SERVICE & SOCIAL JUSTICE

     During 2012-13, I served as a Fulbright Scholar with the School of Biology at the University of El Salvador - the only Biology program in El Salvador!  During 2016-18, I served as a Fulbright-Flex Scholar with CENSALUD at the University of El Salvador - the only research institute for Global Health in El Salvador!  The resulting nexus has allowed me to integrate faculty service & research in ways that I had never imagined.

MESOAMERICANA
(Cuernavaca, México)



     This is the official research journal for the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, which is has university chapters in Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.  As a senior co-editor of the journal, I'm working on bringing Mesoamericana online via Digital Commons - an institutional repository for open-access publications.

BIOMA
(San Salvador, El Salvador)

     Since the terrible loss of the journal Comunicaciones (1952-197X), the journal Bioma (2012-present) is currently the only index, peer-reviewed, biological sciences research journal in El Salvador.  As a member of the editorial board, I seek to promote an international academic model to advance regional research of biological diversity. 
     Here's one of my first publications with Bioma:
US EMBASSY IN EL SALVADOR 
(San Salvador, El Salvador)

     This interview was produced following my inaugural seminar with the Fulbright Lecture Series in El Salvador; in which I outline the challenges of climate change & the need for El Salvador to invest beyond a single Biology Department in the country.


UNIVERSIDAD DE EL SALVADOR
(San Salvador, El Salvador)

     This interview was produced by the UES Communications Department for the "Programa Campus TV" and aired on Salvadoran national television (channels 33, 28, & 10) on November 25, 2012.  The laptops you see in the video were donated by the LMU ITS Deparment and many of the text books in the background were donated by the LMU William H. Hannon Library & McGraw Hill.
     I continue to work with UES Biology undergraduates during the US summer months; our field-projects include research on:
  • Island biogeography of birds in urban landscapes
  • Lichen diversity on native & non-native substrates
  • Ecto/endo parasite diversity of Tilapia pisciculture

SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE, REPUBLIC OF EL SALVADOR
(San Salvador, El Salvador)

     I have been fortunate to hook up with the Environmental Science Unit, and my lectures on the Ecology of Climate Change have given me an opportunity to interact with Lawyers, Engineers, Architects, and Legislative Representatives keen on addressing the biological impacts brought on by climate change.  This is an especially important challenge for El Salvador - recall that out of 33 Universities, there is only ONE Biology program in the entire country.

UNIVERSIDAD CENTROAMERICANA "José Simeón Cañas"
(San Salvador, El Salvador)

     The vision & passion of the UCA is simply awe-inspiring; the campus grounds are equally beautiful.  I was fortunate for the opportunity to guest lecture on the ecology of climate change with an enthusiastic group of civil engineering & architecture students enrolled in a course called "Climate Change & the City".  Remember, the UCA doesn't have a Biology department - so this course is an important (& critical) science intro for professional engineers & architects that will build the future cities of El Salvador.


  
     Since 2015, I have been traveling with LMU students to present the UCA's Conference on Engineering & Architecture (CONIA).  In the image above, “Universidad de El Salvador” biology undergraduates José Pablo and Maryory Velado [center left and right, respectively] present findings from a 2012 Fulbright project to LMU engineering professor and Nobel Laureate Dr. Jeremy Pal [far left] as well as LMU biology undergraduate Erich Eberts [far right], whom were also presenting at the 2015 CONIA meeting.

UNIVERSIDAD LOYOLA DEL PACIFICO
(Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico)

     I was invited by "La Ciencia a tu Alcance" (an science outreach program at the ULP) & got a chance to run climate change workshops with middle-school students at the beautiful "Jardín Botánico de Acapulco Esther Pliego de Salinas".

MEDIA COVERAGE

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