Undergraduate Catalogue - UPRM

20Special Programs
training materials including textbooks,
equipment, and instructors to assist us in our
training program in Puerto Rico and the US
Virgin Islands.
The Center’s activities and operational expenses
are funded by the Federal Highway
Administration, the Department of
Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico
and the US Virgin Islands Department of Public
Works. In 1993, Puerto Rico hosted the LTAP
national conference: “Moving Towards the Next
Century,” as well as regional meetings in 1993
and 2002. Other supporting programs conducted
at the Center include: Road Scholar Program,
the Entrepreneurial Training and Technical
Assistance Program (ETTAP), K-12 Garrett
Morgan Initiative, Tren Urbano, UPR/MIT
Professional Development Program and the Civil
Engineering PE Review Courses. The Center is
also committed to initiate and support distance
learning programs.
Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands Strong Motion
Program
PRVISMP is under the administration of the
Civil Engineering and Surveying Department.
The main objective of the program is to
determine, as accurately as possible, the critical
earthquake ground motion for which structures
in Puerto Rico should be designed. The program
includes 39 free field stations with digital
accelerographs distributed throughout a 13
strong motion network for the San Juan
Metropolitan Area, 10 for the Mayagüez
Metropolitan Area, and 16 around the island.
The program also includes 6 joint stations where
an accelerograph and a broadband seismograph
from the PRSN work simultaneously. Two
buildings are seismically instrumented. Within
the next two years, 21 additional strong motion
stations will be established; a concrete dam and
two bridges will be instrumented. Strong motion
records are available upon request.
UPR Sea Grant College Program
Since 1980, the University of Puerto Rico Sea
Grant College Program has been working to
promote the conservation, sustainability and wise
use of the coastal and marine resources of Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is one of
31 programs which conform the National Sea
Grant Program created in 1966 with the signing
of Public Law 89-688, the National Sea Grant
and College Program Act. The aim of UPR Sea
Grant is to better inform public policy makers,
change resource user attitudes and practices,
develop educational curricula and promote
conservation and sustainable economic
development. The UPR Sea Grant program
achieves its mission through a multifaceted
approach which includes research, outreach and
formal(K-12) education programs.
UPR Sea Grant links the university setting,
which focuses on the development of theoretical
and applied research, with regional and national
agencies, and stakeholders producing a better
understanding of marine technologies, seafood
production (including marine aquaculture),
coastal ecosystem health, and coastal economic
development (including human environmental
impact, and public safety). Sea Grant provides
research and educational opportunities to
graduate and undergraduate students of all fields
related to conservation of marine resources. The
information produced by research activities is
organized and disseminated through workshops
and activities developed by the Marine Outreach
Program and the education component of our
program.
Pre-College Engineering Program
PCEP is a two-week summer-residential
program designed to introduce talented high
school students to the engineering profession.
The program’s main objective is to motivate
participants to select and pursue careers in
engineering. Upon completion of the program,
participants are able to make informed career
decisions. The program has served a total of 590
students. Ninety-four percent of the students
served by this program pursued careers in
engineering. Funding for the program comes
from corporate institutions.
20 Undergraduate Catalogue 2004-2005