Research

Environmental sensing, two PhDs at once

I run two parallel doctoral programs — Physics in Havana and Engineering in Brussels — both aimed at building better tools for monitoring water and environmental quality.

Ph.D. Physics · 2023 – Present
Universidad de la Habana

"Diseño y construcción de un sistema de boyas frugales para monitoreo y análisis medioambientales."

Ph.D. Engineering & Technology · 2025 – Present
Université libre de Bruxelles

"Development of a toolbox for in situ monitoring of water quality in Cuban bays."

CubanWaterLab fieldwork
Funded Research Program

CubanWaterLab — the ARES Initiative

Both of my Ph.D. programs sit inside CubanWaterLab, a five-year (2024–2029) cooperation between the Universidad de la Habana and the Université libre de Bruxelles, funded by ARES (Belgium's Académie de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur). The program builds autonomous, community-engaged tools for in situ water quality monitoring in Havana Bay, co-led by Dr. Ernesto Altshuler (UH) and Dr. Denis Terwagne (ULB).

  • 8 partner institutions
  • 4 PhD candidates in training
  • 87+ community surveys in Casablanca
  • LoRa-connected autonomous buoys
Visit CubanWaterLab Site Source

Publications

Five peer-reviewed works spanning fluid dynamics, open hardware, and robotics.

Journal Articles

Journal Article · 2024
A smart granular intruder
Physics of Fluids, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 033345
Martínez-Ortíz, L.; Rivera-Rivera, A.; Altshuler, E.
View DOI
Journal Article · 2023
Diseño e implementación de data logger open hardware para estación meteorológica
Elektron, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1–6
Rivera, A.M.; O'Farrill Núñez, L.A.; Martí Coll, A.
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Journal Article · 2020
Implementación de sistema operativo robótico en una plataforma de robot móvil
Revista Ingeniería Electrónica, Automática y Comunicaciones, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 79–92
González, I.O.B.; Miguélez Machado, C.G.; Rivera Rivera, A.M.; Moreno Vega, V.
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Journal Article · 2019
Caracterización del ez-robot para su utilización en la robótica educativa
Serie Científica de la Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas, Vol. 12, No. 11, pp. 73–80
Rivera Rivera, A.M.; O'Farrill Nuñez, L.A.; Miguélez Machado, C.; Martínez Beatón, P.; Benítez González, I.O.
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Conference Proceedings

Conference · 2022
Diseño e implementación de Data Logger open hardware para estación meteorológica
CASE 2022, Argentina, pp. 76–78
Rivera-Rivera, A.M.; O'Farrill Nuñez, L.A.
Read proceedings

Research Projects

The hardware and hands-on work behind the publications above.

Smart Granular Intruder

Smart Granular Intruder

Published

A self-correcting granular intruder that rectifies its own tilt when sinking into a granular bed — published in Physics of Fluids.

Fluid Dynamics · 2024 DOI
Open Hardware Data Logger

Open Hardware Data Logger

Completed

ESP32-based data logger for the WS501-UMB weather station, now in use at Cuba's Institute of Agricultural Engineering — the direct precursor to Vórtice.

Open Hardware · 2023 Paper
Frugal Buoy System

Frugal Buoy System

In Progress

Affordable, LoRa-connected buoy systems for in situ water quality monitoring in Havana Bay — part of the CubanWaterLab / ARES program.

PhD Research · 2023–present Code CubanWaterLab
ROS Mobile Robot Platform

ROS Mobile Robot Platform

Completed

Robot Operating System implementation on an Atmel + Raspberry Pi mobile robot for human interaction and service tasks.

Robotics · 2020 Paper

Open Source

MonoSpectro

Python · spectrometer tooling

Spectrophotometer Software

Python

PlanktoScope

Contributor · open imaging platform

PySpectrometer2

Contributor

Training & Recognition

Awards, schools, and certifications from my academic track.

Scientific Merit Award

CUJAE · 2023

Alex M. Rivera at ULB FabLab

Fab Academy Certification

ULB FabLab, Brussels · 2024

ICTP School — Instructor

Hands-On Quantitative Biology · 2024

ICTP School — Collective Animal Behavior

Universidad de la Habana · 2023

Data Analysis with Python

Physics Faculty, U. Habana · 2025

Environmental Assessment Indicators Workshop

Universidad de la Habana · 2025

Working on something in environmental sensing?

Open to research collaboration, co-authorship, and lab partnerships.

Get in Touch View ORCID