San Juan, Puerto Rico

March 14, 2007

Week 1

About me

My name is Justin Cox and I’m currently a Junior in WPI’s ECE Department. I’m also doing a minor in Spanish, which I hope to finish next year. I am also involved with IEEE and the Robotics club, and I’m the current president of the Shotokan Karate Club. I’m excited to be sharing my experience online, and I hope that, through this blog, parents and students can better understand what WPI’s global projects are all about.

Right now I’m in the airport sitting at my gate, waiting to depart on my flight to San Juan. I’ve received good-bye calls from my parents, my girlfriend, and a few friends I won’t get to see until I return. While I’m very nervous, I know that once I step off the plane, I’ll be surrounded by sunshine and 85 degree weather, which is a very welcome change from home in Maine, where I was standing outside in subzero winds not two days ago. Sitting beside me is a friend from my ID2050 class last term (a required prep course in research methods for off-campus projects). We’ve ended up on the same flight, and hopefully we’ll be able to navigate to our rooms in Condado once we land on the island. The building we are living in is across the street from the beach, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.

Why am I doing this?

One of the reasons I chose WPI was the diverse opportunities available for doing projects overseas. I had done Spanish all through high school through the AP level, and before freshman year I had already decided to do my Sufficiency in Spanish language studies. I chose Puerto Rico for my first choice of IQP because I felt that it was an excellent opportunity for me to practice my language skills and immerse myself in Caribbean culture, which I had studied academically but had yet to experience for myself. Another factor was the fact that the Costa Rica projects are typically done during E term, and I was hesitant to exchange my summer internship for an expensive overseas project (although there is financial aid available). Because I will be doing my MQP in the ECE Department on campus, I decided that my IQP was the logical choice for taking a trip overseas and having a bit of fun in between work days.

About the Project

Our project team consists of myself and my partner, Sarah. Normally IQP teams have three members, but our project sponsor was looking for only two students. While we’re the only two-member group from our class, we feel that it’s easier to divide the workload between us and coordinate our schedules, so I don’t mind the lack of a third person. The project topics themselves are chosen before the ID2050 class begins, with each student indicating their level of interest in each of the available topics. Some projects have a need for Spanish speakers, and the professors attempt to give every student their first choice of project. I indicated interest in the project on invasive species, and ended up getting my first choice.

Our sponsor, the Department of Natural Resources, would like to do some research on the exotic pet trade within the island. Exotic animals become a problem for a country when they invade territories and displace native species. As a result of this, biodiversity is damaged, diseases are transferred, and populations of local species dwindle in numbers. Economic damages frequently occur as well as a result of reductions in crop production and tourism revenue. Islands are particularly susceptible to invasion due to their isolated ecosystems, relatively poor species diversity, and their warm climates (for the Caribbean). Exotic invaders are therefore a significant risk for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an island with a warm climate and heavy import and export traffic.

The DNER is interested in the possible cleanup and prevention policies for managing the entry and residence of possible invaders on the island. Because Puerto Rico depends a lot on tourism as a source of income, people on the island come and go frequently, resulting in possible pathways for exotic animals and plants to hitchhike their way into the country.

Our objectives are the following:

• Create a database of permit requests and grants for Puerto Ricans who desire to import an exotic species
• Create a database of people who have taken advantage of the exotic species amnesty
• Create or further develop the species disposition protocol for confiscated animals

Of these three, the last is our primary focus. Originally, our preparatory research focused on methods of invasion, methods of control, and government policies set forth for exotic species management. It was only later on that we learned of the DNER’s desire to focus solely on exotic pets. Our project proposal reflects a balance between our specific research regarding exotic pets and our research of their potential impacts. In our methodology, we wrote ourselves a guideline of how to complete our objectives within seven weeks. While we are here on the island, we will first focus our efforts on the database creation. Later on, we will visit the impound center for confiscated species, the Juan A. Rivero Zoo, and interview veterinarians to determine the best method of dealing with the animals that the DNER confiscates or collects through other means.

Throughout C term, our professors/advisors guided us through the steps of building our project proposal from our background research. Using in-class brainstorming, peer editing, and readings from our books, we learned how to craft a social science project by outlining a gap in current research. We also practiced our presentation skills so that our final presentations to our sponsors and advisors would run smoothly. What makes the WPI IQP different from a typical college project is the focus on policy and the social implications of decisions made based on accumulated data. This project is intended to fill the gap between the Sufficiency, a pure humanities project, and the MQP, a purely scientific project within our majors. The IQP tells us how to place the decisions we make as scientists and engineers into the context of social science, so that we know how our decisions as engineers affect the world around us.

Tomorrow is Monday, our first work day, so we will finally have a chance to meet our sponsors in person and start our actual project work. We work the same schedule as a typical employee at our sponsors, which leaves the weekends free for leisure time and exploration of the island. I’ll update shortly about any changes that may occur in our project as we get everything set up.

-Justin