PEOPLE

---

Staff

---

Roy A. Armstrong, Ph.D.
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Professor and Director, Bio-optical Oceanography Laboratory
Research Interests: Water optics and remote sensing
Email: roy.armstrong@upr.edu, royaarmstrong@yahoo.com

 

Yasmín Detrés, Ph.D.
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Researcher, NOAA NCAS UPR Mayaguez
Research Interests: Saharan dust in the eastern Caribbean (microbiology, remote sensing), remote sensing of ocean color, UV radiation and marine ecosystems
Email: ydetres@gmail.com, ydetres@yahoo.com

 

William J. Hernández-López, Ph.D.
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Post-Doctoral Researcher, UPRM NOAA CREST
Research Interests: Remote sensing of coastal and marine ecosystems, GIS data modelling, analysis and distribution, integration of passive and active sensors in bio-optical oceanography, webmaster Bio-optical Oceanography webpage.
Email: william.hernandez@upr.edu

                  

---

Current Graduate Students

---

Cynthia Ramos
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. Ph.D. student
Research Interests: .
Email: cynthia.ramos1@upr.edu

Maria Cardona-Maldonado
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. Ph.D. student
Research Interests: The relationships between marine ecosystems and water optical properties. Specific interest in light stress damage, diseases, photosystems and symbionts physiology. Also interested in the development of marine community health indexes.
Email: maria.cardonamaldonado@upr.edu
Curriculum vitae:

Suhey Ortiz Rosa
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. Ph.D. Student
Research Interests: Biogeochemistry, Optical Properties, Remote Sensing & GIS, Coastal Management and Ecology
Email: suhey.ortiz.pr@gmail.com, suhey.ortiz@upr.edu

---

Recent Graduates (Alumni)

---

Mariana C. León Pérez
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. M.S. (2016)
Research Interests: Remote sensing and monitoring of tropical marine ecosystems
Email: leonperezmariana@gmail.com 
M.S. Thesis: Assessing Spatial and Temporal Changes in Seagrass Communities using Historical Aerial Photography and Satellite Data 

 

Ali Amirrezvani
Department of Marine Sciences - Biological Oceanography. M.S. (2016)
Research Interests: Direct effects of storm (runoff) episodic events on La Parguera / Caribbean coral reefs, eutrophication, remote sensing, GIS, bio-optics.
Email: alisamirrezvani@gmail.com, ali.amirrezvani@upr.edu

 

Myrna J. Santiago
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. M.S. (2015)
Research Interests: Tropical meteorology, remote sensing and optical characterization of aerosol particles and phytoplanckton biomass. Topic: Hurricane forcing of phytoplankton biomass in the Sargasso Sea
Email: myrna.santiago@upr.edu

 

Graciela García-Moliner
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. Ph.D. (2013)
Research Interests: The assessment of fish spawning aggregations from remotely sensed data. Assessment of deep water coral areas (> 30 m) for fishery purposes.
Email: graciela_cfmc@yahoo.com, ggmoliner@yahoo.com
Ph.D. Thesis: Satellite remote sensing characterization of fish spawning aggregation sites in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.

Carmen Zayas-Santiago
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. M.S. (2011)
Research Interests: GIS and remote sensing in marine ecology
Email: c_castula@hotmail.com
M.S. Thesis: Landscape structure in two reefs in La Parguera and its effects on Lytechinus variegatus

Aurora Justiniano
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. Ph.D. (2010)
Research Interests: Influence of Saharan Aerosol Layer (SAL) on phytoplankton biomass in the western Atlantic Ocean, remote sensing, bio-optics.
Email: aurorajust@gmail.com
Ph.D. Thesis: Influence of Saharan Aerosols on Phytoplankton Biomass in the Tropical North Atlantic Ocean

Sara Rivero
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. M.S. (2009)
Research Interests: Coral reef ecology, sponge ecology and taxonomy
Email: sara.rivero@upr.edu
M.S. Thesis: Ecological Aspects of Sponges in Mesophotic Coral Reef Systems.

Deborah Cedeño
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. Ph.D. (2008)
Research Interests: Phytoplankton taxonomy, optical characterization of harmful algal blooms, bio-optical oceanography
Email: debbiecedeno@yahoo.com
Ph.D. Thesis: Spectral Properties And Population Dynamics Of The Harmful Dinoflagellate Cochlodinium Polykrikoides (Margalef) In Southwestern Puerto Rico.

Marcos Rosado
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. Ph.D. (2008)
Research Interests: bio-optics, ocean color algorithms, marine ecology
Email: marcos.rosado@upr.edu
Ph.D. Thesis: Evaluation And Development Of Bio-Optical Algorithms For Chlorophyll Retrieval In Western Puerto Rico.

María Vega-Rodríguez
Department of Marine Sciences-Biological Oceanography. M.S. (2008)
Research Interests: Tropical marine ecosystems (e.g. mangrove and coral ecology), remote sensing, global climate change.
Email: vegamary2001@yahoo.com
M.S. Thesis: Estimating Primary Productivity Of Red Mangroves In Southwestern Puerto Rico From Remote Sensing And Field Measurements. 

---

Researchers /Collaborators

---

Fernando Gilbes-Santaella, Ph.D.
Department of Geology. University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez
Associate Professor and Director of COHEMIS
Research Interest: Environmental remote sensing and bio-optical properties
Email: fernando.gilbes@upr.edu
Websites:         

Hanumant Singh, Ph.D.
Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Associate Scientist
Research Interests: Computer vision; system architecture and algorithms for acoustic and optical imaging; underwater vehicle system architecture for navigation, communications, docking, and power.
Email: hsingh@whoi.edu
                      Website:

Vernon Morris, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry. Howard University
Associate Professor and Director, NOAA Centert for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS)
Email: vmorris@howard.edu
Website:

Liane Guild, Ph.D.
Earth Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center
Research Scientist
Research Interest: Tropical coral reef ecosystems, airborne hyperspectral data, NASA AVIRIS missions (2004, 2005) in Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Email: liane.s.guild@nasa.gov
Website: