our 2016 HENAAC Awards

HENAAC Awards Nominations
Great Minds in STEM™ (GMiS) is in its 28th year of highligting the nation’s best and brightest Hispanic engineers,
scientists, mathematicians, and technology experts. Through the HENAAC awards nomination process, GMiS is
able to honor and showcase role models to inspire young people to pursue careers in technology, and to motivate professionals to continuously connect with the Hispanic community. By nominating individuals from your
organization, you support GMiS in providing a pathway and vision for the next generation, of what it means to
be a successful STEM professional. Award winners will be recognized during the 28th HENAAC STEM Career
Conference, taking place in Anaheim, CA from October 5-9, 2016.
Why nominate your colleagues & Employees?
Identify and showcase Stars of STEM
Retain your organization’s top talent
Promote your organization’s diversity
efforts
Inspire the next generation of STEM
professionals
Nominees can be featured Role Models
on the GMiS website
Nominees will receive a Certificate of
Recognition from GMiS
CONTACT
How to submit a nomination:
STEP 1 :
Read the Award Category descriptions to determine
which one is best suited for your candidate.
STEP 2 :
Review the Awards Nomination Checklist to ensure
you gather all of the required information.
STEP 3 :
Create a login account. Fill out the online nomination
form and upload your documents. This is a paperless
process done through the GMiS website.
http://www.greatmindsinstem.org/professionals/nominator
Any questions, please contact Monica Villafaña,
Director of Client Relations & Executive Services
at [email protected].
COVER (Counterclockwise):
Victor H. Aguilar-Ruiz, Northrop Grumman Corporation, 2015 Most Promising Engineer - Undergraduate
Ester Baiget, The Dow Chemical Company, 2015 Professional Achievement II
Maria M. Diaz-Masterson, U.S. Navy, 2015 Professional Achievement I with Master of Ceremonies, Mario Lopez
2016 HENAAC Awards
“My parents’ life story of hard work and perseverance has been a source
of inspiration for me and I am determined to do my part to inspire others
to pursue STEM careers and help our nation remain that shining beacon of
freedom and opportunity my parents saw 35 years ago.”
Captain Daniel J. Uribe, U.S. Air Force
2015 Most Promising Engineer - Advanced Degree - Master’s
Executive Excellence
Candidates must be upper-level executives, with large department and budget responsibilities. Individuals
should have twenty (20) plus years of experience. The Executive Excellence award is divided into two categories to balance the playing field between organizations with revenues over and under $20 billion. Nominees
from the military and government are classified by their organization’s total annual budget.
Criteria:
Uniqueness of individual’s obtained goal
Level of responsibilities
Degree of discipline and management expertise
for level of performance
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Candidates nominated for this category must have
made a significant technological contribution to
STEM through key research or having designed,
developed, managed or assisted in the development of a product, service, system or intellectual
property.
Criteria:
Uniqueness of the individual’s research
Societal impact of the research
Patents or published works
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
Achievements while in this position
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
Lifetime Achievement
This category was created to honor individuals who
are not executives and have given thirty (30) or more
years of exemplary service and commitment to STEM.
Criteria:
Total combined years of employment in STEM
Career highlights including top projects, programs,
patents and inventions that the candidate has led
and/or been a key contributor
Past and current mentoring of fellow professionals
Ability to be an ambassador for their current
employer
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
2016 HENAAC Awards
“There is a disparity between the number of students majoring in STEM,
in particular computing, and the workforce need. To change these numbers, we must give back as individuals and contribute to organizations
dedicated to Hispanics in STEM. It’s imperative for the good of our
nation.”
Ann Quiroz-Gates, Ph.D., University of Texas at El Paso
2015 Education Distinction
Professional Achievement – Level I and Level II
Candidates in this category must be well-established managers or have project responsibility in a technical field
with significant contributions in that arena. Nominees in this category are divided into two groups: Level I –
10 to 19 years of experience, and Level II - 20 to 29 years of experience.
Criteria:
Uniqueness of individual’s obtained goal
Level of responsibilities
Degree of discipline and management expertise
for level of performance
Leadership ability and upward mobility
Civil Engineering/Environmental
Distinction
This category was created to honor individuals
exclusively involved with civil and/or environmental
engineering. Candidates must possess a minimum of
five (5) years professional experience in a civil engineering/environmental engineering position.
