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Core Areas

The physical and philosophical proximity of experts in social and hard sciences and engineering, coupled with the peculiarities of a tropical environment such as ours, make UPRM uniquely suited to face current and envisioned challenges that impact the well being of PR and the Nation. Lessons derived from recent Irma and Maria events have demonstrated the need for a rapid response from UPRM to contribute to the reinstatement of PR’s productive infrastructure, telecommunications and food security. Consistent with this vision, in consultation with the UPRM research community, it is clear that we need to establish an actual synergistic and inclusive approach to sustain RICE (research, innovation and creative endeavors) under very demanding financial conditions, and accordingly, a technology challenge-oriented approach is proposed, instead of a traditional discipline based definition. This vision is built on current mature and strong areas of research and expertise, without excluding important work in emerging and incipient niches, to keep research active.

The nature of current and forthcoming challenges forces our RICE Agenda to be shifted towards a real synergistic and global response. Keeping that concept in mind, the following target areas have been identified. Enclosed figures seek to graphically summarize this new approach.

Strengths, Emerging and Incipient Areas

Agricultural Sciences

Research activities at the College of Agriculture will focus on developing applied technology and innovation, adapting to changing climate conditions and ensuring food security. The geographical position of the Research Stations makes them ideal for agricultural research year-round and results may be extended to tropical agriculture worldwide.

Strength
Strength

Strength

Plant Production Systems, Genetic Resources and Breeding, Integrated Management of New and Emerging Pests and Diseases, Animal Systems
Emerging
Emerging

Emerging Areas

Community Resources for Sustainable Development, Agricultural Economics, Marketing and Added Value, Soil Health and Quality, Organic Farming, Food Safety, Science and Technology, Watershed Modeling, Water Quality and GIS
Initial
Initial

Incipient Areas

Suitable Crops for Climate Change, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy at Dairy and Research Farms, Forest Management and Timber Production, Industrial Hemp Production, Honeybee Production and Pollination

Business Administration

The College of Business Administration research goals are tightly related to the Business Research Center and the Center of Economic and Business Development operational plans. Puerto Rico’s reconstruction efforts will provide a chance to participate in projects that can provide research opportunities. Most of the opportunities are in the areas of economic development, professional development, and project management

Strength
Strength

Strength

Entrepreneurship, Operational Management, Business Development, Enterprises Ecosystems, Ethics
Emerging
Emerging

Emerging Areas

Research Compliance, Critical Thinking, Big Data
Initial
Initial

Incipient Areas

Electronic Commerce, Strategic Management, Data Mining, Public Finance, Financial Institutions

Arts & Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences is the biggest college on campus and includes both teaching and research facilities. New platforms are being developed constantly for data management and processing. Many government agencies have required training programs in areas where the Faculty are experts and teach on a regular basis. In addition, the private sector has specific needs for problem-solving of issues related to hard science.

Strength
Strength

Strength

Sciences: Astrophysics, Radio Astronomy, Science Education, Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physics education, Geomorphology, Geophysics, Seismology, Carbonates
Remote Sensing ,Geology of the Caribbean, Paleontology, Marine Geology, Geological Hazards, Sequence Stratigraphy, Tectonics, Field Geology, Applied Math, Big Data, Genetics and Genomics,, Microbiology, Plant Biotech and Molecular Sciences, Biochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Applied, Chemistry, Marine Sciences, Experimental and Theoretical, Elementary Particle Physics, Ultrafast Optics and Spectroscopy, Experimental and Theoretical, Condensed Matter Physics

Arts: History of Puerto Rico, Caribbean Literature, Mental Health, Sexual Violence, Linguistics, Program Assessment and Project Evaluation, Afro American Studies, Psychometry, Developmental, Psychology

Emerging
Emerging

Emerging Areas

Sciences: Biophysics, Computational Physics, Materials for ultrafast electronics, Electroceramics, Volcanology, Igneous Petrology, Geodesy, Geochemistry, Marine Ecosystem Impacts, Microbial, Ecology, Phylogenetic and Evolution, Number Theory, Pharmaceutics, Biotechnology, Water quality, Nanotechnology

Arts: Discourse Analysis, Family Conflicts, Gender Studies, Latin Athletes Interactions, Literary, Theory and Criticism, Neuropsychology, Discrimination and Homophobia, Cognition

Initial
Initial

Incipient Areas

Sciences: Aerobiology, Analysis of Algorithms, 3D Printing, Recombinant Protein Expression and, Purification, Forensic Chemistry, Underwater robotics, Unmanned aerial vehicles

Arts: Caribbean, Comparative American, Transnational Studies
Organization and participative democratic in communities ,HIV/AIDS Prevention, Theatre and Performance, People and Community Resiliency Amidst Natural Disaster

Engineering

Research at the College of Engineering is nurtured by abundant intra and interdisciplinary endeavors that involve different areas of engineering in synergy with other field. Faculty and students play a key role in the technological development of PR and the Nation with active, mature thrust areas with well-established achievements and broad impact.

Strength
Strength

Strength

Materials Sci. and Engineering (including Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine), Energy, Ocean and Coastal Engineering, Environmental and Recycling Engineering, Pharmaceutical Engineering, Transportation, Radar and Remote Sensing and Imaging
Emerging
Emerging

Emerging Areas

Cybersecurity, Big Data Analytics/Parallel and Cloud Computing, Smart Microgrids, Construction Management, Education Engineering
Initial
Initial

Incipient Areas

Bio/Microscale engineering, Aerospace engineering, Biomechanics & Bioinformatics, Medical Instrumentation, Sensor Development, Recycling
Strength
Strength

Strength

Information Literacy, Academic Integrity, Information Seeking Behavior, Action Research on Active Learning, Learning & Program Evaluation, Special Education (Differentiated Instruction), Technology Applied to Education
Emerging
Emerging

Emerging Areas

Research Data Planning & Management, Scholarly Communication, e-Research, Digital Humanities, Project Based Learning Methodology, Neurolearning
Initial
Initial

Incipient Areas

Preservation, Transliteracy, Archives & Records Management, Digital Scholarship, Growth Mindset & Resilience, Ubiquitous Learning, Maker Spaces and Learning Commons, Montesori Education