065: Food systems, communicating science and taking care of yourself in academia with Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz

In this episode, Courtney speaks with Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz, a PhD candidate in Food Systems at the University of Vermont. They discuss Luis' unexpected path to his research on Puerto Ricans farmer adaptation and food security following Hurricane Maria. Courtney and Luis also talk about Luis' efforts in science communication, sharing his research in Puerto Rico and beyond. Finally, they discuss a blog post Luis recently published on "How to not suffer (much) in graduate school" and his take-aways for taking care of yourself in academia.

 

If you'd like to dig a little deeper into the content Luis discusses in this podcast, here are a few resources:

 

Luis' blog post on "On Not Suffering (Much) in Graduate School: Part 2" can be found on Luis' blog here: https://luisalexis.com/2020/10/28/on-not-suffering-much-in-the-phd-part-2/ and can also be found on the In Common Podcast blog.

 

Luis' recent, open access article in PLOS ONE on "Awareness of climate change's impacts and motivation to adapt are not enough to drive action: A look of Puerto Rican farmers after Hurricane Maria" can be found here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0244512

 

Luis' piece in Science Working Life on staying connected to Puerto Rican politics and current events while studying in Vermont: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6456/946?_ga=2.123471695.530166458.1615833515-1952206471.1615833515

He also has a Spanish version of this piece on his blog here: https://luisalexis.com/2019/08/29/queria-involucrarme-en-las-protestas-del-verano-pero-me-encontraba-lejos-de-puerto-rico/

 

To learn about the Puerto Rico Science Policy Action Network that Luis is involved in: https://www.cienciapr.org/en/blogs/pr-span/about