Criteria:
Expertise in specified civil engineering/environmental engineering area
Impact of the nominee’s work on the overall
organization
Uniqueness of accomplishments
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
Information Technology Distinction
Candidates in this category should be exclusively
involved with information technology – Software,
Hardware, Security and Management. The Information Technology Distinction will be divided between
1) Professionals who work for IT companies; 2) Those
who work in the IT division of their organization that
is not IT-based. Individuals must possess a minimum
of five (5) years experience in their specific IT field.
Criteria:
Expertise in specified IT area
Impact of the nominee’s work on the overall
organization
Uniqueness of accomplishments
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
2016 HENAAC Awards
“The most important thing that African American and Hispanic communities, especially parents, can do is to assure young people that
the opportunities in STEM are available to those who are prepared
and support their efforts and aspirations with affirmation and love.”
John Brooks Slaughter, Ph.D., University of Southern California
2015 Chairman’s Award Winner
Most Promising Engineer or Scientist - ADVANCED Degree
The candidate in this category must be an engineer or scientist with less than ten (10) years work experience
since earning a completed master’s or doctoral degree in a STEM field. The candidate’s technical contributions should already demonstrate a promising career. Individuals currently enrolled in a master’s or doctoral
program do not qualify for this category. Candidates must have already graduated with a master’s or doctoral
degree by June 30, 2016.
Criteria:
Uniqueness and or innovation of contributions
to the organization
Leadership abilities and/or initiative
Professional and technical achievement to date
Most Promising Engineer or
Scientist - Undergraduate DEGREE
Candidates in this category must be engineers or
scientists with less than ten (10) years work
experience and no higher than a bachelor’s degree
completed. The candidates’ early technical contributions through the bachelor’s degree should
already demonstrate a promising career.
Criteria:
Uniqueness and/or innovation of contributions
to the organization
Leadership abilities and/or initiative
Uniqueness of accomplishments
Professional and technical achievement to date
Potential for advancement
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
Potential for advancement
Involvement within the Hispanic community
nationally and/or internationally
Education
This award was created to honor individuals involved
in higher education across the United States.
Nominees may be educators, administrators, or
coordinators who demonstrate a strong commitment
to promoting STEM education program awareness.
Some examples of professionals eligible for this category include university deans, professors and MEP
administrators from two-year and four-year institutions.
Criteria:
Success of instituted programs
How programs relate to needs of society and school
Mentoring of students to assist with retention and/
or graduation
Involvement in outreach to the Hispanic community
and other underserved communities
Effectiveness in recruitment of Hispanic students in
STEM
2016 HENAAC Awards
Shannon Rodriguez-Sanabria
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
2015 Most Promising Engineer/Scientist
– Advanced Degree
Norberto C. Nadal-Caraballo, Ph.D.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
2015 Civil Engineering
Connie P. Medina-Garcia
Raytheon Company
2015 Community Service
Abraham Ellis, Ph.D.
Sandia National Laboratories
2015 Outstanding Technical
Achievement
Community Service
Nominees who are honored in this category usually have a long history of community service and go above
and beyond in reaching young people, fellow professionals, and other key demographics. Candidates must
demonstrate leadership within the underserved and underrepresented STEM community through volunteer
work, contributions and other activities that are NOT part of their current job description.
Criteria:
Promoting STEM within the Hispanic and underserved communities
Time and energy invested in serving the community
both within and outside their current organization
Santiago Rodriguez Diversity Award
Candidates in this category must demonstrate that
they have made a difference in an organization’s
engagement approach to Hispanic advancement in
education, job promotion, business development
and the community. Individuals MUST BE employed in the Diversity/Corporate Responsibility/
Human Resource division of their respective organization. Nominees for this category do not have
to be Hispanic; however the work product of their
efforts must have advanced and enhanced Hispanic
workforce development within the organization
and/or the Hispanic community.
Criteria:
Effectiveness of implementing diversity goals
and/or changes within the organization
Promoting Hispanic awareness within the
organization
Outreach to the Hispanic community
Efforts to promote STEM career development
with impact on Hispanics and other underserved
communities
Community outreach including schools,
universities and non–profits
Involvement with schools, universities, and organizations
Increasing fellow colleague involvement in outreach events
Entrepreneur
Candidates in this category must own at least 50% of a
thriving small or medium size STEM business (i.e. between 10 and 500 employees) that demonstrates strong
financial growth. The entrepreneur must be of Hispanic
descent.
