Elvira Cuevas Viera, a Puerto Rican ecologist, is a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where she serves as the director of the Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation. With a background in biology, she obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from UPR-RP and completed her Ph.D. in ecology at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research. Cuevas's research focuses on ecosystem ecology, plant-soil interactions, nutrient cycling, and the carbon cycle. She also investigates the eco-hydrology of semi-arid systems and urban wetlands, exploring the impacts of climate change and heavy metal pollution. In recognition of her work, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship and became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the Latin American Academy of Science. Elvira Cuevas Viera's dedication to ecological research and her role in advancing our understanding of tropical ecosystems make her a highly respected figure in the field.