A Record-Setting National Convention!

The largest gathering of Hispanics in STEM in the U.S. just got a lot bigger! We had record attendance this year at the SHPE National Convention with 7,697 attendees. That’s a 16% increase over last year. We’re truly a force to be reckoned with. In lieu of the formal wrap-up report, we’ll be producing SHPE’s first-ever annual report this year, to be published in early 2019 with highlights from the convention and all of our 2018 events. But since we know you’re eager to hear about the convention, please see below for the key demographics, photo gallery, press hits, and competition winners from our most successful convention yet.

Cleveland was excited to host us and was blown away by the size of the event, the overwhelming energy of the attendees, and the important opportunity being offered by SHPE. As word spread, so did the interest from local media, including these outlets:

The local NBC affiliate does a regular Girls in STEM series, so they leapt at the chance to interview some STEM heavyweights while we were in town, including this interview with Romelia Flores, IBM Distinguished Engineer & Master Inventor. Watch the interview. They also pre-recorded segments with: Dr. Theresa Maldonado, Dean of the College of Engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso SHPE Board Member Diana Gomez, Central Valley Regional Director at California High Speed Rail Authority SHPE CEO Raquel Tamez We will share these once they've aired.

Myra Rosario of Latino Cleveland stopped by for the STAR Awards Gala and had a chance to interview a variety of important SHPE representatives, resulting in this excellent round-up of the convention and the importance of Hispanics in STEM.

Even the local NPR affiliate, WKSU, got in on the action. Journalist Kabir Bhatia walked the exhibit hall and then interviewed Raquel Tamez for this radio segment about the convention. Listen to the story.

A significant part of the convention were the five competitions that took place over the course of five days with 50 winners awarded close to $60,000 in prizes. Some of these competitors even work for 24 hours straight for bragging rights (and prize money). Join us in congratulating the winners  and  everyone who participated in these important events.

ENGINEERING SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM Oral Presentation 1st Place: Luis Aranda, The University of Texas at El Paso $1,000 2nd Place: Bianca Dyer, University of Rochester $750 3rd Place: Coral Torres, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez $500 Poster 1st Place: Luis Ramirez, University of California, Irvine $1,000 2nd Place: Sofia Gonzalez, Georgia Institute of Technology $750 3rd Place: Angel Chagolla, University of Texas at Tyler $500

EXTREME ENGINEERING COMPETITION Winning Team $8,000 The Green Team, sponsored and led by John Deere, won first place: Pedro Arango, Georgia Institute of Technology Michidmaa Maral, Pasadena City College Johan Marcos-Espinosa, University at Buffalo, SUNY Julio Cesar Marquez Montes, New Mexico State University Kevin Marquez, University at Buffalo, SUNY Cesar Martinez, New Mexico State University Lourdes Mendez, Rutgers University Leopold Orozco, University of Washington Daniel Suarez, University of Cincinnati Nicolas Vivas-Gonzalez, University of Florida The Pink Team, sponsored and led by General Motors, took second place; and the Blue Team, representing The Boeing Company, came in third. Lead Engineers $1,500 Leopold Orozco, University of Washington, Green Team Pedro Arango, Georgia Institute of Technology, Green Team Astrid Cavazos, University of Houston, Blue Team Dylan Pendlebury, University of North Florida, Black Team Extreme Engineer $2,000 Matthew Ramirez, Texas A&M University, Red Team

HACKATHON First Place $8,000 Team PSU_HACKS_SHPE_AND_OHIO Alejandro Andrade, Pennsylvania State University Adriyel Nieves, Pennsylvania State University Victor Ouko, Pennsylvania State University Evan Menendez, Pennsylvania State University Kriston Ramdass, Pennsylvania State University Randy Blanco, Pennsylvania State University Second Place $4,000 Team Independence Through Mobility Johannes Dimopoulos, Pasadena City College Gustavo Jimenez, University of Texas, Arlington Jorge Lee, University of Texas, Arlington Alexis Toledo, Pasadena City College Aaron Altamirano, Pasadena City College Third Place $2,500 Team glassMaps Andrew Paz, University of Central Florida Ricardo Useche, University of Houston Christopher Camacho, Tufts University Alejandra Mayorga Del Valle, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology Alicia Nieto, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology Fourth Place $1,000 Team Torch Dylan Pendlebury, University of North Florida

MAES INTERN TOURNAMENT First Place, Apple Macbook Air Raymundo Lopez, University of Alaska Fairbanks Second Place, Apple iPad Pro Nicolas Fernandez, The Ohio State University Third Place, Apple iPad Mini Daniel Olvera, California State University, Northridge Fourth Place, ExxonMobil Prize Bundle Roberto Sabel Mendez, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

NISSAN DESIGN COMPETITION First Place $10,000 Priyal Sheth, University of Michigan, Dearborn Angel Calderon, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology Second Place $5,000 Hayim Del Moral, Middle Tennessee State University Raymundo Lopez, University of Alaska at Fairbanks Jonathan Rosales, University of Cincinnati Third Place $2,500 David Cabrera, University of Houston Laura Lopez, University of California, Berkeley Nathaniel Asfaw, University of Maryland 26 others received $300 each for their participation in the competition.

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