Criteria:
Growth in corporate success
Level of innovation
Customer impact and service
Community impact
Serving as a STEM role-model and involvement with
the Hispanic community nationally and/or internationally
Special Awards / Engineer & Scientist of the Year
For information on HENAAC Special Award categories
including: HENAAC Engineer of the Year and/or Scientist
of the Year, Chairman’s Award, Albert V. Baez Award,
Pioneer Award and the Vanguard Award, please visit our
website: www.greatmindsinstem.org
2016 HENAAC Awards
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do you need to be an engineer or SCIENTIST to be nominated for a HENAAC
Award?
Individuals who are not technical professionals can compete in the categories of Diversity, Community Service
and Education. The individual must work to recruit, train, mentor, counsel or promote careers in STEM. Other
HENAAC Award catergories are only open to scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists, technologists,
and engineers.
2. Do you need to be Hispanic to be nominated for a HENAAC Award?
No. There are five award categories where non-Hispanics may be honored. The categories are: Chairman’s
Award (awarded at the discretion of the Great Minds in STEM™ Chair), Education, Diversity, Community Service
and the Vanguard Award. A non-Hispanic must perform work or outreach activities that strongly impact the
Hispanic community’s participation in STEM.
3. Do you need a STEM bachelor’s degree to win a HENAAC Award?
In most cases, a person needs a bachelor’s degree in a STEM-based major to be eligible for awards other than
those listed in Question #1. However, for military and law enforcement candidates, on-the-job training and
experience will be considered in lieu of a bachelor’s degree.
4. How are the Engineer of the Year and/or Scientist of the Year selected?
You may not nominate an individual for the Engineer or Scientist of the Year. These individuals are selected
from among the top candidates submitted in all professional categories. These honorees can be leaders working in any area of the STEM Enterprise. The Selection Committee seeks individuals, who model the technical
excellence and leadership that significantly impact an industry, a field of science and/or engineering, academia,
the Hispanic community, and our nation.
5. How is the 2016 nomination submission process different from previous years?
The process will be the same as in 2015. The nomination deadline this year is May 27, 2016. You will be able to upload your nomination online. For more information, please visit our website www.greatmindsinstem.org or contact
Monica Villafaña, Director, Client Relations & Executive Services at [email protected].
6. What is the nominator statement?
Nominators must submit a statement which is a brief description, in 1,000 words or less, of why the individual
they are nominating is deserving of the HENAAC award. The focus of this statement should be based on the
criteria of the award category for which the individual is being nominated.
2016 HENAAC Awards
7. How many letters of recommendation should be included?
There should be a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) letters of recommendation dated in 2016.
The letters can be written by a supervisor, co-worker or someone who has experienced the value of the person’s contribution in their specific STEM field. Each letter should be unique and not a repeated form letter. Any
additional letters received after the 5th letter will not be included in the nomination packet for review.
8. What is an acceptable length for the biography?
The biography should be no more than 2-3 pages and should be a personal history including information the
nominee is comfortable in disclosing publicly. The biography is an opportunity to share significant early-life
experiences and motivating factors leading to their success. Nominees can share information about their
background, struggles and achievements, awards or commendations, family history, special projects, unique
hobbies, or other important life events. The biography should include information not discussed in the letters
of recommendation.
9. Will you accept entire theses, papers, research, books, and video clips?
It is not necessary to include documents in their entirety. If the candidate has written a thesis, a book, or
paper, do not include these documents. With a limited amount of time to review each nomination packet,
reviewers will not have the time to read such documents in depth. However, it is imperative to inform the committee of these accomplishments either in a brief summary or list. The only category that should submit more
detailed research information is Outstanding Technical Achievement. Video Clips: Please do not submit any
multimedia clips. The committee will not have time to review video clips during the selection process.
However, if the nominee is selected for an award, Great Minds in STEM™ will ask the organization for video
clips that may be used in the award presentation.
10. May I resubmit a 2015 nomination packet?
Yes. However, Great Minds in STEM™ requires new letters of recommendation with a current 2016 date. Letters of recommendation from previous years, have a tough time competing against current letters from other
candidates.
