Undergraduate Catalogue - UPRM

Special Programs
sensed data using high-speed streams with
implications for SAR processing.
The Sensor Materials and Electronics for Space
Applications component investigates a number
of materials with special properties suitable for
space sensors. Techniques and materials for
power conversion electronics for spacecraft are
also studied.
An Outreach and Education component works
along with TCESS. An extension of the
successful "Science on Wheels" project, a
"Space Communications on Wheels" van brings
space and earth studies to high school students
in Puerto Rico. A Technology Transfer
Internship Program is being developed that will
allow professors and students to visit U. S.
National Laboratories, universities, and NASA
field centers to facilitate technology transfer and
encourage advanced studies.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Several comprehensive programs on campus
have a special impact on research and education.
Puerto Rico Resource Center for Science and
Engineering
RCSE is a consortium of the major institutions
of higher education on the island, which includes
the University of Puerto Rico, Inter-American
University, Ana G. Méndez University System,
Sacred Heart University, Pontifical Catholic
University of Puerto Rico, and Polytechnic
University of Puerto Rico in partnership with the
Puerto Rico Department of Education. RCSE’s
mission is to achieve excellence in science,
engineering, and mathematics (SEM) education
in order to promote full participation of Puerto
Rican students in these fields and to develop the
human resources and research base needed to
support the island’s economic and technological
development. Created in 1980 with joint funding
from the National Science Foundation and the
University of Puerto Rico, RCSE has been
extremely successful in pursuing its goals and
has experienced a sound and steadfast growth in
the scope of its programs.
The high level of success at RCSE is in great
part due to its development as a consortium
based on a collaborative network among major
institutions of higher education, while providing
access to a broad pool of resources by promoting
excellence. Its goals range from efforts to
improve science and mathematics curricula from
grades K-12 in the island’s schools to the
establishment of research and development
capability on the island. Due to the multiinstitutional
nature of its structure and
complexity of its goals, RCSE was established as
an administrative unit of the University’s Central
Administration, and it is under the direct
supervision of the President of the University.
As a special institute which is not identified with
any particular academic program, level or unit,
the RCSE has effectively promoted maximum
collaboration among all institutions, facilitating a
synergistic effect through the improvement of
SEM education on the island. RCSE has acted
as an intermediary among consortium
institutions, bringing them together to identify
major problems and needs in SEM education and
to develop innovative programs to address these
needs. Key academic and administrative
officials from all member institutions participate
actively in the planning and implementation of
the RCSE programs. Offices for RCSE are
located on Río Piedras and Mayagüez Campuses.
Puerto Rico Transportation Technology
Transfer Center
In order to promote research and development in
highway related activities in Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands, The Puerto Rico Transportation
Technology Transfer Center was created on
April 1, 1986 in the Civil Engineering
Department and Surveying at UPRM. Its
primary mission is to promote training, technical
assistance and professional development in
highway related activities to local transportation
officials in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin
Islands.
The Puerto Rico Transportation Technology
Transfer Center program provides training and
technical assistance to local officials of the 78
municipalities, the Department of Transportation
and Public Works of Puerto Rico and the US
Virgin Islands Department of Public Works. It
utilizes a network of 57 centers located
throughout the United States under the Local
Technical Assistance Programs (LTAP), the Pan
American Institute of Highways (PIH), Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), United States
Department of Transportation (USDOT) and
non-profit organizations in order to obtain
Undergraduate Catalogue 2004-2005 19