• Strengthen the capabilities of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) to broaden research opportunities in water and soil stewardship.
• Enhance the facilities dedicated to conducting multidisciplinary research in soil erosion, and transport of sediments.
• To positively impact the Greater Mayagüez region by providing training and information regarding rainwater harvesting.

• September 01, 2022 – August 31, 2025

• Dr. Salvador F. Acuña Guzmán (PI)
  
• Prof. Héctor O. López Méndez (Co-PI)

• Provide career readiness training to students in remote sensing, computer programming, and mechatronics for agriculture and natural resources.
• Promote capstone projects in agriculture for engineering students.
• Contribute to a better-qualified workforce in Agriculture 4.0.
• Strengthen collaboration between the College of Agriculture and the College of Engineering.

• September 01, 2023 – August 31, 2026

• Dr. Salvador F. Acuña Guzmán (PI)
  

• Design, construct and install a rainwater collection system at Finca Alzamora.
• Integrate this rainwater collection system with a rainfall simulator.
• Quantify water and soil losses caused by simulated erosive rainfall events at plot scale.

• September 01, 2023 – December 31, 2024

• Dr. Salvador F. Acuña Guzmán (PI)
  

• The objectives of this project are to evaluate various aspects of water use, water requirements, and optimizing crop yields using microirrigations system. 

• January 12, 2015 – September 30, 2024

• Dr. Eric W. Harmsen (CO-PI)
  

• The objectives of this research are to evaluate the incidence, severity, and relative preference of various pests in different cultivars of mango in southern Puerto Rico, possible effects of some abiotic factors, and chemical and cultural management for the detection and reduction of these pests.

• December 01, 2021 – November 30, 2025

• Dr. Eric W. Harmsen (CO-PI)

The project objective is to enable effective decision-making that supports building just and equitable resilience in the USVI and equitable resilience in the USVI and PR. Our focus will be to address climate hazards related to extreme rainfall, extreme heat, drought, landslides, and coastal and riverine flooding. By utilizing a human-centered design approach, the network will develop effective and scalable climate actions.

• January 10, 2023 – August 31, 2027

• Dr. Eric W. Harmsen (Co-PI)

• Evaluate the effect of the use different yeast strains during the fermentation process on aroma and flavor quality characteristics of products made from the Limani coffee variety.
• To design, construct and evaluate a computer controlled continuous fermentation system for coffee.
• To evaluate the effect of yeast inoculum concentration and temperature on the minimum time required to remove mucilage, and on the ratings given by Q graders related to aroma, flavor and general quality of coffee (as defined by SCAA).
• To prepare a small land field of selected coffee trees to develop of future research and trainings activities focused to local farmers.
• To prepare a Web Page with technical information and queries related to specialty coffees.

• January 1, 2021 –  December 31, 2024

• Dr. Javier Huertas Miranda (PI)
  

• Determine the consumers preferences between coffees made with different varieties, roasting levels, and mixtures between them.
• Refine and evaluate methods to obtain high-quality concentrated coffee-extracts prepared with water and ethanol, as solvents.
• Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the use of the concentrated coffee extra

• January 01, 2022 – December 31, 2025

• Dr. Javier Huertas Miranda (PI)
  

• Evaluate the coffee harvesting capacity, efficiency, effectiveness, coffee loss and tree damage of alternative methods that are commercially available and compare them  with the traditional basket.
• Evaluate the quality of the harvested coffee in terms of the vegetal material collected, ripeness composition and the amount of pulped coffee present.
• Evaluate the worker perception and acceptance of the alternate coffee harvesting methods studied.

• January 20, 2022 – December 31, 2024
  

• Dr. Francisco M. Monroig Saltar (PI)
  

• Gather current fruit production data to establish an accurate estimate of the amount fruit crops (i.e., mango, papaya, and pineapple) that remain unharvested or is otherwise lost and could be used to manufacture value-added products.
• Define the formulation and manufacturing process for the development of commercial value-added products from surplus mango, papaya, and pineapple of interest to stakeholders.
• Develop blueprints and related documentation for a model manufacturing plant to produce the value-added products of interest.

• December 07, 2022 – December 06, 2026

• Dr. Fernando J. Pérez Muñoz (PI)
  

• Establish the Puerto Rico Meat Industry Alliance (PRMIA) to bring together all meat industry stakeholders (i.e., production, harvesting, processing, academia, and government) to prepare and implement a combined strategic development plan.
• Establish an industry accepted certificate to provide the food safety and technical knowledge and skills needed at farm and slaughterhouse levels.
• Prepare faculty to offer the industry accepted certificate assuring effort sustainability post project intervention.
• Develop a plan for the establishment of a rendering facility to research alternative feed ingredients that maintain nutritional quality while reducing costs.

• November 15, 2023 – November 14, 2027
  

• Dr. Fernando J. Pérez Muñoz (CO-PI)
  

• Establish an undergraduate MPP minor concentration.
• Offer a “787 Workshop Series” to provide an experiential MPP experience in a lab environment.
• Offer a “787 Study Tour” to experience Puerto Rico’s meat and poultry industry.
• Develop model blueprints to streamline the establishment of small MPP plants.

• March 01, 2023 – February 29, 2028
  

• Dr. Fernando J. Pérez Muñoz (CO-PI)