Office of the Director
About
Services
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Institutional Funding Opportunities:Dissemination of Research
Research Information & Policies Highlights |
Staff
- Yuri Rojas-Ramírez, M.A.
- Director
- yuri.rojas@upr.edu
- (787) 832-4040 x-5213
- Marisol Vera-Colón, Ph.D.
- Associate Director
- marisol.vera@upr.edu
- (787) 832-4040 x-5250
- Griselle Hernández
- Legal Advisor
- griselle.hernandez2@upr.edu
- (787) 832-4040 x-5250
- Mariblanca Agüet-Moreno
- Administrative Officer
- mariblanca.aguet@upr.edu
- (787) 832-4040 x- 2402, 5213
Phones: 787-831-2065; 787-833-2975
Fax: (787) 831-2060
Office Hours: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm (Monday through Friday)
Office Location: JD-2 R&D Center Administration Building
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What is the R&D Center?
The Research and Development Center (R&DC) of the UPR-Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) was envisioned and organized in 1986. By means of its Certification 56, the Council on Higher Education of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico established the Center on September 12, 1986. The R&DC coordinates and manages externally-funded research projects at UPRM. It is also the umbrella for other centers in campus. (See UPRM R&DC Strategic Plan 2008-2016)
The R&DC promotes and provides administrative support for research projects conducted by faculty members of UPRM’s four colleges— Agricultural Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business Administration and Engineering. The funding partners include business and industry, public and private organizations, as well as government agencies, both federal and local.
R&DC’s Main Clientele:
- UPRM researchers and educators
- UPRM administrators
- UPRM graduate and undergraduate students
- Federal and local agencies and private organizations that fund research and development
- Employees of externally-funded projects
- Researchers and personnel from Puerto Rico’s scientific, industrial and technological community
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Board of Directors
The R&D Center Board of Directors is comprised of fourteen members, as defined in Certification #56 (1986-87) which created the Center. It is chaired by the UPRM Chancellor, and includes the following members: the UPR President, the PR Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) Executive Director, the Deans of Engineering, Arts & Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Business Administration, and Academic Affairs, a UPRM researcher and five representatives of the industrial community, designated by the chancellor. Click here for information on the current R&DC Board of Directors. |
| First row (from left to right): Dr. Moisés Orengo (Dean Arts&Sciences), Dr. Mildred Chaparro (Dean Academic Affairs), Prof. Yuri Rojas (R&DC Director, Dr. Jorge I. Vélez Arocho (UPRM Chancellor), Prof. Lueny Morell (HP, former R&DC Director), Agro. Lucy Cruz (Monsanto), Dr. Ramón Vázquez (Dean Engineering): Second row (left to right): Dr. Arturo Hernández, Eng. Pedro L. Martínez (NYPRO), Eng. José Martínez (ABBOTT), Mabel Suárez (Merck), Dr. Rubén González (GE), Dr. Marisol Vera (Assoc. Dir. R&DC), Dr. Eva Z. Quiñones (Dean Business Administration), Dr. James Pérez (PRIDCO), Dr. Héctor Santiago (Assoc. Dean -Agricultural Sciences) |
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R&DC Services
The R&DC Services are divided into three main areas: Pre-Award, Post-Award, Office of the Director
Pre-Award: The Office of External Resources (ORE), Spanish acronym for Oficina de Recursos Externos revises all proposals submitted to external entities by UPRM on behalf of its faculty. It also offers training in proposal preparation and submission, helps researchers polish and submit proposals for internal funds, runs internal competitions, maintains the institutional record of proposals submitted, and coordinates requests for matching funds for proposals. The recently created Proposal Development Unit (PDU) assists researchers in pre-submission proposal review, resubmission consultation/support, offers grant related trainings and workshops, offers custom funding information and searches, written institutional descriptions (boilerplate information for proposals) and other related services. This unit is sponsored by the NIH-EARDA program and promotes NIH funded research at UPRM.
Post-Award: Seven offices –Accounting and Finance, Budget, Human Resources, Information Technology, Operations and Maintenance, Purchasing, and Receiving and Dispatch– fall under the Administration and Services branch. They have the responsibility of managing all R&DC grants and awards and of providing support services for projects and offices housed within the R&DC premises. These offices also have direct interactions with sponsors, including financial reporting, billing and closeout of projects.
The Office of the Director oversees and coordinates all pre- and post-award responsibilities, and other institutional efforts such as the Bio Sciences and Engineering Initiative (BioSEI), a targeted start-up funding opportunity for UPRM research groups. It also deals with contracting and sub-award matters associated to research.
Responsibilities of the Director:
- Directs and supervises all procedures related to the pre- and post-award administration of external funds obtained through grants and contracts.
- Is UPRM’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR), and as such, has signatory authority over assurances, budgets, and certifications of compliance for federal agencies.
- Approves the University’s recommendations of proposals and acceptance of awards.
- Authorizes personnel compensations obtained through grants and contracts.
- Recommends to the Chancellor the approval of selection and appointments of personnel to be hired with funds derived from grants and contracts.
Responsibilities of the Associate Director:
- Represents the Director in his absence.
- Coordinates the Bio Science and Engineering Initiative (BioSEI)
- Oversees the Proposal Development Unit
Responsibilities of the Legal Advisor to the Director:
- Provides support to the R&DC’s Director on legal issues related to Government Ethics, UPR rules and regulations, internal procedures, and others.
- Reviews professional service contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding (MOU’s), subcontracts, and any other document requiring the signature of the Director and UPRM Chancellor, related to research.
- Keeps compliance information updated.
- Monitors sub-awardee compliance information.
