Fellow:Anibal J. Betancourt

About

Anibal J. Betancourt is a University Innovation Fellow and an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez Campus . With a passion for making and engineering, Anibal considers himself an artist and an engineer. Born in Puerto Rico, he has lived all life on the island and when the time came for choosing a university he decided to stay in his home ground for the love he has of his place of birth.

At UPRM Anibal got involved with the only makerspace in campus and its main association Idea Platform. There he got involved with the maker community Empower3D(which he now currently directs) and the I&E Ecosystem of the University. Because of his involvement with both communities, it was a natural decision for him to want to join the UIF program when the opportunity appeared.

His passion for the MakerMovement has led him to work tirelessly on Empower3D and the E.P.I.C. MakerSpace in order to create the ideal maker experience that he would have loved to experience in his first year. Currently focused on developing a community and an environment for the makerspace his main goal before graduating is to establish a self-sufficient maker community that runs the MakerSpace and upgrade its current tool offering to enhance their experience when developing projects. List of Projects developed: -MakerSpace Identity Redesign -Empower3D Zero to Hero (Training program focused around maker tools) -3D Printing Station -Technical Idea Consulting -Electronics & Handtools workstations