Rodolfo Alvarez,

Federal Reserve

Computer engineer

Rodolfo arrived to the computer world completely by chance. His bright career as a website developer began with his curiosity for learning, his interest in constructing, and passion about assembling things.  His Colombian parent’s gave him never-ending support, which allowed him to follow his dreams. Today he works with the Federal Reserve in Washington DC designing WebPages.  He takes documents that are published in written form and changes them so that they are in the correct format to be put up on the internet. Through his experience behind the computer, Rodolfo has learned about the importance of presentation and organizational skills, especially because he represents an important federal agency.  Each word and image that he creates shows his hard work and passion for computer science.

 If you like what Rodolfo does for a living please visit:

http://www.science-house.org/learn/CountertopChem/

Frank Gines,    

DOE Argonne Laboratory

Director of Nanotechnology program

Frank Gines completed his college degree in electrical engineering in Puerto Rico with financial assistance from the US Navy. After he finished school, he moved to the U.S.  Now he is the Director of the Nanotechnology Program for the U.S. Department of Energy.  He works in the Argonne Lab in Illinois. Frank develops new small scale technology that is durable, flexible, and uses less energy, such as mobile phones. Throughout his childhood, Frank had many role models, and a great deal of support from his family, which helped him become a scientist.  His cousin was an engineer and his father always told him that good things come to those who work hard, establish professional and personal goals, and dedicate time and effort to the things they want in life.  With these influences, Frank is now a successful and influential scientist. Frank says that “if you want to become a successful scientist you must have a passion for math and science”.

For more information and engineering games please visit:

http://www.engineeringk12.org/students/What_Is_Engineering/Games/default.php

Charleen Bermudez,

IOMAI Corporation

Quality and Control analysis

Charleen came to the US to go to college and start her career in biochemistry and public health. During her last year in high school several U.S. universities came to Puerto Rico to recruit talented students -- Charleen saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity so she applied and got accepted. Now she works for a private vaccine development company. She is in charge of overseeing the quality and control of the flu vaccine development and several developing world illnesses such as cholera. She has always been interested in science but she never knew that being part of vaccine development projects would be so rewarding. Through her work she can actually save lives.

If you like what Charleen does please visit:

http://www.science-house.org/learn/CountertopChem/

Javier Ancalle,

Civil Engineer Graduate Student; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Javier has always enjoyed science.  He received daily inspiration from his father who is a hard working civil engineer. He is originally from Bolivia, though as a young child his family moved to Puerto Rico where he was raise and started college.  After his second year in college he decided to transfer to a school that offered civil engineering with a specialization in hydraulic engineering, which is what he always wanted to do. He continued on to graduate school where he did research.  He conducted many exiting experiments and explored many topics including: flood control, river basins, transportation of sediments, new and improve drainage systems, river restoration, and erosion control. He recently graduated and was immediately hired by an engineering firm in Virginia.

If you like what Javier does for a living, please visit:

http://www.juliantrubin.com/fairprojects/engineering/waterengineering.html

Giselle Sandi-Tapia,

Chemistry Argonne DOE LAB

Giselle is an inspirational story of a scientist and andHispanic woman. After starting her science career in her native Costa Rica, she had the opportunity to come to the US and complete her doctoral studies. She says: “The only thing you need to achieve your goals is to believe in yourself and work hard for what you want to achieve, your cultural heritage and economic situation cannot constrain your goals” Giselle is very passionate about science especially; biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics stating that all these ramification within science is a key to become a successful scientists.  She presently works with the DOE Argonne Laboratory doing research in the storage of energy such as; alkaline batteries, fuel and hydrogen storage. Her work is very exciting one important aspect of her work is the input in the development of hydrogen combustion system for automobiles that she considers is the fuel of the future. 

If you like what she does at the Argonne Lab, please visit:

 http://www.chemcollective.org/students.php

 http://www.fuelcells.org/ced/education.html

Judith Camacho,

Executive Director of Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS):

Judith Camacho, a Mexican American, is a great example of a successful and accomplished Hispanic woman. She currently serves as the executive director of SACNAS. The organization provides great opportunities (scholarships, internships, programs) for talented and committed Hispanic and Native Americans students in the field of science, technology and engineering. 

The mission of SACNAS is to encourage Chicano/Latino and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees necessary for science research, leadership, and teaching careers at all levels.

Programs:

SACNAS Genomics Program
Underrepresented minority graduate students and graduating seniors who have been accepted to a graduate program in genomics or bioinformatics are invited to take advantage of the SACNAS genomics initiatives:

• Genome Scholars Program - $25,000 one year scholarships

SACNAS News
Each edition of the organization's newsletter, the SACNAS News, offers student-written articles along with a wealth of resources related to career advancement and minority science research. Download past editions of the publication: SACNAS News Archive.

Undergraduate Students
For information regarding partner organizations offering graduate student opportunities and fellowships, select a category under the Job/Opportunities option on the upper menu bar, such as Internships or Scholarships.

Graduate Students
For information regarding partner organizations offering graduate student opportunities and fellowships, select a category under the Job/Opportunities option on the upper menu bar, such as Graduate Student Opportunities.

Monica Villafaña:

Deputy Executive Director of HENAAC:

As the deputy executive director of HENAAC, Monica works to help Hispanic students across the US find science careers paths and study opportunities. HENAAC offers a variety of opportunities such as scholarships, fellowships, internships, and programs for all levels of education.

HENAAC’s Mission:

• To educate, motivate and enable more students to achieve careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). 
• To engage families, educators and employers to support students in STEM careers.
• To inspire our nation through recognition of the achievements of Hispanics in. STEM.
• To develop and leverage Hispanic STEM talent to play a leadership role.
• To lead collaboration and cooperation within the STEM community.

HENAAC has a goal of providing over $250,000 in scholarships in 2007. Scholarships range from $500 to $5,000.

Programs: Viva Technology™ is designed to engage inner-city and rural K-12 students, teachers and parents in technology in order to stimulate interest and academic achievement in math, science and engineering.  It works to give students the knowledge they need to be successful in science degree programs in college and university, which will allow them to pursue a career in science, engineering, and technology.

Middle School Program
This program emphasizes how math and science relate to careers like engineering. It also focuses on how many different kinds of careers actually use math and science to produce a product or service. The program integrates competitive exercises with real success stories of minorities, women scientists, engineers, and other technical professionals. Finally, the program provides an academic support for parents and students that will help lead to success in technical degree programs.

High School Program
The program focuses on the many types of college technical degrees available to students. It features competitive exercises, and guest lectures by role models from variety of technical fields. It identifies various degree types and the careers associated with them. It reinforces the opportunities available through research and graduate degrees. The program also demonstrates how professionals with various technical degrees work together to create and advance products or services.

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