Events
Taller Futur@ Astrónom@
Meet our First Cohort of Future Astronomers!
Esta iniciativa coordinada por la Dra. Desireé Cotto-Figueroa y patrocinada por NASA PR Space Grant Consortium, proveyó a los estudiantes un panorama amplio de los fundamentos de la astronomía. Los estudiantes aprendieron sobre nuestro Sistema Solar, sobre la vida y la evolución de las estrellas, y sobre las galaxias entre otros temas con Andy López-Oquendo (Northern Arizona University), Alberto Rosado-Marín (Ohio University), Marialis Rosario-Franco (University of Texas Arlington), y Mariangelly Díaz-Rodríguez (Florida State University) como instructores. Además recibieron la visita del Dr. Gerardo Morell - Director de NASA PRSGC, del Sr. Juan Villafañe - Presidente de la Sociedad de Astronomía de Puerto Rico, y de los astrónomos, el Dr. Juan C. Cersósimo y la Dra. Karín Menéndez-Delmestre.
Taller Futur@ Físic@
Meet our First Cohort of Future Physicists! Esta iniciativa coordinada por la Dra. Desireé Cotto-Figueroa junto al Dr. Alex Camacho como profesor, fue patrocinada por NASA PR Space Grant Consortium y proveyó a los estudiantes un panorama amplio de los fundamentos de la Física y la Electrónica. Los estudiantes aprendieron sobre la energía, gravitación, movimiento, termodinámica, ondas, electricidad, electromagnetismo, circuitos, microprocesadores y microcomputadoras entre otros. Además recibieron la visita del Director de nuestro Departamento de Física y Electrónica, el Dr. Rogerio Furlan.
ASTEROIDS Laboratory Summer Academy 2021
The ASTEROIDS Laboratory is a NASA-funded Undergraduate Research and Education Program (UREP) of the University of Arizona in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao that provides an accelerated path for undergraduates to learn about space systems engineering, planetary science, propulsion and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).
ASTEROIDS Laboratory Fall Academy 2020
The ASTEROIDS Laboratory is a NASA-funded Undergraduate Research and Education Program (UREP) of the University of Arizona in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao that provides an accelerated path for undergraduates to learn about space systems engineering, planetary science, propulsion and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).
NameExoWorlds Puerto Rico
December 17, 2019
We are pleased to announced that the SWISE-UPRH chapter proposed the winning names of the contest "NameExoWorlds Puerto Rico" of the International Astronomical Union. The star and the exoplanet assigned to Puerto Rico will be recognized by the International Astronomical Union officially as Koeia and Aumatex, respectively. These are names of terms and deities associated with the heavens and atmosphere from the mythology of the indigenous Taíno people of the Caribbean. Koeia was the name for star in the Taíno language and Aumatex was the God of Wind in Taíno mythology.
Dr. Stephen Paddack
December 11, 2019
Dr. Cotto-Figueroa had the great honor of receiving the visit of Dr. Stephen Paddack at UPRH. The YORP effect, which Dr. Cotto-Figueroa studied for he Ph.D. dissertation, is a thermal torque that affects the rotation rate and pole orientation of an asteroid. The term was coined by David Rubincam in 2000 to honor four important contributors to the concepts behind this effect, Yarkovsky, O’Keefe, Radzievskii, and Paddack.
NEOCam Investigation Team Meeting
November 12-14, 2019
Dr. Cotto Figueroa attended the NASA Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) mission Investigation Team Meeting at the University of Arizona.
2019 EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting
September 15-20, 2019
Geneva, Switzerland
Dr. Cotto Figueroa gave a talk titled "On the Strength of the Aba Panu (L3) Meteorite: Implications for Hazard Mitigation" at the Planetary Defense session of the 2019 European Planetary Science Congress -Division of Planetary Sciences (EPSC-DPS) Joint Meeting.
Society of Women in Space Exploration
October 8, 2019
UPRH is proud to announce the establishment of its chapter of the Society of Women in Space Exploration (SWISE) with the student Jaimiely García as tpresident and Dr. Cotto-Figueroa as mentor. SWISE promotes and encourages more women, diversity, and inclusion in multidisciplinary fields of space exploration.
Puerto Rican Space Exploration Festival
September 28, 2019
UPR Mayagüez
Undergraduate students Giovanna Castejón, Gabriela Espinosa, Jaimiely García and Marjory Reyes attend the 1st Puerto Rican Space Exploration Festival with Dr. Cotto-Figueroa. The students presented the results of their research and Dr. Cotto-Figueroa gave an invited talk about Near-Earth Asteroids.
Grand Reopening
UPRH Astronomical Observatory
April 30th, 2019
Master of Ceremony: Dr. Desireé Cotto Figueroa, Coordinator, UPR Humacao Astronomical Observatory
Welcome: Dr. Rogerio Furlan, Director, Department of Physics and Electronics
Special Guests: Juan Villafañe (President, Astronomy Society of Puerto Rico), Dr. Gerardo Morell (Director, NASA Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium) and Dr. Mayra Lebrón, (Puerto Rican Astronomer).
NEOCam Investigation Team Meeting
April 2-4, 2019
Dr. Cotto Figueroa and her colleagues from the NASA Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) mission Investigation Team Meeting at the University of Maryland. NEOCam consists of an infrared telescope and a wide field camera that operates in thermal infrared wavelengths. The mission is designed to discover and track most of the asteroids near our planet Earth with diameters greater than 140 meters (large enough to cause greater regional damage in the event of an impact on Earth).
2018 DPS Meeting
October 21-26, 2018
Knoxville, Tennessee
Undergraduate students Ian Díaz, Andy López and Yashira Rodríguez attend the 50th Meeting of the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences with Dr. Cotto-Figueroa to present the results of their research.
XXXth IAU General Assembly
August 28-29, 2018
Vienna, Austria
Dr. Cotto Figueroa gave an invited talk titled "Asteroid Fragmentation as revealed by Families" at the Focus Meeting celebrating a Century of Asteroid Families at the 2018 International Astronomical Union General Assembly.
CD9
May 14-17, 2018
Kobe, Japan
Dr. Cotto Figueroa gave an invited talk titled "Scale-Dependent Measurements of Meteorite Strength: Implications for Asteroid Fragmentation" at the 9th Workshop on Catastrophic Disruptions in the Solar System.
2018 LPSC
March 19-23, 2018
The Woodlands, Texas
Undergraduate students Andy López and Yashira Rodríguez attend the 49th Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference with Dr. Cotto-Figueroa to present the results of the results of their research.
Arecibo Observatory
April, 2018
Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Undergraduate students of the UPRH Astronomical Observatory participated of various observing runs at the Arecibo Observatory with Dr. Abel Méndez of the UPR at Arecibo studying stars with planets with the intent to determine the impact of the stars on their planets, especially those possibly habitable.
2017 Total Solar Eclipse
August 21th, 2017
Columbia, South Carolina
Undergraduate students of the UPRH Astronomical Observatory provided cloud observations and air temperature measurements during the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse as part of the NASA Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program.
San Antonio Observatory Stargazing Night
July 10th, 2017
Undergraduate students of the UPRH Astronomical Observatory and Dr. Cotto Figueroa attend the stargazing event with Dr. Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory, at the San Antonio Observatory.
2017 Asteroid Day
June 30th, 2017
Dr. Cotto Figueroa gave an invited talk titled "Near-Earth Asteroids: Before and Now" at the Asteroid Day Seminar Series of the Arecibo Observatory