National News
2001 - 2010: Ten Years of Honoring Hispanic Scientists
By MOSI
Sep 10, 2010, 12:06

Marking the 10th anniversary of its National Hispanic Scientist of the Year Award, Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry, along with presenting sponsor Bright House Networks, has chosen their 2010 honoree, Dr. Dan Arvizu, a leading scientist at the cutting edge of America’s research and development of renewable energy sources. 

Arvizu currently serves as the chief executive and director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, the nation’s primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency. As director, Arvizu oversees the DOE’s progress in wind power, solar power, biofuels and numerous other renewable energy technologies. 

As the need to find clean energy solutions for the nation and the world becomes more urgent than ever before, the research headed by Arvizu at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is playing a major role in shaping U.S. energy policy.

In the past three years, Dr. Arvizu has testified before congress four times, given state-of-technology presentations at three Congressional caucus briefings, and keynoted 12 major national and international conferences. 

In 2004, Dr. Arvizu was appointed by President Bush for a six-year term to serve on the National Science Board, which is the governing board of the National Science Foundation and the national science policy advisory body to the President and Congress. He is co-chair of the task force on “Building a Sustainable Energy Future: U.S. Actions for an Effective Energy Economy Transformation.” 

Arvizu became NREL's eighth Laboratory Director in January 2005, and was previously an executive with CH2M HILL companies, a multi-national corporation providing full-service engineering, consulting, construction and corporate operations around the world. He earned his Master of Science and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. 

The son of Mexican immigrants, Dr. Arvizu is the first Hispanic ever to become a Director of a U.S. National Lab.

“The technologies being developed at NREL are the future of energy in this nation and around the world. It’s an honor to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this award by hosting a Hispanic leader at the forefront of that research,” said Wit Ostrenko, MOSI president. “Dr. Arvizu has been key in promoting a greater public understanding of renewable energy resources and serves as an inspiration to today’s youth, who are growing up at a time when these energy solutions are most important.”

For the past nine years, MOSI has recognized nationally distinguished Hispanic science and engineering professionals to serve as role models and mentors for Tampa Bay’s Hispanic youth.

Past honorees include a former U.S. Surgeon General, a Nobel Laureate of Chemistry, a NASA astronaut, a marine biologist, a Harvard professor of pathology and former chief of immunogenetics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a seismologist and former director of the Carnegie Academy for Science Education, Washington, D.C., an industrial engineer and the first Hispanic to serve as acting head of the Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation a molecular biologist and founding member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and most recently, the chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

MOSI will present this year’s National Hispanic Scientist of the Year Award to Dr. Arvizu during a gala award ceremony on Saturday, October 16, 2010.

The mission of MOSI’s National Hispanic Scientist of the Year Award is to recognize outstanding Hispanic scientists who promote a greater public understanding of science and motivate Hispanic youths’ interest in science.  For more information, visit www.nhsoy.org.

The original development of the award was prompted in 2000 when statistics showed an alarmingly high dropout rate for Hispanic students.  Department of Education research shows that Hispanics are more likely to drop out of high school than any other ethnic group in the U.S.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the 2008 dropout rate for Hispanic students was 18.3% compared to 9.9% for African Americans and 4.8% for Caucasians.  1

In an effort to combat this type of disparity in the Hispanic community, proceeds from the event help provide more than 1,200 students from underserved communities and low-income schools an exciting day of mentoring with Dr. Arvizu and access to over 450 MOSI hands-on exhibits during Meet the Scientist Day, which will take place on Friday, October 15.  Event proceeds also help to fund MOSI’s YES! Team, an educational enrichment and vocational training program designed to help at-risk youth develop and progress in a supportive peer-group environment.  
 
MOSI is a not-for-profit, community-based institution and educational resource dedicated to advancing public interest, knowledge, and understanding of science, industry, and technology. With a total size of over 400,000 square feet, MOSI is the largest science center in the southeastern United States, and home to the only IMAX® Dome Theatre in the state of Florida. Kids In Charge!

The Children’s Science Center at MOSI is the largest children’s science center in the nation. Disasterville, featuring WeatherQuest, combines education and 10,000 square feet of interactive exhibits on the science behind natural disasters.  MOSI’s newest permanent exhibition, The Amazing You, explores the fascinating world of birth through end of life. MOSI is the proud winner of the 2009 National Medal for Museums by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s highest honor for museums. For more information on MOSI, visit www.mosi.org.

Former MOSI National Hispanic Scientist of the Year Award honorees

Dr. Nils J. Diaz (2009), chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ; Dr. Lydia Villa-Komaroff (2008), molecular biologist; Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega (2007), industrial engineer; Dr. Inés Cifuentes (2006), seismologist; Dr. Edmond J. Yunis (2005), physician, researcher, Harvard professor; Dr. Antonia Coello Novello (2004), former U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. Mario Molina (2003), Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Fernando “Frank” Caldeiro (2002), NASA Astronaut and Dr. Alejandro Acevedo-Gutiérrez (2001), Marine Biologist.