Alayón Rivera now contributes to studies that improve environmental protection policies in Puerto Rico.
Using the Conservation Opportunity (CO) platform, Isabel Rubí Alayón Rivera, a graduate student at the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras campus, continues to explore scientific projects of interest to her and since 2022, she has dreamed of belonging to one of the opportunities that the non-profit organization offers and, finally, she got it.
In October 2024, Alayón Rivera began participating in a research program in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Research and Development (EPA) through an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) internship.
In this opportunity, Alayon conducts scientific research, works in the field and laboratories, operates sample processing, manages data, analyzes water quality statistics, among others.
“We sampled in San Juan Bay, La Torrecilla Lagoon, Piñones, Suarez Channel, Los Corozos, San Jose Lagoon, we went under Teodoro Moscoso. Those study sites are comparative and we see how Caño Martín Peña differs from those places,” stated Alayón Rivera.
She and her team measure physicochemical parameters such as pH, temperature, salinity and bacterial biodiversity to “learn about the quality and healthiness of recreational waters” and “identify the status of the ecosystem”.
“My work is not related to what the San Juan Bay Estuary does restoring ecosystems, but I do go by boat with them monthly to take water quality samples in my project. First I read the physicochemical parameters of the water and in the lab I process the samples,” he added.
Under the federal Clean Waters Act, the EPA's mission is to provide clean air, land and water for citizens, and Alayón Rivera's project directly contributes to this goal.
The ORISE Institute, founded in 1946 by University of Tennessee physics professor William G. Pollard, formerly known as Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, launched the ORISE Connections program in 2024, which has allowed more than 1,800 interns, such as Alayón Rivera, to use this platform to access development opportunities within the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, better known as STEM.
“In the ORISE and EPA opportunity, which I got with the CO page, I competed with 36 applicants from the U.S. and Puerto Rico for the position,” she explained.
The program in which Alayón Rivera is currently participating will culminate in October 2025. However, she intends to continue her education and advance her career in the field of research and environmental sciences.
At press time, this program between ORISE and the EPA remains in place and Ayalón Rivera's position has not been affected by the Trump administration's federal cuts.
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