CoHemis...update Overcoming through cooperation Founded with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) December 1999 University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) Vol. 9, No.1 CoHemis facilitates COHEMIS DELIVERS NEW COLLABORATIONS AND course in Uruguay RENEWS OLD CONTACTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA Nitrogen Fixation Module In the Office of the On July, 1999, the Foundation for Chancellor of Microbiology approved an $18,000 grant Guatemala’s for a Nitrogen Fixation Education Mod- University of San ule for Uruguay. The two-year proposal Carlos, CoHemis’ was submitted by Dr. Salvador Curbelo, codirectors Dr. Jorge Vélez-Arocho and Dr. a professor at Uruguay’s Universidad Luis Pumarada- La República, a CoHemis Consortium O’Neill receive USC member. The course’s main resource pins from Chancellor will be Dr. Eduardo Schroder, from the Efrain Medina and UPRM Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. Dean of Engineering Herbeth Miranda- As required by the Foundation, CoHe- Barrios. San Carlos mis will administer the funds as a free was founded in 1676 contribution to the project. by a decree of The 4-week course will be taught to Spain’s Charles II. undergraduate students the first year, and to graduate students in the second. It will alternate theory and laboratory ex- The co-directors of the CoHemis Rico Water Resources and Environmen- periences with visits to the innoculant Center, Drs. Luis Pumarada-O’Neill tal Research Institute, traveled to Central industry and agriculture research cen- and Jorge I. Vélez-Arocho, along with America in mid July, 1999. Drs. Puma- ters. The project will invite other ex- Dr. Jorge Rivera-Santos, Interim Dean rada and Vélez visited Guatemala at the perts to contribute. Dr. Schroder has of the School of Engineering of the beginning of the trip, while Vélez contin- previously collaborated with Argen- University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez ued along to Costa Rica and El Salvador tinean Consortium member Universidad (UPRM) and Director of the Puerto with the company of Dr. Rivera. Nacional de Río Cuarto. Guatemala CoHemis facilitates remote sensing project Doctors Pumarada and Vélez visited Guatemala City on July 12-13, 1999. The Agreement and collaboration for bio-optic purposes of this trip were: to collaborate with the Rafael Landívar University application with Argentinean institute (RLU) at the request of its Vice-chancel- The University of Puerto Rico at May- UPRM side of its implementation. lor for Academics, to visit the University agüez (UPRM) and the Instituto The first collaborative effort between Continues on page 4 Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo UPRM and INIDEP is already under- INSIDE: Pesquero (INIDEP), from Mar del Plata, way. During November 2-13, 1999, Argentina, have signed an agreement to Drs. Roy Armstrong and Fernando Toxic Metals in the Environment facilitate joint research activities. This Gilbes, from the UPRM Marine Sci- Water Security Projects in 3 countries agreement was arranged by the Center ences Department, traveled to Argen- Successful IAI-INPE course for Hemispherical Cooperation in Re- tina to participate in an oceanographic Business incubator at UPRM search and Education in Engineering research cruise. This collaboration is UPRM collaborates with post-Mitch and Applied Science (CoHemis), which very important for the development of reconstruction of Honduras has been designated by UPRM Chan- the Argentinean remote sensing pro- UPRM gets more international cellor, Dr. Zulma Toro, to manage the gram. Its National Comission for Space Flood Zone Mapping course in D.R. Continues on page 11 CoHemis... update UPRM and INTEC join in developing Dominican human resources for flood zone mapping The Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC), a most active member of the CoHemis Consortium, is offering a specialization program in drawing flood zone maps with the collaboration of UPRM faculty. Its Dean of Engineering, Daniel Comarazamy, and its Department of Continued Education have organized this program which is expected to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. Drs. Jorge Rivera-Santos, Rafael Segarra-García, and Walter Silva-Araya, together with Prof. Linda Vélez, all from UPRM’s Department of Civil Engineering, are conducting this important course. The module is composed of two theory-practice cycles, one on Hydrologic Modelling and another on Hydraulic Modelling, with applications to a Dominican watershed case-study. The course schedule is: October, 5-8: Statistical Methods in Hydrology. October, 26-28: Hydrologic Analysis using HEC-HMS software. November 16-19: Hydraulic Analysis of rivers using HEC-RAS. To be offered soon: Use of Geographic Information Systems for flood zone mapping. According to Eng. Alfredo Abel-Francisco, the program’s coordinator, this course is targeted for professionals in the areas of hydrology, hydraulics, sanitary engineering, environmental sciences, and agronomy. The program’s objective is to develop local human resources for the elaboration of maps of areas prone to flooding by rivers, which is usual during the hurricane