








Welcome to the Rio Grande Valley and to our Inaugural Equity in Engineering Summit, which is a key initiative of UTRGV’s Center for Equity in Engineering (CEE) sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The CEE goal is to increase the enrollment, retention, and advancement of Hispanics, particularly Latinas, in engineering by addressing the inequities along the engineering career continuum including the social/family, education, and professionalization systems.
The summit brings together key stakeholders in those systems, including K-12, higher education, professional organizations and societies, as well as industry/employers to share ideas and best practices for increasing the participation and success of Hispanics in Engineering careers starting, from the K-12 pipeline to college and through gainful employment. With students being at the heart of the CEE, we are excited to have many of our engineering students participate in the summit including a student research poster as well as a student Leadership Academy following the summit.
Broadening the participation of Hispanics in engineering is crucial for strengthening the engineering workforce and ensuring that the US maintains its global leadership and competitiveness in STEM. With Hispanics being the fastestgrowing minority population in the US, and as the nation’s second-largest Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), we are pleased to lead the way in the inclusion and professional preparation of Hispanics, especially Latinas, in engineering. Thanks to the generous support of NSF and to all our regional and national partners in this important effort.
Hope you all have safe travels, and enjoy the summit and stay on our beautiful South Padre Island.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ala Qubbaj, Dean and PI
Dr. Laura Benitez, K-12 Outreach Co-PI
Ms. Edna Orozco, K-12 Outreach Lead
Dr. Angela Chapman, Education & Training Co-PI
Dr. Noe Vargas, Education & Training Co-PI
Dr. Arturo Fuentes, Education & Training Lead
Dr. Alyssa Cavazos, Education & Training Lead
Dr. Constantine Tarawneh, Professional & Research Experiences Co-PI
Dr. Nazmul Islam, Professional & Research Experiences Lead
Dr. Thuy Vu, Professional & Research Experiences Lead
Ms. Jean McLaughlin, Research Associate
Dr. Seokmin “Chandler” Kang, Evaluator
Mr. Miguel Alemañy CEO
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Hispanics: Who We Are & How We Are Misunderstood
Dr. Meagan Pollock
Founder & Chief Inclusion Engineer Engineer Inclusion™
Approach to Leveling the Playing Field, Understanding Systemic Barriers
Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed
Executive Director, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)
The Role of Engineering Educators in Building an Equitable, Diverse, and Vibrant Workforce to Meet the Demands of a 21st Century STEM Workforce
Mr. Miguel Alemany is Catalan by ancestry, Puerto Rican by birth, and Ohioan by residency. Previously Chair of the Board, Miguel has returned to being the Interim CEO for SHPE while they fill this important position. He is a 40-year veteran of Proctor & Gamble, having worked in every business segment before retiring as Vice President of Research & Design. He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez with a degree in engineering. He is a tireless advocate for Hispanic issues, an in-demand public speaker, and trainer on differences in the work environment between Anglos and Hispanics. He is featured in the children’s book “¡Ay mijo! Why do you want to be an engineer?” Fluent in 3 languages and able to function in 7, Miguel has a passion for travel and exploring cultures.
Dr. Meagan Pollock began her career playing with light projection on tiny microscopic mirrors as an engineer for Texas Instruments. Through her company, Engineer Inclusion™, she now utilizes metaphorical projectors and mirrors to shine a light on micro and macro social systems that, when adjusted, improve student and employee success in [STEM]. A TEDx speaker, author, and a past recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, she holds a Ph.D. in engineering education from Purdue University, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University, and a BS in Computer Science from Texas Woman’s University. As an engineer turned educator, Meagan focuses on helping others intentionally Engineer Inclusion™ in education and the workforce.
Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed has leadership experience with the entire pipeline of engineering education and most recently served as Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of ASEE. Prior to that, she was CAO and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Marygrove College, as well as a professor of Mechanical Engineering for nine years. She also held various academic administrative roles at Kettering University for 17 years, with her final appointment as Associate Provost and VP for Academic Affairs. She was an American Council on Education Fellow at Harvey Mudd College from 2008-2009. She has served in industry and government, beginning her career as an engineer for the General Motors Company Truck Group. She sits on the board of the American Council on Education Fellows, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Women in Engineering ProActive Network
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom
THURSDAY, MARCH 23RD
REGISTRATION/CHECK-IN
WELCOME DINNER & INTRODUCTION
Dr. Ala Qubbaj, Dean & PI
Dr. Regina Ford-Pope, Program Director, Broadening Participation in Engineering, National Science Foundation
Keynote Speaker
Mr. Miguel Alemañy, CEO, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Hispanics: Who We Are & How We Are Misunderstood
7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
Grand Ballroom
8:00 – 9:15 a.m.
