Made possible by the generous support of the Wilbur Marvin Foundation

January 10-24, 2007

The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, jointly with the University of Puerto Rico, sponsored a two-week Winter Institute in San Juan. In its third year, the Institute focused on "Water and Environment: from Plants to Landscapes." Each week, four professors, two from Harvard University and two from the University of Puerto Rico, co-taught a seminar on a topic related to this major theme. The goal of the Institute was to stimulate research, collaboration, and intellectual exchange between Harvard and key institutions of higher learning in Puerto Rico. Seminar participants included faculty and students from Harvard and Puerto Rican institutions.

Week 1:
Water flux through plants: cellular to whole-plant processes

Elvira Cuevas – Professor, Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico
N. Michele Holbrook – Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Ernesto Medina – Investigador Titular, Instituto Venezolano de Investigacions Cientificas (IVIC) and Adjunct Professor, International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF), USDA-Forest Service, Puerto Rico
Maciej A. Zwieniecki – Sargent Fellow, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University

Week 2:
Plants to landscapes: eco-hydrologic processes and systems

Rafael Bras – Edward A. Abdun-Nur Professsor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Paul Moorcroft – Associate Professor of Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Carla Restrepo – Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico
Jorge Ortiz - Assistant Professor, Institute for Tropical Ecosystems Studies, University of Puerto Rico