season. The purpose of these maps is to contribute to regulating urban and rural growth minimizing risks to lives and property. UPRM participates in Cuban joint research cruise The Cuban boat Ulises, of 2,149 tons information on the optical properties of suffer from chronic or severe respiratory and 253 feet long, hosted researchers the ocean surface. That information conditions. from Canada, United States, Mexico, will be used to develop mathematical The UPR’s Mayagüez Campus Cuba and Puerto Rico in a historic col- equations to calibrate and validate re- feels honored that its investigators have laborative oceanographic cruise last mote sensing data from space satellites participated in a mission so important March. Doctors Fernando Gilbes and to estimate concentrations of phy- both at a scientific level and for interna- José M. López and doctoral candidate toplankton. tional relations. Angel Dieppa, all from the Department This oceanographic cruise also of Marine Sciences of the University of hopes to shed some light on the “red CoHemis... update is the newsletter of CoHemis, Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM), par- tides” of Florida. These phenomena, the Center for Hemispherical Cooperation in Re- ticipated in this event. thus called by the red-brown color they search and Education in Engineering and Applied The Ulises traveled through Ameri- produce in the surface of the water, are Science. CoHemis is sponsored by the Office of the can, Cuban and Mexican waters to study created by a high accumulation of toxic President of the University of Puerto Rico and by its the patterns of sea currents. By studying phytoplankton. Until now, scientists Mayagüez Campus. Cohemis... update is pub- the currents in that area, scientists can have not been able to predict where or lished in English and Spanish, and distributed free of understand better the dispersion patterns when they will appear. The toxins that charge to entities and individuals contributing to of microscopic surface organisms, called they produce affect the central nervous technology cooperation, evaluation, education, or phytoplankton, in the waters of the Gulf system of many fish. In addition, they research in the Americas. of Mexico. In addition, the trip compiled can affect humans, specially those who Editor: Luis F. Pumarada-O’Neill Assistant editor: Jorge I. Vélez-Arocho SPANISH TEXT ON SYMBOLIC LOGIC PUBLISHED Assistants: Karen J. Rodríguez and Dorys Dr. Rosa F. Martínez-Cruzado, a dis- The book has a clear and pleasant Perez-Bautista tinguished Professor of Ethics and cur- style. Starting from language (Span- CoHemis Center Co-directors: rently Associate Dean of Academic Af- ish), it passes into symbolic logic as an Luis F. Pumarada and Jorge I. Vélez-Arocho fairs at UPRM, has published the col- artificial language for analyzing the CoHemis Coordinator: Blanca N. Colón lege textbook Fundamentos de Lógica validity of arguments. It includes more Mailing Address: Simbólica - el cálculo de deducción than 600 exercises with different levels CoHemis Cooperation Center natural (Fundamental Symbolic Logic- of difficulty. A solutions manual is P.O. Box 9034 Calculus of Natural Deduction). available. Mayagüez, PUERTO RICO 00681-9034. For a demonstration copy, contact: Dr. Martínez has a Ph.D. from Frank- Telephone: (1-787) 265-6380 Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas furt University. In 1991-92 she was a Fax: (1-787) 265-6340 Fax: 1-787-250-6498 Visiting Professor at Michigan State e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] University. www.tld.net/users/pubpr/2/ Internet: www.ece.uprm.edu/cohemis Page 2 Vol. 9, No.1 Business incubator Successful course on the Brazilian software SPRING for Caribbean islands approved for UPRM Puerto Rico’s Industrial Develop- ment Company (PRIDCO) approved a The participants and organizers of the course proposal from the University of Puerto on the SPRING GIS Rico at Mayagüez for the creation of a software. IAI’s Dr. high technology industrial incubator. Eduardo Banus is second from the left; The proposal, presented by Electrical INPE’s Marissa da and Computer Engineering Professor Motta is second to his right with dark glasses. Rafael Fernández Sein, received a grant The islands of the of $1.2 million for a five year term. The Caribbean Sea were represented by nine two institutions signed an agreement persons, mostly college- early in 1999 to implement the initia- level GIS instructors or coming from doctoral tive. programs. The business incubator, called ViTeC for its Spanish acronym, is a program designed to incubate high tech- nology companies that present a poten- tial for economic development for Pu- Continuing with the recommendations was evident. The participants’ institu- erto Rico. In addition, it will promote of the Conference-Workshop on the tions can download from the Internet all the development of innovative tech- Caribbean Countries of the Inter Ameri- the copies needed of the SPRING soft- nologies that would support manufac- can Global Change Research Program ware and they now have the trained turing or help to export Puerto Rican (IAI), organized by CoHemis in 1997, human resources to use it.