Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Select Nation’s Shining Stars in Stem Fields

Top professionals honored for technical achievements and contributions to the Hispanic community

Industry, CA (PRWEB) August 23, 2011

The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), an organization that empowers the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential and impacts the world through STEM awareness, access, support and development, reveals the winners of its prestigious STAR Awards.

The STAR Awards is a national SHPE program that recognizes outstanding Hispanic professionals in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Each year SHPE assembles an impressive judging panel to select honorees with representatives from organizations such as Northrop Grumman, The Boeing Company, NAVSEA, U.S. NAVY, Chevron, NAVAIR and Procter & Gamble.

The 2011 winners include Dr. Olivia A. Graeve of Alfred University, who has received the Jaime Oaxaca Award, the highest national honor given by SHPE for outstanding contributions in the fields of engineering and science in the Hispanic community. The additional honorees are the following:

•     Junipero Serra Award – Dr. Emir Jose Macari, California State University, Sacramento
•     Company of the Year – Exelon Corporation
•     Community Service Award – Rudolfo Loera, Northrop Grumman Corporation
•     Professional Role Model Award – James Edward Valenzuela, Raytheon Company
•     Student Role Model Award Undergraduate – Keith Roacho, University of Colorado
•     Student Role Model Award Graduate – Paul Guillermo Arias, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
•     Promising Engineer Award – Daniel Lopez, Ford Motor Company
•     Hispanics in Technology Award Government – Debbie Martinez, NASA Langley Research Center
•     Hispanic in Technology Award Corporate – Luis A. Lastras Montano, IBM
•     Pioneer of the Year Award – Gary Gonzalez, Gonzalez Design Group
•     SHPE Star of Today Award – Franklin Tomei, NAVSEA Naval Sea Systems Command
•     SHPE Star of Tomorrow – Angel P. Uruchima, Chevron Corporation
•     Manager of the Year Award – Raul Biascoechea, The Boeing Company
•     Green Engineer Award – Laura Verduzco, Chevron Corporation
•     Innovator Award – Jaime Braverman, Kimberly-Clark Corporation
•     Diversity Award – David Silva, IBM
•     Corporate Achievement Award – Alex Lopez, The Boeing Company
•     Educator of the Year Award – Dr. Jorge Lopez, University of Texas at El Paso
•     Young Investigator Award – Ricardo Castro, University of California, Davis

“SHPE is pleased to be able to bring attention to the exceptional achievements by Hispanics across all STEM fields and industries,” said SHPE Chief Executive Officer Pilar Montoya. “I congratulate all of our winners who are extraordinary professionals and role models for Hispanic students. As we aim to help solve the STEM crisis by engaging and nurturing future innovators, we hope these leaders will inspire Hispanics students to pursue careers in STEM.”

Winners will be recognized at the STAR Awards Show and other events held during SHPE Conference 2011, the largest annual technical conference in the nation. The conference runs from October 26-30, 2011 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA.

SHPE Conference 2011 will bring together more than 5,000 professionals, educators, students and corporations from throughout the U.S. for technical and professional development workshops, design contests, technical competitions, engineering challenges, networking opportunities and a Career Expo. SHPE also holds a Pre-College Symposia for approximately 1,000 middle- and high-school students in grades six through 12.

Tickets are available for the STAR Awards Show and conference athttp://conference.shpe.org/shpe2011.

About Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1974 by a group of engineers employed by the city of Los Angeles. Their objective was to form a national organization of professional engineers to serve as role models in the Hispanic community. Today, its mission is to change lives by empowering the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential and to impact the world through STEM awareness, access, support and development. SHPE provides a variety of programming and resources including hosting the largest annual technical conference in the nation. SHPE awards more than $200,000 in scholarships yearly to Hispanic students pursuing STEM degrees, and links Hispanic talent to more than 250 companies for internships and employment opportunities. There are more than 300 university and professional chapters across the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit http://www.shpe.org. Follow SHPE on Facebook: SHPE National Group and Twitter: SHPE.

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