Education and outreach 

2025 UPR-Mayaguez Open House Event

An incredible experience for all! During this event we showcased hands-on demonstrations highlighting concepts from our NSF-PREM related research efforts. In addition to leading research-inspired activities, our NSF-PREM students engaged visiting high school students by sharing their academic and career experiences motivating the next generation of scientists and engineers.

We were thrilled to welcome more than 4,000 students from across the island to explore our programs, meet our faculty, staff, and students, and discover the many STEM career pathways available at our “Antes, Ahora y Siempre, Colegio.” 

Special thanks to our collaborators from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for joining us at the event and showcasing demonstrations developed through our partnership.

Thank you the Pagán-Torres Lab graduate and undergraduate students for your enthusiasm, teamwork, and commitment to science outreach! Your efforts continue to make a lasting impact on the UPRM community and beyond. 👏 🧫🔬🚀

2025 Pre-engineering in a Box (P-Box): Plastics! 

An incredible event! UPRM Pre-engineering in a Box (P-Box): Plastics! Over 150 students from grades 7–12 participated in two days of hands-on STEM learning led and organized by the Pagán-Torres research group, in collaboration with researchers from the BOTTLE Consortium!

Through interactive workshops, students explored various engineering disciplines including chemical, industrial, civil, mechanical, and computer/software engineering. 

This year’s theme, Plastics: Redesign and Upcycle, challenged students to think critically about sustainability and apply engineering design principles to real-world problems. The experience sparked curiosity, promoted collaboration, and highlighted the role of engineers and scientist in driving innovation and addressing sustainability challenges.

Thank you to our collaborators from NREL, MIT and the UPRM College of Engineering for contributing to this effort! 👏 🧫🔬🚀

Pagan-Torres interacted with K-12 students at the 2024 Power of Science Symposium at UPR-Rio Piedras. The symposium attracted over 600 participants and offered students the chance to engage with scientists involved in various research fields, including space exploration, energy, and sustainability.