All awards are made to the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez and can only be accepted by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) at UPRM. Call the R&D Center’s Office of the Director to facilitate the process.
Notification of the Award
The award document is considered an official agreement of the scope of work, the amount the sponsor will provide, and other terms and conditions that govern the project. Sponsors usually send the R&D Center an official notification of an award. However, if award notification has been sent to the PI, the department or other college offices, the award notice and any agreements or contract materials must be forwarded immediately to the R&D Center.
Award notices contain, typically:
- title or description of the award
- beginning and ending dates
- dollar amount of award
- terms of payment, e.g., letter of credit versus invoicing
- programmatic deliverables
- financial invoicing/reporting requirements
- cost sharing or matching expectations (if applicable), and
- approved budget, which may be different to the proposed budget
Official acceptance of the the sponsored grant, contract, or agreement
Once an agreement has been reviewed and the PI agrees upon the terms, it can be accepted and executed on behalf of the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. The awards are made to the University of Puerto Rico and not to faculty, staff, or others, since these individuals cannot accept grants or sign contracts and agreements.
Award Negotiation
Negotiations with business and industry funders can take several weeks and may require final review by UPRM authorities. Contact the R&D Center prior to indicating a sponsor of acceptance of any changes in budget, work scope or intellectual property issues. The Legal Advisor to the R&D Center Director will assist in any negotiations between the sponsor and the PI. A bilateral agreement is a legal document which requires overall concurrence with the technical terms, reporting and financial requirements, among other considerations.
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Institutional Funding Opportunities:
Bio Science & Engineering Initiative (BioSEI)
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, in line with its Strategic Plan, initiated in 2007, the Bio Science & Engineering Initiative (BioSEI) to promote research and development (R&D) in areas that explore the connection between biology and applied sciences.
This program incorporates some important and unique characteristics:
- BioSEI funds are the result of the support and joined collaboration among the UPRM R&D Center (R&DC), the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Engineering and Agricultural Sciences & UPR Central Administration;
- It is targeted to develop a coherent research program in Bio Science & Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez – a thrust area of our institution, by investing UPRM funds in the most promising research teams with emphasis in the following thematic areas: Biotechnology (including Agricultural), Information Technology related to Life Sciences, and Bioengineering;
- It encourages interdisciplinary team work and the open exchange of knowledge, ideas and technologies from different disciplines and practices, including the private sector; and
- It is intended to support innovative projects that can demonstrate a direct impact to society, which is in accordance to the R&DC, UPRM and UPR’s Strategic Plans.
This initiative is in progress. Five interdisciplinary projects were approved January 2008 for a 1.5 years duration with a UPRM commitment of $413, 490. A second Call for Proposals was announced for the 2009-2010 BioSEI Competition, and seven proposals were approved, with an institutional commitment of $530,000. Click here for a list of BioSEI Awardees.
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January 15, 2008-June 30,2009
- Novel Magnetic Bio-Nano-Composite Sorbent for Removal of Toxic Metal Ions and Carcinogens from Pollute Waters.
Félix Román (Chem); Oscar Perales (Eng. Sc. & Materials); Carlos Ríos (Biol)
- Puerto Rico’s First Biorefinery Initiative.
Govind Nadathur (Marine Sc.) Luis Pérez Alegría (Agric. Eng.); Lorenzo Salicetti & José Colucci (Chem Eng)
- Polymer Confinement of Protein Crystals: an Innovative Approach to Controlled Drug Release.
Madeline Torres (Chem Eng); Juan López Garriga &; Gustavo López (Chem)
- Combinatorial Growth of Oxide Nanoscaffolds and its Influence in Osterblast Cells Adhesion. Pablo Cáceres (Mech Eng), Nanette Diffoot (Biol), Paul Sundaram (Mech Eng), Jaime Ramírez Vick (Eng Sc. & Materials)
- Development of metal/polymer bionanocomposites as sensors for biopharmaceutical applications.
Marco de Jesús (Chem); Rubén Díaz (Mech Eng); Nelson Sepúlveda (Elect. Eng)
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BioSEI Awardees 2009-2010
January 15, 2009-June 30,2010
- Magnetic Immunoaxokinesis in vivo.
Franklin Carrero (PI): (Biol); Co-PI’s: Carlos Rinaldi (InQu)
- Acoustic Monitoring for Indwelling Liquid Filled Catheters.
Eduardo J. Juan (PI) (InEl), CoPI’s: Silvina Cancelos & Gustavo Guitierrez (InMe)
- Comprehensive Bio-utilization of Coffee Processing Waste.
Bo Hu (PI): (InQu); CoPI’s: Patricia Ortiz (InQu), Ernesto Riquelme( Ind. Pec.); Yang Deng (InCi)
- Development of a Portable, Continuous-mode Quartz Crystal Microbalance Biosensor
Rick Valentin (PI): (InMe), CoPI’s: Omar Colón (Mate); Abel Baerga (UPR-MSC)
- BioSEI BEforE: Biology-Engineering for Energy.
Luis Ríos (Biol); CoPI: Braulio González (InQu)
- Non parametric Statistical Microarray Analysis for Cancer Research
Mauricio Cabrera (InIn); CoPIs: Nazario Ramírez (InIn); Enrique Meléndez (Quim)
- Quantitative Approaches to Understanding Fragmentation Effectis in Puerto Rican Forests.
Jarrod Thaxton (Biol); CoPIs: Juan C. Martínez (Biol), Edgar Lorenzo (Math), Luis Gordillo (Math)
Research Administration Legal Affairs Unit
Contracts, Subcontracts, Agreements, Compliance
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