Oscar is Full Professor of the Department of Engineering Science and Material, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM), since 2002 and his current research interest involves the size-, shape- , composition- and structure-controlled synthesis of nanostructures (nanocrystals and thin films) for spintronics, high-density storage, food packaging materials, hydrophobic surfaces, nanoagriculture, and environmental protection applications. New research initiatives in nano-medicine are focused on the processing of quantum dots for Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT) and Photo-Thermal Ablation (PTA) for Cancer treatment. Perales’ projects are oriented towards the test-bed stage through the Institute for Functional Nanomaterials (IFN) of Puerto Rico and collaborators from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. The competitiveness of Perales’ work is demonstrated by the support he receives from several agencies including National Science Foundation (NSF), US-DoD, USDA, US-DoEd, US-DoE, NASA, USGS, TOYOTA Foundation, The Puerto Rico Water Management Authority and The Waste Solid Management Authority. He also serves as Co-director of the $5M/5 years NSF-CREST Center on Nanostructures for Biomedical Applications, $3.2M.4 years USDA-CETARS Center on Agriculture and Related Sciences, $6M/6 years Co-Principal Investigator in the US-DoE Project on Multifunctional Materials and UPRM Principal Investigator of the NSF-NRT Project on Nanomedicine Academy, among others.

Oscar, three times Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Researcher of the College of Engineering-UPRM, is author of more than 120 scientific and technological publications in materials processing and nanotechnology and serves a reviewer for different journals including, among others: Hydrometallurgy, J. of Applied Physics, Environmental Science and Technology, Nanotechnology, MRS Proceedings, National Institute of Water Research, Materials Physics and Chemistry, J. of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, Materials Research Bulletin, Applied Surface Science, J of Hazardous Materials, Water, Air and soil Pollution, J of Alloys and Compounds, J. of Luminescence, Spectrochimica Acta A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Journal of Nanomedicine, among others. He is also an invited panelist for the National Science Foundation SBIRT/STTR Program since 2003 (Functional Nanotechnologies and Advanced Materials), US-Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Peruvian Council of Science & Technology (CONCYTEC), the National Agency for the Scientific and Technological Promotion of Argentine and the PR-Us National Institutes of Health INMBRE Program. In 2012, he was also awarded by the Peruvian Board of Metallurgists with the Tumi de Oro in merit to his contribution to research and innovation in the metallurgy and materials field. Last January 2017, Oscar was awarded the Peruvian Scientific and Technological Ambassador appointment by the International Scientific Meeting in Peru, in merit to his outstanding contributions in Science and Technology.