Great Minds in STEM Announces 2015 HENAAC Award Winners

    MONTEREY PARK, CA, August 10, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Great Minds in STEM is proud to announce the 2015 Class of HENAAC Award Winners. These phenomenal role models in science, technology, engineering and math will be honored at the 27th HENAAC STEM Career Conference, "Ignite, Inspire" in Pasadena, CA, October 14-18, 2015.

Great Minds in STEM salutes its 27th class of HENAAC honorees and thanks the men and women from industry, government, military and academic institutions who participated in the various selection committees to review nominations. The peer review selection committee was co-chaired by Dr. Yannis C. Yortsos, Dean of the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering and Dr. Emily L. Allen, Dean of California State University Los Angeles' College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology. Both institutions, along with the California State University System, are the Academic Hosts of the 27th HENAAC STEM Career Conference.

Engineer of the Year
Karen Lozano, Ph.D.
Julia Beecherl Endowed Professor
Founder/Director of
Nanotechnology Center of Excellence
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley*
&
Chief Technology Officer
FibeRio Technology Corporation

Scientist of the Year
Elisa V. Quintana, Ph.D.
NASA Senior Fellow,
Physicist & Planetary Scientist
NASA Ames Research Center

Executive Excellence - Government
Jeff Morales
Chief Executive Officer
California High Speed Rail Authority

Executive Excellence - Industry
Nestor Martinez
Vice President
Engineering and Technical Services
Transmission and Distribution
Southern California Edison

Outstanding Technical Achievement
Abraham Ellis, Ph.D.
Manager
Photovoltaic and Distributed Systems Department
Sandia National Laboratories

Chairman's Award
John Brooks Slaughter, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor of Education and Engineering
Rossier School of Education Viterbi School of Engineering Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
University of Southern California

Pioneer
Van Rex Gallard
Vice President - Sales
Latin America, Africa & Caribbean
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
The Boeing Company

Lifetime Achievement
Patrick A. Sena
Research and Development Senior Engineer
Stockpile Systems Center
Sandia National Laboratories

Professional Achievement II
Ester Baiget
EMEA Commercial Director
Dow Elastomers, Electrical & Telecommunications
The Dow Chemical Company

Paul N. Cejas
Chief Engineer
QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
The Boeing Company

Professional Achievement I
Jason Brooks
Principal Systems Engineer
F-35 Design and Development
IPT Lead/Engineering Program Manager
Lockheed Martin Corporation

Maria M. Diaz-Masterson
Branch Head
Submarine and Surveillance Systems Test and Evaluation
Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport
U.S. Navy

Civil Engineering
Norberto C. Nadal-Caraballo, Ph.D.
Research Civil Engineer (Hydraulics)
Harbors, Entrances, and Structures Branch
Navigation Division Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

Information Technology
Joel A. Johnson
Senior Manager
Lockheed Martin Computer Incident Response Team
Lockheed Martin Corporation

Education
Ann Quiroz-Gates, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Computer Science
University of Texas at El Paso

Armando M. Rivera-Figueroa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Chemistry &
STEM Projects Director
East Los Angeles College

Diversity
Alma Guajardo-Crossley
Corporate Director
Diversity Initiatives
General Motors

Community Service
Connie P. Medina-Garcia
Parts Manager/Cost Account Manager
Space and Airborne Systems
Raytheon Company

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Advanced Degree - Ph.D. - Industry
Marvi A. Matos, Ph.D.
Director
Chemical Technologies, Metals and Ceramics
Boeing Research and Technology
The Boeing Company

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Advanced Degree - Ph.D. - Education
Rafael Verduzco, Ph.D.
Louis Owen Assistant Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Materials Science and NanoEngineering
Rice University

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Advanced Degree - Master's - Industry
Miguel Angel Cabrera
Project Team Lead & Senior Reservoir Engineer
Shell Oil Company

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Advanced Degree - Master's - Industry
Michael G. Diaz
Hybrid Controls Algorithm Design and Development Engineer
General Motors

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Advanced Degree - Master's - Government
Shannon Rodriguez-Sanabria
Branch Head
Microwave and Telecommunications Systems Branch
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Advanced Degree - Master's - Military
Captain Daniel J. Uribe
Program Manager
Center for Rapid Innovation
Air Force Research Laboratory
U.S. Air Force

Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Undergraduate Degree - Bachelor's
Victor H. Aguilar-Ruiz
Systems Engineer III
Northrop Grumman Corporation

*As of 9/1/15 the University of Texas Pan American will merge with the University of Texas Brownville to form the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

For more information on the 27th Annual HENAAC STEM Career Conference or the Great Minds in STEM organization please visit www.greatmindsinstem.org.

Great Minds in STEM is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles County. GMiS is proud to celebrate 26 years of keeping America technologically strong through the delivery of national science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) awareness programs for students, parents and teachers in underserved communities; providing opportunities for the academic and career development of underrepresented students and professionals in STEM; and honoring the excellent contributions of our nation's Hispanic engineers and scientists. With a national presence through its education programs as well as its college and professional offerings, the organization is working to ensure that the U.S. maintains its status as the world's technology leader. For more information, please contact Julie Magallanes-Guevara, Manager of Public Affairs at (213) 435-9934 or (323) 262-0997 ext. 628 and visit the Great Minds in STEM website at www.greatmindsinstem.org.

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