•chairman’s award•

Great Minds in STEM is proud to acknowledge the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers on the occasion of their 50th Anniversary. SHPE was founded in 1974 by the late Rod Garcia and a handful of intrepid engineers in the Los Angeles area. Garcia served as the first president of the organization, which initially focused its efforts in Southern California. Administrators, professors, and students at California State University, East Los Angeles College, and the University of Southern California founded SHPE’s first collegiate chapters. Before the end of decade, SHPE had several chapters in multiple states across the country, established their first education foundation, and held their first national conference in Los Angeles.

Initially an all-volunteer organization of members, SHPE began professionalizing its operations in the early 80s. The organization’s explosive growth saw chapters quickly spring up all over the country, validating the founders’ vision for the group and requiring a regional structure to better manage member needs and communicate objectives.

Today SHPE is the largest STEM organization servicing and advocating for Hispanic engineers and scientists in the nation. With hundreds of student and professional chapters from coast to coast, their annual convention regularly draws over 12,000 attendees. Their growth and success at expanding opportunities for Hispanics in STEM over the last half century reflects the growing influence of the Latino Community across all of American society.