Mauricio Silva-Aguilera, Postdoc Researcher -  is a Chilean-born oceanographer and geospatial analyst specializing in environmental modeling, GIS, remote sensing, and disaster response. Mauricio moves to the USA pursuing advanced studies on a Fulbright Scholarship. He completed his Ph.D. in Oceanography at Florida State University (FSU), focusing on deep-sea ecosystems and hydrocarbon impacts.

With over a decade of interdisciplinary experience, Dr. Silva has led groundbreaking research on oil and gas quantification, methane emissions, and disaster response. As a postdoctoral fellow and researcher at FSU's Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science (EOAS) Department, he contributed to major projects including the NSF-funded discovery of deep-sea scleractinian reefs in undersaturated North Pacific waters, historical analysis of Gulf of Mexico oil slicks in collaboration with Exxon, and assessments of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill's impacts on mesophotic corals and marine environments (funded by NOAA, BOEM, and GoMRI consortia). His work on the Taylor Energy MC20 site involved integrated assessments of oil and gas releases, while ECOGIG and Deep-C initiatives examined ecosystem responses to hydrocarbon inputs.

Since 2024, Dr. Silva has served as a Researcher at the RIDER Center, where he develops innovative sensors, data loggers, and modeling techniques for quantifying and reducing methane emissions from landfills—outperforming drone and satellite methods to support resilient infrastructure and energy recovery in disaster-prone areas. He has participated in over 10 research cruises, including post-Deepwater Horizon evaluations, and authored 15+ publications in journals like Nature Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Earth Science. Dr. Silva's expertise bridges academia and industry, mentoring students and collaborating on grants to advance quantification tools for oil spills, gas leaks, and environmental disasters.