Fernando Tormos-Aponte

Fernando Tormos-Aponte is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh and a Marianne Brown Dietrich Breakthrough Scholar. He holds affiliations with the Union of Concerned Scientists as a Kendall Fellow and the SOLVER Lab. His academic journey includes prior roles as Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (2020–2022) and Visiting Scholar positions at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Tormos-Aponte earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Purdue University (2017), M.A. from Purdue (2013), and B.A. from the Universidad de Puerto Rico (2010). His research focuses on social movements, environmental and racial justice, intersectional solidarity, and disaster governance. Key themes include government neglect of vulnerable communities during disaster recovery and the dynamics of transnational activism.

His grants include a $450,000 William T. Grant Foundation award (2021) for reducing inequality and a $505,500 NSF REU Site grant (2022). He has authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, including works on intersectional solidarity in the International Women’s Strike and the Puerto Rican student movement.

Dr. Tormos-Aponte advocates for inclusive science advocacy and has published in Science Advances, Environmental Policy and Governance, and the American Political Science Review. His public writing addresses racial justice, climate policy, and Puerto Rico’s political challenges in outlets like The Washington Post and Scientific American.