Researchers
Mayra E. Lebrón Santos
Dr. Lebrón was born in the city of Maunabo and she graduated from the UPR Humacao campus.
She obtained her PhD in astronomy at the UNAM (Mexico) and she completed postdoctoral work at the Max Planck
Institute for Radio Astronomy at Bonn, Germany. In the over 40 years of history of the Observatory she was the first and only Puerto Rican
to be hired (in 2002) as part of the astronomy scientific staff of the Arecibo Observatory. She is a Professor at the Department of Physical Sciences
of the General Studies Faculty (University of Puerto Rico, San Juan campus). Dr. M. Lebrón is member
of the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Dr. Lebrón is very active in the area of communicating science to the public. In 2019 she was the IAU100 National Organizing
Committee contact person for Puerto Rico for the celebration of the centennial of International Astronomical Union. She is currently
the National Outreach Coordinator for Puerto Rico that works with the Office of Astronomy Outreach of the IAU.
Carmen A. Pantoja
Dr. Carmen Pantoja is the first Puerto Rican woman astronomer. She completed her Bachelor
and Master's degree in Physics at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. She obtained a
PhD at the University of Oklahoma using the Arecibo Observatory for her research and received the
Nielsen Prize Award that was established to recognize excellence in Doctoral Research in Physics
(Department of Physics, University of Oklahoma). She completed Postdoctoral work at the
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at Harvard. She is a Professor of Physics
at the Department of Physics of the Natural Sciences Faculty (UPR, San Juan). Dr. Pantoja
is interested in the large scale distribution of galaxies in the Universe and the emission properties
at radio and infrared wavelengths of galaxies. She has worked in the development of strategies
to make astronomy accessible for persons with low vision or blind. Dr. Pantoja is member of the following societies:
American Astronomical Society, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, International Astronomical Union,
American Physical Society, and the American Society of Physics Teachers.
In 2016 she was selected to participate in the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP).
She has been elected (2018-2020) Representative of the Puerto Rico Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
She is the National Outreach Coordinator for the USA working with the Office for Astronomy Outreach. NOC-USA IAU (2021-2024).
Gloria M. Isidro
Dr. Gloria M. Isidro obtained an Ed.D. from the University of Puerto Rico, San Juan campus.
She is from Colombia. She completed her undergraduate studies in Mathematics at the Universidad Industrial
de Santander in Colombia. She completed a Masters degree in Mathematics at the University of Puerto Rico,
San Juan campus. Currently she is a Professor at Caribbean University (Bayamón).
She collaborates with Dr. Carmen Pantoja developing strategies to make the learning of mathematics
and astronomy accessible for visually impaired and blind students.
Jorge Morales
Dr. Jorge Morales is Puerto Rican from the city of Ceiba. He obtained his PhD
at the UPRRP as part of the Chemical Physics Doctoral Program. He obtained his Bachelor degree in Applied Physics to
Electronics at the UPR-Humacao.
He completed a Masters in Physics at the Department of Physics at the UPR Río Piedras campus.
He currently is part of the Physical Sciences Department of the Faculty of General Studies (UPRRP) where
he teaches undergraduate courses in Physical Sciences. His research interests are in the area of Star Formation.
Ramón López Alemán
Dr. Ramón López Alemán is a computational cosmologist.
He obtained his PhD from Penn State University. He is a Professor at the Department of
Physical Sciences of the General Studies Faculty (UPR, San Juan campus). He is interested
in increasing the technology skills of students, and he spends part of his time
developing virtual laboratories for teachers and students.
His research areas include cosmology and black holes. He works with
the community offering public talks about the Universe and cosmology.
Daniel R. Altschuler
Dr. Daniel Altschuler is an uruguayan resident of Puerto Rico since 1979
with a Puerto Rican family. He completed a B.S. at Duke University and a PhD at Brandeis University.
He was the Director of Arecibo Observatory for 12 years (1991-2003). One of his achievements
was the construction of the "Fundación Ángel Ramos" Visitor Center of
Arecibo Observatory that has been visited by over a million persons and serves as an
educational center for teachers and students in Puerto Rico. He is a Professor at the
Department of Physics at the UPR Rio Piedras campus. He is the author of numerous articles
and books that communicate science to the general public. In 2010 he received the
prestigious "Andrew Gemant Award" from the American Institute of Physics.
This annual prize recognizes the accomplishments and contributions in the cultural,
artistic or humanistic realms of Physics. His research is focused in the study of the emission
properties of normal galaxies, active galaxies and quasars. He has also worked in the
area of the large scale distribution of galaxies in the Universe.
