ANTONIO SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ

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ANTONIO SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ

EDUCATION

 

BSCE

Civil Engineering, May 1956

University of Puerto Rico

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

 

 

MSCE

Water Resources, 1959

University of Minnesota

 

 

Ph.D.

Civil Engineering (Water Resources,

Environmental Engineering).  1964

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

 

EXPERIENCE

 

Mar 1, 1979 to present

President of A. Santiago Vázquez Enterprises

 

ü   Savazco de Puerto Rico, Inc.  (A management firm)

ü   Environmental System Engineering of Puerto Rico, Inc. (Environmental Engineering Consultants)

ü   A. Santiago Vázquez & Associates (Engineers and Planners)

ü   Engineering Management and Information Systems (EMIS) (a management firm)

ü   The Institute for Employment Opportunities, Inc. (TIEMPO)  - (A Vocational and Training School)

ü   Samaco Development Corporation (Land Developers)

ü   Associate Professor

University of Puerto Rico

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

 

 

Mar 1977 to Feb 1979

Chief of Staff and Government Programs Coordinator (on leave of absence from University of Puerto Rico)

 

            Major responsibilities includes coordination of over 100 government agencies and commissions, as well as all government programs, reporting directly to the Governor of Puerto Rico and serve as Chief of Staff of the Staff at the Governor's Office.

 

 

Jan 1973 to Mar 1977
President of A. Santiago Vázquez Enterprises

üSavazco de Puerto Rico, Inc. (A management firm)

üEnvironmental Systems Engineering of Puerto Rico, Inc. (ESE) (Environmental Engineering Consultants)

üA. Santiago Vázquez & Associates (Engineers and Planners)

üSamaco Development Corporation (Land Developers)

üAssociate Professor

University of Puerto Rico

 

 

Jan 1969 to Dec 1972
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

 

Positions:

Secretary, Department of Public Works

 

 

 

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the following government agencies (1969-1972)

 

1.                                                                         Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board

2.                                                                         Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority

3.                                                                         Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sever Authority

4.                                                                         Puerto Rico Highways Authority

5.                                                                         Puerto Rico Mining Commission

6.                                                                         Puerto Rico Transportation Commission

7.                                                                         Puerto Rico Highway Traffic Safety Commission

8.                                                                         Puerto Rico Conservation Trust Fund

9.                                                                         Institute of Social Technology

 

 

 

Member of the Board of Directors of:

1.                                                                         Governor's Advisory Council

2.                                                                         Tourism Development Company

3.                                                                         Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority

4.                                                                         Puerto Rico Land Administration

 

 

 

Major Responsibilities were:

 

ˇ        Maintenance of state roads, and public buildings; review of public and private projects to assure they comply with flood control, traffic control and other types of regulations; conservation and development of natural resources; and administration of motor vehicles laws and regulations.

 

Advising the government in fundamental matters such as:

 

ˇ        The creation of the Area of Natural Resources at the Department of Public Works; the creation of the Environmental Quality Board; the creation of the new Department of Transportation and Public Works, and also, of the Department of Natural Resources.

 

Other specific tasks performed were:

 

ˇ        Making a significant increase in the use of computers as a working tool in the Department of Public Works, i.e. development of "VADIS", a computerized file of the 700,00 motor vehicles and over 600,000 drivers in the island.

 

ˇ        Etablishment of a Project Control Center for the management and control of almost all the activities in the Department, regionalization of the Department establishing regional office with computer terminals to deal with local and regional problems; the implementation of a Natural Resources Inventory of Puerto Rico, the beginning of the first computerized traffic control system in San Juan.

 

Some other relevant activities during tenure in government include:

 

ˇ        Supporting activities in the mining field with the goal of obtaining optimum environmental protection and optimum benefits for the island; strong supporter of the exclusive bus lane; promoter and supporter of the Highways Authority's implementation of the tollway system in Puerto Rico; supporter and promoter of the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority's largest Water Pollution Control Program back in 1970.  Backing, in 1969, the use of nuclear power in Puerto Rico as a feasible answer to the energy shortage expected for the future, but concomitantly requesting full environmental protection using the best available technology.  As Chairman of the Environmental Quality Board, was deeply involved in the establishment of Air Pollution Control Regulations and in the reviewing of proposed water and solid waste regulations.  The scenic route, or, "La Ruta Panorámica", was brought again into inclusion in the program of the Department of Public Works beginning the construction under the sponsorship of the Highway Authority

 

 

1964-1969

School of Engineering, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

 

Positions:

5.1                                                                                  Associate Professor (1965-68) Taught practice calls the courses constituting the Civil Engineering Curriculum.

 

 

 

5.2                                                                              Co-founder and first Director of the Puerto Rico Water Resources Research Institute (1965-68).

