Engagement Ring: Strengthening Puerto Rico’s Power Grid

Jorge Gonzalez-Cruz works with a UAlbany student to install a specialized sensor that can monitor Puerto Rico's transmission towers.
Jorge Gonzalez-Cruz (left) works with a UAlbany student to install a specialized sensor that can monitor Puerto Rico's transmission towers. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 30, 2025) — Jorge González-Cruz is featured on the most recent episode of the Engagement Ring podcast, sharing details about his project to improve Puerto Rico’s power grid resiliency. 

González-Cruz, a Professor of Empire Innovation at the University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, is a coastal-urban climatologist who focuses on helping vulnerable island communities better prepare for and respond to climate extremes. 

He is currently leading a federally-funded project with a team of student researchers to reconstruct past major weather events in Puerto Rico and gather new data to help limit disruptions to the island’s power grid.

The team traveled to Puerto Rico last semester to install specialized sensors that can monitor the island’s transmission towers when exposed to severe weather.

By reconstructing past storms, collecting new data on Puerto Rico’s transmission towers, and using machine learning algorithms, the researchers plan to develop new predictive modeling that can anticipate risks of disruption to the island’s power grid during extreme weather events.

Developed by Mary Hunt in UAlbany's Office for Public Engagement, the Engagement Ring podcast features conversations with higher education professionals, scholars and community partners working to make the world a better place through collaborative approaches and solutions to societal challenges.