Hispanic Physicists Elect Martinez-Miranda

Martinez-Miranda

Associate Professor Luz Martínez-Miranda (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Maryland NanoCenter, and Graduate Program in Bioengineering) has been elected President of the National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP). Her term will span 2010-2012. Martínez-Miranda has been a member of NSHP's board since 1998, and previously served as its president from 2002-2005.

Founded in 1995 with a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the NSHP promotes and recognizes the accomplishments of Hispanic physicists, and seeks to increase both the opportunities for and the number of Hispanic physicists in the scientific community, particularly through outreach and mentorship of high school and college students.

The NSHP maintains a close working relationship with the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), of which Martínez-Miranda is also a member and former board member (2005-2008). Her activities with the organization include advising graduate and undergraduate students in physics and engineering majors and serving as a research poster judge and session organizer at events.

"Both organizations provide Hispanic role models all in one place," she says. "In other large physics or materials society events you may only find one in a session."

Martínez-Miranda is an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and an undergraduate advisor. She is also active in mentoring-oriented programs such as the university's Materials Research Science and Engineering Center's Research Experience for Undergraduates (MRSEC REU) program, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's efforts to increase and support underrepresented American minority Ph.D. students in math, science and engineering.

Learn More:

Visit the NSHP web site »
Visit the SACNAS web site »
Visit Dr. Martinez-Miranda's homepage »
The Clark School's Sloan Scholars Program »

Published November 1, 2009