 

The Institute, aided by $100,000 annual federal grant, carried out 17 simultaneous research projects.  Planned, organized and directed, in 1965, the first International Conference on Water Resources ever held in Puerto Rico, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Interior.  Also planned, organized and directed the Water Pollution Control and Management Conference held in Mayaguez in 1966 and sponsored by the Office of Water Resources Research, U.S. Department of Interior.  Co-Chairman--First Interamerican Conference on Land and Water--sponsored by the Water for Peace Program, U.S. Department of State.

 

 

 

 

5.3                                                                              Chairman Committee of Academic Affairs of the Academic Senate (1966-68).  As chairman became one of the leading spokesmen of the Engineering Faculty movement favoring the modification of the curriculum to delete some applied courses and to include more basic scientific, engineering courses and the promote the integration of liberal arts within the engineering frame work.

 

 

 

 

5.4                                                                              Member of the Graduate Council.

 

 

 

5.5                                                                              Member of the University Research Council

 

 

 

5.6                                                                              Head, Department of Civil Engineering (1967-68) Responsible for the administrative and academic aspects of the Department, directed and supervised a faculty of 22 members.  Also promoted the establishment of the Transportation Research Institute and of the Housing and Construction Research Institute.

 

 

 

5.7                                                                              (1967-68) Member of a team of three water resources experts selected by the U.S. Health Service and the Administration for International Development to carry out an evaluation of the water supply system of the Republic of Perú.

 

 

 

5.8                                                                              (1965-67) Consultant to the House Representative's Commission of Puerto Rico's Natural Resources which sponsored the Commonwealth Natural Resources Act of 1968.

 

 

 

5.9                                                                              (1966-68) Consultant to the Puerto Rico Planning Board and Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority.

 

 

1960-1963

Scholl of Engineering, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

 

Positions:

6.1                                                                                  Assistant Professor (1960-65).  Teaching courses in fluid mechanics, hydraulic and waters resources to engineering students.

 

 

 

 

6.2                                                                                  Director Fluid Mechanics Laboratory (l964-65) Administrator of Funds and academic activities of the laboratory.

 

 

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

 

Membership:

1.                                                                             American Society of Civil Engineers

2.                                                                             American Geophysical Union

3.                                                                             American Society for the Advancement of Science

4.                                                                             American Water Resources Association

5.                                                                             Institute of Engineers, and Surveyors of Puerto Rico

6.                                                                             Puerto Rico Society of Engineers

7.                                                                             American Geological Society

8.                                                                             American Public Works Association

9.                                                                             Honorary Engineering Fraternity Tau Beta

10.                                                                         Honorary Scientific Fraternity (Sigma Chi)

11.                                                                         American Water Works Association

12.                                                                         New York Academy of Sciences

 

AWARDS

 

1.High Honor (Highest in Class)

High Scholl, Lares, Puerto Rico

 

2.Cum Laude - University of

Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

 

3.Walter P. Murphy

Doctoral Research - Fellow granted by

University of Minnesota - 1960

                          

4.Doctoral Forgivable Loan - granted by the Ford Foundation - 1962

 

5.Elected as one of the six most outstanding Exchange Club Presidents in the U.S. - 1967

 

6.Chosen by the Puerto Rico Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the 10 most outstanding young executives - 1970

 

7.Chosen as one of the ten outstanding Public Works executives in the United States by the American Public Works Association - 1971

 

8.Have received over forty different awards for outstanding civic and professional leadership in Puerto Rico.

 

9.Elected as one of the Community Leaders and Northworthy Americans - 1975-76.

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

Published various works on Environmental Engineering regarding the loss of energy in wave movements and investigations on water resources in Puerto Rico, of which the following are highlights:

                 

 

SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ, A.:

Determination of Safe Levels

Levels of Pollution in Puerto Rico (Research Abstract) University of Puerto Rico Office of Water Resources Research, June 25

 

 

SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ, A.:

And other: "Informe Preliminar Sobre el Río Yaquez".  Universidad de Puerto Rico, Instituto de Investigaciones sobre Recursos de Agua, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Diciembre 1965, 23pp. Appendix 6pp.

 

 

SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ, A.: 

Quantitative Analysis of Water Use Patterns in Puerto Rico. (Research Abstract) University of Puerto Rico, Water Resources Institute 1966.

 

 

SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ, A.:

Boundary Layer Caused by Water Waves in a Rectangular Channel, Ph.D., Thesis, 1963.

 

 

WALLIS HAMILTON & SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ, A.:

Laminar Boundary Layer in a Rotating Wall.  Trans-American Geophysical Union, 1964.

 

 

SANTIAGO VAZQUEZ, A.:

And others:  "La Ingeniería Civil - Nuevos Retos - Nuevas Metas", Revista Colegio de Ingenieros, 1969.