
Senior Personnel
Dr. Manuel Jiménez received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1999, MS from Univ. of Puerto Rico Mayaguez in 1992, and BS from Univ. Autonoma de Santo Domingo in 1986.
His teaching and research interests center on the areas of digital and mixed-signal circuits design and characterization, rapid prototyping of scalable, reconfigurable systems, embedded systems design, and Engineering Education.
Dr. Jiménez established in 1999 the TI-UPRM Program and Texas Instruments Integrated Circuits Design Laboratory (TI-ICDL), and later the Rapid Systems Prototyping Lab (RASP), and the Electronic Testing & Characterization Laboratory (ETC). He also directs the Embedded Systems Design Laboratory at UPRM’s ECE Department. He also is the lead author of the book “Introduction to Embedded Systems” published by Springer in 2014 and adopted as textbook by over a dozen universities across PR, the US, and Europe. His textbook has received over 1.1M downloads.
Dr. Jiménez is a Senior IEEE Member, Honorary Member of Golden Key International Honor Society, and Distinguished UPRM Alumni. From 2013 to 2018 served as Associate Dean of Engineering, where he created R2DEEP. He is currently the director of the UPRM R&D Center.
Dr. Jimenez is the Principal Investigator (PI) and Director of PEARLS and mentor for all Electrical Engineering PEARLS Students.
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Executive Board
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Project Core
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Senior Personnel
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Dr. Janet Bonilla
Psychology
External Evaluator
Executive Board
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Claudia Santana
Psychology
Project Manager
Executive Board
Claudia Santana Ochoa received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) in 2019. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychological Counseling from the Carlos Albizu University at Mayagüez. In addition, she is completing a certification in Nutritional Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. Her interests in specialization and research are focused on nutritional psychology and human sexuality. Claudia is currently vice president and co-founder of the Association of Psychology: Health, Body, and Mind, recently established at the Albizu University of Mayagüez. Claudia is the Project Manager of the e-PEARLS project.
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Dr. Luisa Guillemard
Psychology
Internal Assesment
Executive Board
Dr. Luisa Guillemard is the internal evaluator for the PEARLS Program. She has a B.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, a M.S. in Clinical Psychology from the Caribbean Center of Advanced Studies in San Juan [today the Carlos Albizu University] and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University at College Station, TX, post-graduate training in evaluation at The Evaluators Institute (TEI) at George Washington University and the AEA/CDC Summer Evaluation Institute. She has more than 15 years of experience as a program evaluator and grant writing. Her portfolio as an evaluator includes projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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Dr. Marcelo Suarez
Engineering Science and Materials
Academic Mentoring and Training
Executive Board
Project Core
Prof. Oscar Marcelo Suárez received his BS in Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering from the National University of Córdoba, Argentina and worked in its Materials Research Center prior to his admission at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He obtained his MS and Ph.D. degrees in Metallurgical Engineering in that institution. He joined the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez in Aug. 2000 where he has been involved in research and education in the broad Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) field. Nowadays, he is the coordinator of the MSE Graduate Program, the first of its kind in Puerto Rico that he helped established in 2016. Prof. Suárez is also the director of the first Nanotechnology Center created in Puerto Rico in 2008 with support from the National Science Foundation that totaled $ 9,240,000, one of the largest investments of the Foundation in PR. He is Fellow of ASM International, one of the largest materials-related associations in the world. This year, he received the Ellen Swallow Richards award conferred by The Minerals Metals & Materials Society for his work engaging minority students into MSE careers. Currently, he assists the PEARLS endeavor as Co-Principal Investigator and mentor of the graduate participants.
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Dr. Aidsa Santiago
Engineering Science and Materials
Technical-Educational Research and Assesment
Executive Board
Project Core
Senior Personnel
Dr. Aidsa I. Santiago-Román is a Professor and Chair in the Engineering Sciences and Materials (CIIM) Department at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM). Dr. Santiago earned a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering from UPRM and Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Dr. Santiago has over 20 years of experience in academia and has been successful in obtaining funding and publishing for various research projects. She’s also the founder and advisor of the first ASEE student chapter in Puerto Rico.
Her research interests include investigating students’ understanding of difficult concepts in engineering sciences, especially for underrepresented populations (Hispanic students). She has studied the effectiveness engineering concept inventories (Statics Concept Inventory – CATS and the Thermal and Transport Concept Inventory – TTCI) for diagnostic assessment and cultural differences among bilingual students. She has also contributed to the training and development of faculty in developing and evaluating various engineering curriculum and courses at UPRM, applying the outcome-based educational framework.
She has also incorporated theories on social cognitive career choices and student attrition mitigation to investigate the effectiveness of institutional interventions in increasing the retention and academic success of talented engineering students from economically disadvantaged families. She’s also involved in a project that explores the relationship between the institutional policies at UPRM and faculty and graduate students’ motivation to create good relationships between advisors and advisees.
