Rising star GMiS Scholar starts a Ph.D. program in engineering

POSTED ON Feb 23, 2023

It’s Engineers Week (Feb. 19–25). This year’s theme is Creating the Future. During EWeek, and all year round, Hispanic Engineer helps showcase engineers’ impact in developing innovative solutions for global problems.

The College of Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso has long been recognized as a national model among public universities for providing access to research and academic opportunities to historically underserved students. More than 80% of the 24,000 students are Hispanic, and half are the first in their families to attend college.

Alexis Lopez may have been born to born to parents who were engineers, but he has successfully carved out his path, according to Great Minds in STEM.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 2020, Alexis earned a master’s in mechanical engineering from UTEP in December 2022.

Out of the more than 2,300 graduates of the class of 2020 at UTEP, the College of Engineering saw 303 undergraduate students earn a degree. According to UTEP, that figure represents a 43.6% increase from spring 2017.

During his time at UTEP, Alexis prioritized volunteering. For example, he joined the Engineers for a Sustainable World organization, participated in a recycling project on campus, designed and installed rainwater harvesting systems in parts of El Paso and other towns in Texas, and was part of a team that reconstructed a pedestrian bridge in Puerto Rico.

A program called the Ninjaneer helps provide students with various college opportunities throughout the engineering college, UTEP campus, and the El Paso community.

Alexis was also a Great Minds in STEM (GMiS) Gold Medallion Scholar for four years. In 2020 he won the GMiS Outstanding Undergraduate Student Leadership Award in Engineering. He also served as a conference delegate at the 2019 GMiS Conference and a returning conference delegate for the 2022 GMiS Conference.

“I want to change the world, improve lives, innovate, and create things no one has ever seen,” he told GMiS. “As long as I can help even one person, I will keep thriving forward.”

In January 2023, Alexis began a doctorate in mechanical engineering at UTEP. The leading Hispanic-serving university is located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande. UTEP is the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.