Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 – October 15, 2005

Engineers Week salutes our partner Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers during Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18.

Meet LT(JG) Gabriel Alvillar, an electrical engineer with the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program and one of 2005’s New Faces of Engineering, and then check out El Navy.

Read an article from the Tuscon Citizen about the Phoenix, Arizona, SHPE chapter’s efforts to boost the numbers of Hispanics in the engineering and high-tech sectors.

Learn about outstanding Hispanic American science, engineering, technology and math professionals honored by HENAAC.

From the HENAAC Hall of Fame:

Roberto C. Goizueta
Chemical engineer
Former Chief Executive Officer
Coca-Cola Company

Colonel Sidney M. Gutierrez
Aeronautical engineer
U.S. Air Force (Retired)
NASA Astronaut
The first Hispanic American ever to pilot a space mission (1991). He had on-orbit responsibility for all Spacelab systems, in-flight repairs and environmental Earth studies observations.

Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya
Civil engineer
U.S. Navy (Retired)
Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya served 30 years in the U.S. Navy as an officer, and engineer, a lawyer and an environmentalist. As commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and chief of civil engineers, he attained the highest position for an active duty Civil Engineer Corps officer.

Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D.
Electrical engineer
NASA Astronaut
The first Hispanic woman selected to NASA’s Astronaut Corps and the first to travel in space.

Dr. Nils Diaz
Mechanical engineer, nuclear engineer
Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission