His many awards include: Student Scholarship at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) (1985), Honors distinction in MSc Studies in Marine Sciences at UNAM (1988), Pew Charitable Trust scholarship (1991) for development of a computerized interface for resources management of a Mexican coastal system, UNAM scholarship for PhD studies in Marine Sciences at Louisiana State University (1992), Membership in Scientific Research Society, Sigma X (1992), Distinguished Visiting Professor with the Organization for Tropical Studies at the Instituto de Ecología, Mexico (2002).