¡Hola a todos!
You might be asking how I moved from a sunny island to a snowy state. I guess I would have to explain my background first to answer that question.
I come from a generation of Puerto Rican farmers who started working in sugarcane plantations and now own dairy farms in the island. My childhood was filled with many exciting events, like waking up at 4am to help a cow give birth. The first car I ever drove was a tractor. I was so small that I had to stand with both feet on the clutch to start it. These experiences made me appreciate the role of agriculture in a person’s life.
However, milk sales along with the number of active dairy farms have decreased more than 20% over the past ten years in Puerto Rico. Since engineers are known for solving problems through innovation, I decided to pursue a double bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Economics at the University of Puerto Rico. During my undergraduate degree, I went to several conferences about energy and sustainability. These introduced me to the bioenergy field!
In Fall 2017, I enrolled in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering MS Program at Penn State with one goal in mind: to help solve the critical problems my family, the agricultural sector, and Puerto Rico are facing.
How? My research intends to biomimic the cow’s digestive system for anaerobic digestion of grasses. I will be looking at technical and economic factors involved in producing biogas through this biomimetic strategy. My love for cows, sustainable energy and economics are a perfect match! I’m ok with leaving the tropical weather for a while when such a great research opportunity is available here.
My aim is to someday comeback as a professor to my alma matter, the University of Puerto Rico, and help establish a program focused on Bioenergy. I believe this course will give me essential teaching tools that I will need to reach my ultimate goal.
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