Grand Ballroom
BREAKFAST & NETWORKING (Registration/Check-in)
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
Dr. Janna Arney, Executive Vice President & Provost
Dr. Daniel King, Executive Director, Region One
Educational Service Center
Dr. Angela Chapman, Director of Engaged Scholarship & Learning, Co-PI
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Meagan Pollock, Founder & Chief Inclusion Engineer, Engineer Inclusion™
Approach to Leveling the Playing Field, Understanding
Systemic Barriers
9:15 – 10:30 a.m.
Grand Ballroom
INDUSTRY/EMPLOYERS PANEL
Preparing a Diverse & Capable Engineering Workforce for the 21st Century Moderator
Dr. Mauricio Salinas, P.E., Engineering Fellow, Raytheon Technologies
Panelists
Ms. Marisela Rios, Operations Assembly and Test Manager, Applied Materials
Mr. Faraón Torres Lazos, Boeing Familia Vice President, Boeing
Ms. Thelma Tamez, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist, Delek US Holdings
Mr. Lucio Salinas, Supply Chain Distribution Specialist, General Motors
Mr. Terrence Buck, Talent Acquisition Manager, Idaho National Lab
10:30 – 11:00 a.m.
11:00 – 12:00 p.m.
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Grand Ballroom
BREAK & ROOM CHECK-OUT*
POSTER SESSION & EMPLOYER BOOTHS
LUNCHEON KEYNOTE
Introduction
Dr. Laura Benitez, Associate Dean, Co-PI
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed, Executive Director, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)
The Role of Engineering Educators in Building an Equitable, Diverse, and Vibrant Workforce to Meet the Demands of a 21st-Century STEM Workforce
1:30 – 2:45 p.m. Grand
Role of Professional Organizations in Promoting Equity in Engineering: Challenges and Opportunities
Moderator
Ms. Marie Leal, P.E., RGV Chapter President, Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE)
Panelists
Dr. Kimberly Douglas, Chief Research & Innovation Officer, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Mr. Jim Greer, P.E., President, National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
Dr. Roberta Rincon, Associate Director, Research, Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Student Breakout: Benefits and Process of Becoming a Professional Engineer Facilitator
Dr Nazmul Islam, Career Development Lead
Speakers
Mr. Aldo Garcia, RGV Vice President, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Mr. Rolando Rubiano, P.E., Vice Chair, Texas Board of Professional Engineers, and Land Surveyors (PELS)
Mr. Michael Sims, P.E., Director of Compliance, (PELS)
K-12 Breakout: Opportunities for K-12 Students & Teachers
Facilitator
Dr. Laura Benitez, K-12 Outreach Lead & Co-PI
Speakers
Dr Karen Lozano, Energy & U, and RGV Science Fair Lead
Ms. Lesly Orozco, I-DREAM4D Consortium, Program Manager
Dr. Constantine Tarawneh, Professional & Research Experiences Lead & Co-PI
Faculty Breakout: Initiatives/Best Practices for Student Success & Equity in Engineering
Facilitator
Dr. Arturo Fuentes, Curriculum Lead
Speakers
Dr. Noe Vargas Hernandez, Boot Camps Lead & Co-PI
Ms. Edna Orozco, Lecturer, Latina Camps Lead
Mr. Jorge Vidal, Faculty, CEMENTor Program Lead
March 20 – 24, 2023
Pre-Conference Self-Assessment: Emotional Intelligence
Nicole Englitsch, UTRGV Organizational Development Manager
Friday, March 24th
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 pm
Icebreaker & Meet with Facilitator Team
Dr. Vu and Nicole Englitsch
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 pm
Emotional Intelligence – Part I
Self-Assessment and Self Awareness
Nicole Englitsch
Saturday, March 25th
8:00 am – 8:45 am Breakfast/Group Activity on Leadership Skills
8:45 am – 10:20 am 10:20 am – 10:30 am 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Training: Establishing Goals and Team Building
Dawn Adams – Axiom Training Solutions
Break
Training: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Part I
Toni Davila – A 7 habit certified trainer
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Working Lunch: Emotional Intelligence – Part II
Understand your Emotional Intelligence Assessment
Nicole Englitsch and Dr. Vu
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm 2:30 pm -3:00 pm
Training: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Part II
