UPR Mayagüez students excel in NASA aerospace research workshop
The students are among nine chosen from more than 250 applicants across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Two students from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (RUM, in Spanish) have been selected to participate in the NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop (HRP IWS) 2025, an exclusive event focused on mitigating health risks for astronauts.
Jean Carlos Hernández-Barreiro, a computer science and engineering student with a pre-med focus, and Rafael Alejandro Álamo-Punter, a mechanical engineering student with a pre-vet focus, were among only nine students chosen from more than 250 applicants from the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
“We are very proud to see our students excel in such prestigious international settings,” said Dr. Agustín Rullán, RUM’s rector. “Their achievements are a testament to the talent, perseverance and academic excellence that characterize our university.”
Hernández-Barreiro has been working on artificial intelligence-driven early detection of cavities in collaboration with UPR’s Medical Sciences Campus. His past research analyzed stem cell growth and anti-inflammatory properties in microgravity.
“It took me several years to reach goals like this,” he said. “I was once on academic probation, unsure of my path, but I explored new opportunities at RUM. I repeated precalculus three times, yet I later interned at NASA and Blue Origin.”
Álamo-Punter co-led POLARIS, a project designing a sustainable lunar outpost. Recognized as “Best in Theme” at NASA’s 2024 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition, the project presents a vision for long-term moon research infrastructure.
“Being chosen for HRP IWS 2025 is an excellent platform to showcase RUM’s contributions to aerospace engineering,” he said.
Both students aspire to pursue doctor of medicine and doctoral programs integrating medicine and research.
“My goal is to apply new technologies in medicine,” Hernández-Barreiro said, while Álamo-Punter aims to specialize in virology and immunology.
