Mayra Román-Rivera is a coastal geomorphologist specializing in post-storm recovery and remote sensing and GIS applications of coastal environments. Román-Rivera’s research focuses on understanding changes that occur in the coast over time (i.e. erosion, accretion, sea-level rise), how they change the landscapes, how they affect communities and people, and how, if possible, those changes can be mitigated. She has also done research in some amazing beaches in Puerto Rico, Cape Cod, North Carolina, and South Carolina. She believes the beach is a pretty great place to work at!

Román-Rivera also participates in community outreach and citizen science programs. She believes it is the responsibility of scientists to take what they have learned through research to communities and help them become more resilient and better prepared to face changes happening in their communities. Román-Rivera recently became the chair of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Independent Program.