Toni Davila – A 7 habit certified trainer
Guided Reflection, Planning, and Commitment
Dr. Vu
“Data-Driven Multi-Horizon Prediction of Ridesharing Spatiotemporal Demand Pattern”
Student Author: Mark Hernandez
Faculty Advisors/Authors: Dr Mohamadhossein Noruzoliaee and Dr Fatemeh Nazar
“Personalized Driving Using Inverse Reinforcement Learning with RegionBased Approximation”
Student Author: Rodrigo Gonzalez
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Constantine Tarawneh, Dr. Qi Lu, and Dr. Tohid Sardarmehni
“Vibration-Based Machine Learning Models for Condition Monitoring of Railroad Rolling Stock”
Student Author: Sergio Miguel Martinez
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Constantine Tarawneh & Dr. Mohamadhossein Noruzoliaee
“Developing control for galvo, laser, and linear actuators for a Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process”
Student Author: Md Shahriar Forhad
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Farid Ahmed & Dr. Jianzhi Li
“Initial Investigation of Using the Waste Rubber Tires as a New Sustainable Material for Electric Conductive Rigid Pavement”
Student Author: Islam Radwan
Advisor: Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raheem
“Vibration Control of a Two-Story Base Isolated Building Using a New Tuned Mass Multi-Sliding Friction Damper”
Student Author: Syed Muhammad Bilal Haider
Advisor: Dr Mohsen Amjadian
“Computer Vision Module with Road Sign and Obstacle Detection”
Student Authors: Ivan Cantu, Nicole Kayambu, and Blane McGee
Advisors: Dr. Dimah Dera and Dr. Erik Enriquez
“Delivery Autonomous Robot for Yummy Labor”
Student Authors: Jose Oropeza, Andres Munoz, Christian Ortuno, and Brandon Mireles-Soto
Advisors: Dr. Ben Ghalia and Dr. Wenjie Dong
“Firearm detection Camera”
Student Authors: Ovidio Serrato, Agustin Magana, and Isaac del Bosque
Advisors: Dr. Ramos and Dr. Sanjeev Kumar
“Robust Bayesian Recurrent Neural Network for Vulnerability Detection in Source Code”
Student Author: Orune Aminul
Advisor: Dr Dimah Dera
“Graphene-Conductive Based Electrochemical Biosensor Platform for Immune Sensing”
Student Author: Dipannita Ghosh
Advisor: Dr Nazmul Islam
“Robust Bayesian Transformer Model for Computer Vision Applications”
Student Authors: Fazlur Rahman and Bin Karim
Advisor: Dr. Dimah Dera
"Development of a Small Business Data Management Pull System: A Case Study”
Student Author: Alexis Andaverde
Advisor: Dr. Hiram Moya
“CNC Jewelry Wax Box”
Author: Sebastian Villanueva and Jose Gonzalez
“Nothing but Net”
Student Author: Lourdes Perez, Tyler Landgraf, and Alex Sanchez
"Optimization of Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Device for Rail Service”
Student Author: Danna Capitanachi
Advisors: Dr Constantine Tarawneh and Dr Heinrich Foltz
“A Dedicated Lane Analysis for Supply Chain Resilience in the US-Mexico Border”
Student Author: Carlo Zorola
Advisor: Dr. Hiram Moya
“Design of Fibrous Membranes for Drug Delivery Application Through Emulsion Based Systems”
Student Authors: Intisar Qubbaj and Cesar Montalvo
Advisors: Dr. Padilla and Dr. Lozano
“Synthesis and Characterization of Phthalocyanines for Use of Anode Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries”
Student Authors: E Fletes and H Morales
Advisors: Dr. Alcoutlabi and Dr. Parsons
“Pin-on Disk to Evaluate Advanced Materials at Elevated Temperatures”
Student Authors: Jarrod Perez, Nicolas Perez, Ricardo Sepulveda, and Roberto Torres
Advisor: Mr. Ortega
“Energy Harvesting with Thermoplastic Polyurethane Nanofiber Mat Integrated with Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon, Nanotubes”
Student Author: Julia Salas
Advisors: Dr Karen Lozano and Dr Uddin
“Synthesizing SnO2/TiO2 Short Fiber Composites as Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries”
Student Author: David Sanchez
Advisor: Dr. Mataz Alcoutlabi
“Fatigue Testing of Inconel. Comparison of Wrought Vs 3D printed”
Student Authors: Anette Torres, Jennifer Calderon
"Surface Chemical Reaction Networks: Reconfiguration in k-Burnout”
Student Authors: Robert M. Alaniz, Elise Grizzell, Ryan Knobel, and Andrew Rodriguez
"The Effect of Cell Regeneration on Viral Infections"
Student Author: Asher Haun