Scientific Caribbean Foundation, Inc.

The experience of being the Principal Investigator of the Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE), a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project at Universidad Metropolitana (UMET) in San Juan, Puerto Rico let Dr. Juan F. Arratia understand the value of introducing early research experiences in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science (STEM-C) fields into the curriculum of high school students. The Saturday Research Academy (SRA) was designed as a pipeline for economically disadvantaged minority students at UMET. We impacted thousands of high school students for the period of the MIE grand and with other NSF grants like, Caribbean Computer Center for Excellence (CCCE) and AGMUS Institute of Mathematics. The SRA become a NSF best practices and the President of the US awarded the 2006 US Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in the White House to Dr. Juan F. Arratia. On March 29, 2013, Scientific Caribbean. Foundation was registered as a non-profit educational organization by the Puerto Rico Department of State. The Mission of the Scientific Caribbean Foundation, Inc. (SCF) is to continue the legacy of the MIE best practices and specially the Saturday Research Academy in Puerto Rico, Islands of the Caribbean, countries of the Americas and around the world. The vison is to support economically disadvantaged minorities with research experiences in STEM-C fields and produce a pipeline for them into research careers at universities and research centers around the world.