During the year, the UPRM AMS Student Chapter organizes a series of activities for the benefit of its members and the community. We invite you to be part of our effort by supporting our activities, which also help educate the meteorologists of the future. Here you will find a brief summary of some activities where our members participate. We also encourage you to visit the Gallery to see pictures of the events mentioned in this page..

Annual Events

• General Meeting : Beginning a new school year, the UPRM AMS Student Chapter holds its general meeting in the Planetarium of the Department of Physics. Here students that are interested in joining the chapter come and get oriented. There's also a presentation of all the activities that took place during the previous year, and professors of the Department of Physics come to talk about the University's meteorology program.
  
  
• Initiation Ceremony : The official ceremony to initiate new members of the chapter is held annually, and many members of the professional AMS Chapter of Puerto Rico attend. Also attending are many University officials, professors, and family members of the students.
  
  
• AMS Annual Meeting: The American Meteorological Society celebrates its general meeting in the United States for all its student and professional members. In the past years we've had the opportunity to attend this important event. Some of the most influential companies and people in the field of Atmospheric Science and Meteorology attend to hear and give seminars about their investigations, discuss current events, talk about job opportunities, and orient people about post-graduate study options. In the general meeting there's also an activity for kids called "Weather Fest", which we imitate locally each year. There's also a poster competition where student chapters present their achievements during the year, and we've been awarded second place for two years in a row. We're working hard to get first!
  
  
• Weather Festival: This is the most important event for the UPRM AMS Student Chapter. The festival is a big event held in the Mangual Coliseum, where students from schools around the Island gather and have the opportunity to learn about atmospheric science through exhibitions, demonstrations, visuals, games, and orientation from meteorologists. The press, many local agencies, and well-known people from the field attend this event.
  
  -First Weather Festival: March 26, 2007 – View Pictures >>>
  -Second Weather Festival: April 18, 2008 – View Pictures >>>

Community Service

• Beach Cleanup: During the year we gather a group of volunteers to clean up beaches in many parts of the Island. We also have collaboration of many municipalities and environmental cleanup associations that provide us with the materials we need to perform this task. It's very important for the members of this chapter to take care of our environment and maintain the beauty of Puerto Rico for future generations to come.

• Visits to Schools: As part of our commitment to keep our community informed, we visit many schools to give presentations about hurricanes and climate change, and also provide information about the meteorology program offered in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

Special Activities

• “Weather Today”: This is a monthly activity organized by the chapter, and the objective is to discuss current events related to atmospheric science and meteorology. This is done by organizing lectures, seminars, and showing documentaries..
  
  
• Trips: We also do many trips to different parts of the Island. Some of these are to attend conferences related to meteorology, and others to visit places like the National Weather Service in San Juan, where important meteorologists give us a brief information session, a tour of the facility, and show us how some of their equipment works.
  
  
• Seminars: Besides the seminars organized by the chapter, our members also attend other seminars held by the Department of Physics and other institutions outside campus. An example of the ones we've attended are:
  
  
  • “Impact of Atmospheric Events on Tropical Marine Ecosystems”, by Dr. Yasmín Detrés.
  • “What do we know about AMO and its impact on Western Hemisphere Rainfall and Hurricanes”, by Dr. David Enfield.
  • “Climate Change on a Global Scale and its Relation to Weather Patterns”, by Prof. Miguel E. Alonso.
  • ...among others.
    
    
• Guests of Honor: Many important figures have honored us with their presence in the University to offer us information sessions. Some of them are:
  
  
  • Charly Wells: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management.
    
  • Al Corea: Director, NOAA Civil Rights Office.
    
  • Hope Hasberry: Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management (EEODM) Program Specialist.
    
  • Salim Abddeen: Hispanic-American Employment Program Manager.
    
  • Israel Matos: Meteorologist in Charge, NWS-SJFO.
  • Dr. David Enfield from the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorology Laboratory (NOAA/AOML).
  • Steven Cooper: NWS Southern Region Director.
  • Melinda Hinojosa: Southern Region Public and Marine Services Meteorologist.
  • ...among others.

If you wish to read a full report with more details about the activities done by the UPRM AMS Student Chapter, go to the "Annual Report" section.