Carlos Del Castillo (born c. 1965) is a scientist who, in 2004, became the recipient of the
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...
(PECASE) award, the highest honor bestowed by the
United States government
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. Del Castillo was the Program Scientist for the Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program at
NASA Headquarters, in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
He is currently the Chief of the Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Previously, among other things, he was a member of the Senior Professional Staff and Section Supervisor with the Space Department of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Early years
Del Castillo was born in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to:
* San Juan, Puerto Rico
* San Juan, Argentina
* San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines
San Juan may also refer to:
Places Arge ...
, the capital city of
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, and raised in Mayaguez. There he received his primary and secondary education. He lived a humble life and spent most of his youth on or near the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. His upbringing near the ocean served as an influential factor when he decided to study biology at the
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a Public university, public land-grant university in Mayagüez ...
where in 1987, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.
[NASA Scientist Recognized As Innovator](_blank)
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He continued to work on a master's degree in Marine Science in the same institution. Del Castillo began studying the effects of oil pollution in the tropical marine environments. His master's thesis dealt with oil pollution and the results of his thesis was presented in a meeting in Rennes, France.
During this time period, he also served in the Puerto Rico National Guard
The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG; ) is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions, which includes to provide ...
and was assigned to the 240th Military Police Company. His military service included deployment to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
during the Gulf War
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Upon his return to Puerto Rico Del Castillo earned his master's degree in Marine Science in 1991. He realized that there was a lack of funding for oil pollution research in Puerto Rico and therefore, he decided to continue his education and research at the University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
. While pursuing his doctorates degree, he became interested in Organic Carbon biogeochemistry. He used remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring inform ...
to study biogeochemical and physical processes in the oceans through a combination of remote sensing and field and laboratory experiments. Del Castillo was offered a position in a laboratory where he was to conduct a series of studies in the Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
similar to the ones which he had proposed to NASA. In his proposal to NASA, he asked the agency to conduct and study the optical properties of organic matter in the Orinoco River
The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...
plume. It was his belief that Orinoco River plume was a critical aspect in the use of optical sensors for ocean Biogeochemical research. Del Castillo earned his PhD in Oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.
It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...
in 1998, from the University of South Florida and was awarded the William Sackett Prize for Innovation and Excellence in Research.
Career in NASA
Del Castillo was offered a position at NASA's Stennis Space Center
The John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) is a NASA rocket testing facility in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the banks of the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River at the Mississippi–Louisiana border. , it is NASA ...
(SSC), in Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
. There he worked as a researcher under the direction of Dr. Rick Miller, who led the Earth Systems Science Office. He began working in the Mississippi River plume and in the application of remote sensors to study coastal environments. He co-edited with Dr's. Richard Miller and Brent McKee, "Remote Sensing of the Coastal Environment," a book which provides extensive insight on remote sensing of coastal waters from aircraft and space-based platforms.
In 2003, Del Castillo was offered a position as Program Scientist for the Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The temporary position allowed him to learn about policy, and interact with colleagues in academia and other branches of the government.
On September 9, 2003, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) announced that Del Castillo would be awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...
(PECASE) for his research in Ocean Biology. The award, which is bestowed by the NSTC once during an individual's career, was officially given to Del Castillo in May 2004. It is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.
Del Castillo is a member of NASA's Carbon Cycle and Ecosystem Management and Operations working group. In 2007, he was awarded the Emerald Honor Trailblazers Award. Del Castillo is a member of the Senior Professional Staff with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
Applied Physics Laboratory, and the William S. Parsons Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. He has served as a member of the National Research Council Committee on Assessment of Impediments to Interagency Cooperation on Space and Earth Science Missions and the Committee on Assessing Requirements for Sustained Ocean Color Research and Operations.
Awards and recognitions
* William Sackett Prize (1998)
* Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) (2004)
* Emerald Honor Trailblazers Award (2007)
* Inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame (2017).
Written work
''Remote Sensing of Coastal Aquatic Environments: Technologies, Techniques and Applications (Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing)''; authors: Carlos E. Del Castillo, Richard L. Miller; Brent A. McKee; Publisher: Springer (December 1, 2010); ; .
See also
*List of Puerto Ricans
This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
*Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to:
Places
*El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain
*Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
*Puerto Colombia, Colombia
*Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela
*Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...
* List of Puerto Ricans in the United States Space Program
* University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez people
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Castillo, Carlos
1965 births
Living people
United States Army personnel of the Gulf War
Puerto Rican scientists
Puerto Rican male non-fiction writers
Scientists from San Juan, Puerto Rico
NASA people
Puerto Rican Army personnel
University of South Florida alumni
Puerto Rico National Guard personnel
Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
20th-century Puerto Rican male writers
21st-century Puerto Rican male writers
20th-century Puerto Rican non-fiction writers
21st-century Puerto Rican non-fiction writers