Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, UT Chapter at SHPE National Conference.
The Cockrell School of Engineer's Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) student chapter attended the SHPE National Conference in Anaheim, Calif. Oct. 26-30, and was presented with numerous national and regional awards, including:
- The 2010-11 Regional Outstanding Chapter of the Year.
- Wendy Sepulveda was one of two in the nation to receive the Future Leader of SHPE Award.
- Team members Rodrigo Estrada, Jose Delgado, Stephanie Castillo, and Juan Carlos Gonzalez placed second nationally in Academic Olympiad.
- Jose Gomez III and Raul Tenorio were accepted to compete in the National Undergraduate Technical Paper Competition. Fred Aguayo was accepted to compete in the Graduate Technical Paper Competition.
- Raul Tenorio placed third in the National Undergraduate Technical Paper Competition.
- Estella Cota and Nicolas Gonzalez were two of 77 participants in the Extreme Engineering Competition.
- Rodrigo Estrada and Juan Carlos Gonzalez completed the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Readiness Program.
"After attending my second SHPE National Conference as an undergraduate, I could not help but feel the sense of accomplishment within our chapter as I kept hearing our school name throughout the entirety of the conference," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez, president of UT's SHPE chapter. "At the end of the conference last year, a few of us made an agreement that for this year's conference, we would get more participation from the attendees, so as chapter president, I made it a point to state that message through our officer board, and I have to say it paid off.
"Having participated in the Corporate Readiness Program, Extreme Engineering, the Technical Paper Competition, and Academic Olympiad as a chapter made me a very proud chapter president. The fact that we placed in Technical Paper and Academic Olympiad made me even prouder and I am sure this will be a tradition because we attend the great University of Texas at Austin, and it is very nice to show it every once in a while. Taking Regional Chapter of the Year Award was also a great accomplishment."
Most participants at this year's conference were able to secure early registration by July 31 thanks to the generous support of Chevron, General Motors, ConocoPhillips and Boeing.
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers was founded in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1974 by a group of engineers employed by the city. Today, the organization is a strong and independent network of professional and student chapters throughout the nation. In 1982, The University of Texas at Austin student chapter of SHPE was chartered in conjunction with the Pi Sigma Pi Minority Engineering Society under the direction of the Cockrell School's Equal Opportunity in Engineering Program.
