overview

• Dr. Juan A. Santana is a Professor in the Chemistry Department at the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey. Dr. Santana began his education at the University of the Sacred Heart, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2005. He continued his studies at the University of Puerto Rico, where he received his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2010.

  Throughout his academic and professional career, Dr. Santana has worked at various institutions, holding positions in research and teaching. Between 2010 and 2012, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Technical University of Munich. Later in 2012, he joined the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, as an associate specialist. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee between 2013 and 2015.

  In 2015, Dr. Santana returned to Puerto Rico to join the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey as an assistant professor of chemistry. He is now Professor and the Interim Dean of Academic Affairs. His research experience covers areas such as Quantum Monte Carlo calculations, the application of computational methods to study complex materials, catalysis on surfaces, and the spectroscopy of highly ionized atoms. Additionally, his teaching interest focuses on general chemistry, physical chemistry, surface chemistry, and materials chemistry.