Georgia Tech was ranked by Hispanic Business Magazine again this year as the number one graduate engineering school in the country. The magazine recognized Georgia Tech on the basis of recruiting, retaining, and offering quality higher education to Hispanic and Latino graduate engineering students. “We are consistently working to foster a learning environment that builds on the talents and contributions of everyone,” said Don Giddens, Dean of Engineering. “In this environment, Hispanic students, as well as all of our students, can succeed and grow as they prepare to be engineers of tomorrow.”

Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. and currently represent about 14.8% of the total U.S. population, making them the largest minority group.  The number of Hispanics in Georgia, in Atlanta, and at Georgia Tech continues to rise every year. Hispanics play a key role in the Institute's efforts to increase and support diversity of its faculty, staff and student body.

The Goizueta Foundation has provided Georgia Tech with an endowment to establish programs designed to advance students of Hispanic/Latino origin in higher education. The Goizueta Foundation Fellowship is intended to attract those students interested in pursuing doctoral studies at Georgia Tech. Hispanic college students pursuing degrees in math, science, engineering or technology are invited to apply for more than $2 million in scholarships and internship opportunities through AHETEMS (Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology, Engineering, Math and Science), the educational foundation of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).

SHPE, Spanish Speaking Organization (SSO), Hispanic Recruitment Team (HRT), Capoeira Cordão de Ouro (CCO), Gringos y Latinos: Atlanta's Spanish Service Society (GLASSS), Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) Scholar Chapter, and La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. are dedicated to increasing the participation of Hispanic professionals and graduate students in the fields of engineering, science, and other professions.

"I came to Georgia Tech because of its outstanding research and collaborative environment. I felt that Georgia Tech’s vision to be the center of excellence for regenerative medicine by integrating engineering fundamentals, physical and biological sciences was a great match to my interests."

"Yo elegí venir a Georgia Tech por su excelente cultura de investigación y colaboración. Yo pensé que la vision de Georgia Tech de ser el centro de excelencia para la medicina regenerative para integrar ingeniería y las ciencias físicas y biológicas estaba de acuerdo con mis intereses."  

-Andrés Garcia

"I did not leave industry for academia; I left it for Georgia Tech, and no other. The truth is Georgia Tech is not only a home for me but also a community of unmatched talent and imagination."

"Yo no salí de la industria a buscar un mundo académico; yo salí para regresar a Georgia Tech. La verdad es que Georgia Tech no es solo un hogar para mi sino también un centro de talento e imaginación inigualable."

-Gabriel Rincón-Mora

"Well, there is a reason of why every Latino in this school came to join Tech and that is also my major reason - the opportunity to success. I made some research about different schools and I came to the conclusion that Georgia Tech will change my life.

I believe if you commit to reach your goal, Georgia Tech can give you all the necessary tools to become successful in life. I am currently living my dream of becoming an Electrical engineer and I will battle to the end. I am planning to join the master’s program at Georgia Tech specializing in telecommunication and systems & controls."

"Bien, hay una razón por la que cada Latino en esta escuela vino para afiliarse a Tech y es también mi razón principal - la oportunidad al éxito. Hice un poco de investigación sobre diferentes escuelas y llegué a la conclusión que Georgia Tech cambiará mi vida.

Creo si uno se compromete a alcanzar su meta, Georgia Tech puede darle todos los instrumentos necesarios para tener éxito en la vida. Actualmente vivo mi sueño de hacerme Ingeniero eléctrico y lucharé hasta el final. Planeo ingresar al programa de Maestría en Georgia Tech y especializarme en telecomunicación y sistemas y mandos."

-Martha Serna

"Besides a world-renowned Biomedical Engineering program, Georgia Tech offers a phenomenal faculty and student body full of diverse, intellectually-engaging, and goal-oriented people.  I chose Georgia Tech for the daily challenge, inspiration, and reward of working within such a community, as well as for the knowledge foundation and the future potential that my years here will afford me. I knew that the rigors and opportunities I would encounter both in and outside the classroom would not only enable me to grow as a person, but also would be hard to find at other universities.  I believe that my experience at Georgia Tech will aptly prepare me to successfully pursue a career dedicated to positively impacting lives through science and technology."

"Georgia Tech ofrece, además de un programa de Ingeniería Biomédica mundialmente reconocido, una facultad fenomenal y un diverso cuerpo estudiantil, compuesto por personas motivadas intelectualmente y dedicadas a la realización de sus metas. Escogí Georgia Tech por el diario reto, la inspiración y la satisfacción de trabajar dentro de tal comunidad, así como por la base de conocimientos y un futuro promisorio que los años vividos aquí me deparan. Yo sabía que el rigor y las oportunidades que encontrase, tanto dentro como fuera del aula, me ayudarían a crecer como persona y que estos serían difíciles de encontrar en otras universidades. Creo que mi experiencia en Georgia Tech me prepararán, de manera apta, para seguir exitosamente una carrera dedicada a crear un impacto positivo en la humanidad, a través de la ciencia y la tecnología."

-Arianna Salazar

"Georgia Tech is the top engineering school in the Southeast and I knew that I would receive a great education in any field of engineering. The fact that HOPE would pay for tuition made my decision that much easier."