11. May candidates be nominated in more than one category?
Yes. However, we do not recommend nominating a candidate for more than two categories in a given year. On
the online nomination form please list under category the two categories where you would like the nominee to
be considered. For example: Category: Professional Achievement Level I & Civil Engineering Distinction
You do not need to submit two seperate packets. Great Minds in STEM™ will prepare the packets to be reviewed by the respective selection committees.
12. Is attendance at the HENAAC conference and Awards Show mandatory to win?
Yes. All winners must be able to attend the HENAAC Conference and Awards Show from October 5-9, 2016, in
Anaheim, CA. If a winner is unable to attend, the next highest ranked candidate in that category will be declared
the winner. Typically, the only exceptions to this rule are for service men and women who are on active duty,
maternity leave or an extreme family emergency. In these cases, a leader from the organization or family
member may accept on the winner’s behalf.
2016 HENAAC Awards
13. Does my company have to be a sponsor of the HENAAC Conference in order for
me to apply and win an award?
No. The nomination and peer-review selection process is independent of conference sponsorship. Great Minds
in STEM™ has had many winners from companies and organizations that are not conference sponsors.
14. When and how will candidates be notified if they are selected for an award?
All winners and the individuals who nominated them will be notified via email by the first week of August
2016. A press release and a formal letter of notification with details about the conference, awards show, rehearsals, etc. will be mailed and sent by email the second week of August 2016. The nominators of individuals
who did not win will receive letters indicating that their candidates were not selected for an award by the end
of August 2016.
15. Who makes up the Selection Committee?
The Section Committee is composed of various Great Minds in STEM™ stakeholders, who have expertise in
their given discipline. These committee members are divided into sub committees to evaluate the nominations. For example, individuals with doctoral and master degrees in technology serve on the Outstanding
Technical Achievement Committee. These committees report to the Selection Committee Chair(s), who will
make the final award selections. The Chair(s) of the committee is the Dean(s) of engineering or science of the
Conference Academic Host(s).
16. Do you have to be a U.S. Citizen to be nominated?
No. You do not have to be a U.S. citizen to be nominated.
17. What are the components of a complete nomination package?
A. Online Nomination Form
B. Nominator Statement (see question 7)
C. Resume
D. Full Job Description
E. Organizational Chart
F. Biography (see question 9)
G. Recommendation Letters (see question 8)
H. Color Photograph that is at least 300 dpi or higher
I. Synopsis of Key Research (for technical award categories only)
18. What if I still have more questions?
If you have additional questions, please contact Monica Villafaña, Director of Client Relations & Executive
Services, at (323) 262-0997 or via email to [email protected]
2016 HENAAC Awards
HENAAC Awards Nomination Checklist
A. Online Nomination Form
This online nomination form must be complete as you prepare to submit a nominee. The form requires complete contact information for the nominator as well as contact, educational and professional background information on the nominee.
B. Nominator Statement
In 1,000 words or less, in 11-pt or 12-pt size font, the nominator should provide a thorough description of why
the individual being nominated is deserving of a HENAAC award. Please address the criteria of the award
category for which the individual is being nominated.
C. Resume/Curriculum Vitae
This should be a summary of the nominee’s educational background and relevant job experience.
D. Full Job Description
The job description should explain current job duties and responsibilities.
E. Organizational Chart
The organizational chart should demonstrate where the nominee fits within his/her own department and
entire organization.
F. Biography
The biography should be a personal history sharing information the nominee is comfortable disclosing publicly.
Information for the biography can include the nominee’s background, struggles and achievements, awards or
commendations, unique hobbies, family history, etc.
G. Recommendation Letters
There should be a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) current letters of recommendation. The
letters can be written by a supervisor, co-worker or someone who has experienced the value of the person’s
contribution in their specific STEM field. Each letter should be unique and not a form letter with a new name.
Any additional letters received after the fifth letter will not be included in the nomination packet for review.
H. Photograph
The color photograph should be in 300 DPI resolution and submitted in JPEG format. This photo may be used
in TECHNiCA™ Magazine, the HENAAC Conference Journal and/or on the Great Minds in STEM™ website.
I. Synopsis of Key Research
This document is required for the technical award categories only. It should include summaries or lists of any
research the nominee is involved in as well as patents received or pending.
J. Articles About the Nominee (if applicable)
Not a required submission, but recent articles written about the nominee may be submitted for review by the
Selection Committee.
2016 HENAAC Awards