Amador Cobas
Amador Cobas was a Puerto Rican physicist, academic administrator, and former President of the University of Puerto Rico. He was renowned for pioneering Puerto Rico's nuclear research and advancing science education on the island.
Early life and education
Amador Cobas was born on 2 August 1910 in Juncos, Puerto Rico. He earned a **B.A. in Physics** from the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras campus in 1931. He then studied at the **University of Paris** and later received an **M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics** from Columbia University in 1940. In 1942, he was announced as a Guggenheim Fellow. He was a member of Phi Sigma Alpha Fraternity.Scientific and academic career
Cobas was a key figure in establishing nuclear science in Puerto Rico. From 1950 to 1956, he directed the **Cosmic Ray Project** at UPR. In 1957, he founded the **Puerto Rico Nuclear Center** in collaboration with the United States Atomic Energy Commission and spearheaded isotopic and radioisotope research across multiple campuses.He also led Puerto Rico’s Solid State Physics research on radiation effects in organic crystals at the Nuclear Center.
Cobas held a professorship in Physics and served as Dean of General Studies at UPR. He was awarded a **John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship** in 1942 for his research in theoretical physics.