Hispanic excellence in chemical engineering: Practical examples for the classroom

Abstract

STEM programs and companies continue to struggle to find and retain talent from underrepresented minorities. This is often due to difficulty retaining these students in university programs, despite similar initial enrollment rates. Students of Hispanic descent are the fastest growing group of students in the United States education system. As more Hispanic students begin to study STEM and more universities become Hispanic-serving institutions, STEM curricula should adapt to better serve this group. In this article, we discuss how prominently including the work of minority scientists and engineers in the classroom can bolster students of color. Next, we re-introduce the work of noted Hispanic scientists Luis Miramontes and Mario Molina and technology from ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Finally, we show how educators can easily use these scientists’ work to increase representation in coursework without drastically changing their lecture notes.