"Georgia Tech es la mejor universidad de ingenieria en el sureste de los Estados Unidos y yo sabia que iba a recibir education de alto nivel en cualquier area de ingenieria. El hecho de que HOPE pagaba la matricula hizo mi desicion mas facil."

-Jonathan Duarte

"Georgia Tech runs in my blood, both my father and brother received degrees from Georgia Tech. Since childhood, I had been exposed to the construction industry through the projects that my father was involved in. When it was time to make a decision to choose a university, the combination of my early exposure to the Georgia Tech culture and the institution’s nationally recognized top ranking in engineering programs, I knew that there was only one choice.  My education at Georgia Tech has paved the road towards achieving my personal and professional goals."

"Georgia Tech está en mi sangre, ya que mi papá y mi hermano se graduaron de Tech.  Desde niño estuve en contacto con la industria de la construcción a través de los proyectos de mi papá.  Por lo tanto, cuando llegó el momento de decidir en qué universidad estudiaría, sabía que sólo había una opción, Georgia Tech.  Mi decisión fue fácil porque siempre tuve una relación estrecha con la universidad y por su excelencia a nivel nacional en sus programas de ingeniería.  La educación que obtuve en Georgia Tech ha preparado mi rumbo para alcanzar mis metas profesionales y personales."

-Ryan Arrieta

Meet some of COE’s Hispanic Faculty, Students and Alumni:

Faculty

Andrés Garcia
Birthplace – Puerto Rico
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University
M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania.

Before coming to Georgia Tech, Garcia was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He came to Georgia Tech in 1998 and his research centers on cellular and tissue engineering. Recently Garcia’s research has found success in the area of titanium coating to improve joint replacement. He continues to focus on cell-biomaterial interactions for bone and muscle applications. Among his many accomplishments, Garcia was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and has received a National Science Foundation Career Award. (http://garcialab.gatech.edu/)

Gabriel Rincón-Mora
Birthplace – Venezuela
Associate Professor of Electrical Energy and Electronic Design and Applications
B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Florida International University
M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech

After graduating from Georgia Tech, Rincon-Mora worked for Texas Instruments from 1994-2003. During this time he was appointed an Adjunct Professor in ECE (1999-2001), and in 2001 became a full-time faculty member in ECE at Georgia Tech. His research focuses on the study, design, and development of power-efficient microchips that manage and draw energy from microscale batteries and harvesters (motion, light, etc.). He received the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers’ "National Hispanic in Technology Award," and Robins Air Force Base’s "Orgullo Hispano" and "Hispanic Heritage" awards. Rincon-Mora has been featured on the cover of Hispanic Business magazine as one of "The 100 Most Influential Hispanics,” La Fuente (Dallas publication), and three times on Nuevo Impacto (Atlanta Magazine). www.rincon-mora.com.

Students

Martha Serna
Birthplace – Columbia
Serna came to the U.S. when she was 16 years old. She graduated from Broward Community College with an AA degree in Electrical-Electronic-Engineering where she participated in the honors program and graduated with honors. Serna then transferred to Georgia Tech in January 2009 to study electrical engineering. She is currently a member of SHPE and serves on the SHPE Board of Director. She is secretary for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and has tutored as part of the Office of Minority Education Development. Serna plans to graduate in the Fall of 2010.

Arianna Salazar
Birthplace – Venezuela
A biomedical engineering student, Arianna Salazar maintains a 4.0 average and has received a President’s Scholarship, Georgia Tech’s foremost merit-based scholarship which is given to approximately three percent of entering freshmen. Salazar is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and the Biomedical Engineering National Honor Society. Currently Salazar is a biological lab aide in the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  In addition to her academic accomplishments, she is a company dancer for the Covington Regional Ballet, and volunteers at the Atlanta Humane Society and for Habitat for Humanity. She expects to graduate in 2011.

Alumni

Jonathan Duarte
Birthplace – Colombia
B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Duarte, a recent graduate in Industrial and Systems Engineering will be joining the Monitor Group in September as a full-time consultant. While a student at Georgia Tech, Duarte served as president of the GT Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). He excelled academically being named as a Hispanic Engineers National Association & Awards Conference Scholar (HENAAC) for three years and was awarded an HENAAC Top Undergraduate Student Award. Duarte was also a Hispanic Scholarship Fund/Marathon Oil Scholar for 2007-2008 and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Scholar for 2006-2008. During his time as an engineering student at Georgia Tech, Duarte interned at several companies including GE Energy and Marathon Oil Company, as well as served as a volunteer for Inspire, Inc.

Ryan A. Arrieta
Birthplace – Puerto Rico
Licensed professional engineer     
B.S. in Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
M.S. in Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Since graduating from Georgia Tech, Ryan Arrieta has worked with a number of companies in the construction industry including general contractors and construction management firms. Since 2003, Ryan has been a member of the project team of hotel and residential developer Federico Stubbe, fellow Georgia Tech graduate and member of the Georgia Tech Engineering Advisory Board. Arrieta is currently a Project Manager for the construction of the Dorado Beach Ritz Carlton Reserve, a $900 million-plus project. Arrieta also serves as the President of the Puerto Rico Georgia Tech Alumni Club, which recently held its first annual scholarship golf tournament.  The P.R. alumni club is also involved in various social and fundraising events which help promote awareness of Georgia Tech within the Puerto Rican community.

Helpful links

Georgia Tech's Hispanic/Latino Community

Georgia Tech chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers