Latino/Hispanic Heritiage Month begins today! Highlight the contributions of Latino Scientists

September 15, 2008 by The_Urban_Scientist

September 15 is the beginning of Latino or Hispanic Heritage Month. (It concludes October 15). America celebrates the culture and traditions of U.S. residents who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Sept. 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.

Like my Women in Science Meme in March, I am hosting a Diversity in the Sciences Meme and challenging everyone to name 5 Latino Scientists, Engineers, and or Mathematicians. In the end, I hope we can get a great list that represents each major STEM discipline.

Why am I promoting this idea and hosting such a meme? All too often, the story of the scientific discovery doesn’t mention anything about the discoverer. And without a human story or face to attach to the discovery, very often, most students (elementary through college) simply assume that the scientist was a Man, was middle-aged or older, and was white or European. One the easiest ways to promote diversity in STEM is to make a conscious note of the diversity within the discipline and share a real human story. So, will you join me in this meme?

Can you name 5 Latin/Hispanic Scientists?

Rules:

1. Be sure to name their discipline or field.

2. You can't choose people from your own institution or company. (I may go soft on this one, this time)

3. You can't Google or use the internet to aid in your search. (But if you know someone is a scientist, but not sure what disciple, you can look that up).

4. You can consult textbooks, journals, and class notes.

5. You can ask others to help you brainstorm, but they can't use the internet just to get 5 names fast (see #2).

6. Living and deceased scientists are acceptable.

7. Links to or references about the named scientists are greatly appreciated. Let's share the knowledge, and tell mList as many as you can, even if it isn't five.

Major Discipline Fields: (you can add more)

Astronomy
Biology
Biomedical & Medicine
Chemistry
Engineering
Genetics
Geography
Geology
Mathematics
Physics
Psychology
Social Sciences
Space & Planetary Sciences

I encourage you to share this idea with others. Post this meme at your page and track back tot original post.

Thanks

This idea was inspired by Renaisauce when some people objected to my Black History Month Posting calling for educators to highlight the contribution of African-American STEM professionals. I realize many Scienceblog readers do not live in the United States and the idea of celebrating the culture of sub-populations seems very odd. I hope these Science Diversity postings help educate others.