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Dr. Sonia Bartolomei
Industrial Engineering
Outreach, Access, and Recruitment
Project Core
Senior Personnel
Dr. Sonia M. Bartolomei Suárez received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University (MSU) in 1996, MSIE from Purdue University in 1985, and BSIE from University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus in 1983. Her teaching and research interests include: Discrete Event Simulation, Facilities Planning, Material Handling Systems, Women in Academia in STEM fields, Engineering in Education and Access to Post-Secondary Education. From August 2006 through February 2008, served as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the College of Engineering. She was Co-PI of the NSF’s UPRM ADVANCE IT Catalyst Project awarded during 2008. From 2008-2016, she was Co-PI of the USDE’s Puerto Rico College Access Challenge Grant Project. In this project, she designed the webpage exito.upr.edu, organized open houses and FAFSA days for the UPR system. In 2015, she was recognized by the USA’s First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative, as one of the leaders in Puerto Rico working to eliminate the barriers facing first generation students to access college education. From 2015-2018, she was the Coordinator of the UPRM College of Engineering Recruitment, Retention and Distance Engineering Education Program (R 2 DEEP). Currently, she is Co-PI of the project "Recruiting, Retaining, and Engaging Academically Talented Students from Economically Disadvantaged Groups into a Pathway to Successful Engineering Careers," sponsored by NSF DUE. In this project, she is the mentor for all Industrial Engineering PEARLS Students.
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Dr. Pedro Quintero
Mechanical Engineering
Industry Experiences and Sponsorship
Senior Personnel
Dr. Pedro O. Quintero Aguilo received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland-College Park in 2008, MSME from Univ. of Puerto Rico Mayaguez in 1998, and BSME from Univ. of Puerto Rico Mayaguez in 1996.
His teaching and research interests center on the areas of materials, advanced manufacturing, and electronic packaging. Dr. Quintero is also involved in supporting local agriculture in PR by providing technical assistance and development of mechanical solutions for enhanced productivity and energy efficiency.
Dr. Quintero established in 2012 the Advanced Electronic Packaging Group at the Mechanical Engineering Department. He has published extensively on reliability of interconnects and thermal management of pulse power electronics.
Dr. Quintero is an ASME, iMAPS, NSPE and CIAPR active member. He is an Honorary Member of Golden Key International Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and Distinguished ME Professor. He serves as the ASME faculty advisor and the NASA Moonbuggy team that won top honors at the 2018 international competition in Huntsville, Al. From 2012 to 2014 served as Associate Director of the ME Department.
Dr. Quintero is the Principal Investigator (PI) of a USDA NRCS project and a NASA-UPRM collaborative agreement. He is the mentor for all Mechanical Engineering PEARLS Students.
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Dr. Nayda Santiago
Electrical and Computer Engineering
ARG & PMP (INGE-3003)
Senior Personnel
Nayda G. Santiago is professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus (UPRM) where she teaches the Capstone Course in Computer Engineering. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus in 1989, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University in 1990, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Computer Engineering from Michigan State University in 2003. She currently leads the Southeast Region of the Computing Alliance for Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI). She has directed the Caribbean Celebration of Women in Computing conferences and in 2019 the first Explore CRC Puerto Rico conference to increase the participation of women in Computing. Dr. Santiago is academic alliance member of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), lifetime member of SACNAS, senior member of the IEEE, a member of the ACM, and senior member of the Latinas in Computing (LiC) organization. Dr. Santiago has been awarded 2017 CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award, 2008 Henaac Educator Award, 2008 Distinguished Computer Engineer of the CIAPR, and the UPRM Distinguished Alumni award.
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Dr. Nelson Cardona
Chemical Engineering
Educational and Technical Research
Senior Personnel
Nelson Cardona Martínez received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW) in 1989 and his BS from the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez in 1983. His teaching and research interests include heterogeneous catalysis, sustainable chemistry, reaction kinetics, chemical reaction engineering, informal science and engineering education, and outreach.
Cardona Martínez established the Nanostructures Catalytic Materials laboratory in 1990. Since then his research group has developed catalytic materials and processes to help solve some of the world’s most critical challenges such as climate change and energy security. The work was published in high impact peer-reviewed journals. He was the director of the NSF sponsored Wisconsin – Puerto Rico Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (Wi(PR) 2 EM) from 2009 to 2016. He is currently the co-PI and Education Director of the current Wi(PR) 2 EM. He is also currently the director of the NSF supported Center for a Sustainable Water, Energy and Food Nexus (SusWEF). He participates in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture supported project entitled Project Based Education via Community Engagement for Disaster Relief and Resiliency and collaborates with the University Institute for the Development of the Communities. Cardona Martínez is a member of the North America Catalysis Society and honorary member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. He is associate director of the Science on Wheels Educational Center. Cardona Martínez is senior personnel of PEARLS and mentor for all Chemical Engineering PEARLS Students.
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Dr. Carla Lopez
Civil Engineering & Surveying
Outreach, Access, and Recruitment
Senior Personnel
Carla López del Puerto received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Saint Louis University in 2009, M.S. in Construction Management from The University of Oklahoma in 2003 and B.S. in Architecture from Universidad de las Amérícas Puebla, México in 2000.
Prior to joining UPRM, she was a designer and cost estimator for The Benham Companies, an instructor at Southern Illinois University and an assistant professor at Colorado State University. Her research agenda focuses on construction management research and construction education and training. She has successfully obtained funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of The National Academies and other agencies. She is currently the principal investigator of the Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education – Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP), a collaborative NSF funded project among three University of Puerto Rico (UPR) campuses to develop an interdisciplinary undergraduate program to educate students to design and build resilient and sustainable infrastructure. She is also currently the co-principal investigator of “Education for Improving Resiliency of Coastal Infrastructure”, a project part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence.
Dr. López del Puerto mentors Civil Engineering and Surveying PEARLS students.
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Dr. Anidza Valentin
General Library
Inge Coord and Literacy
Senior Personnel
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Dr. Manuel Rodriguez
CS and Software Engineering
CIIC / INSO Faculty mentor
Senior Personnel
Computer Science and Engineering professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. Interest Areas: Database Management Systems, Database Middleware Technology, WWW and Databases, Mobile Computing and Networking
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