Lucille Barrera, Israel Galvan Win 1996
Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards
Lucille Barrera, second grade science teacher at West University Elementary School in Houston, and Israel Galvan, founder, president, and CEO of Houston-based GHG Corporation, have won 1996 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) awards in the categories of "Education, K-12" and "Entrepreneur of the Year." They were selected for their outstanding contributions to science and engineering and for being valuable role models to the Hispanic community.
Barrera and Galvan will be presented with their awards at the 1996 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference on October 10 - 12, 1996 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel - Downtown, Houston.
Lucille Barrera
Barrera has developed innovative programs that encourage Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students in her elementary school to pursue engineering and science studies. She established the "Scientist of the Month" program in 1992, in which students meet and learn about the research and careers of minority scientists. She works closely with and contributes to programs for underrepresented minorities sponsored by the Center for Research on Parallel Computation (CRPC), a National Science Foundation-funded Science and Technology Center headquartered at Rice University. This year, she was a presenter at the CRPC-sponsored Mathematical and Computational Sciences Awareness Workshop, which gives K-12 mathematics and science teachers, principals, and counselors an understanding of today's mathematics and computational science world and how to encourage minority students in these fields. In addition, Barrera helps organize the annual West University Elementary Science Fair, part of the city-wide Houston Independent School District Science Fair.
Israel Galvan
In 1977, Galvan founded GHG Corporation, a systems integration company, with $1,000 and three employees. The company grew steadily over the years as it focused on designing new technology for use in space and provided engineering, training, networking, and programming support. Today, GHG has more than 215 employees and $12 million in revenue, with six federal contracts and commercial work in five other areas.
Throughout his career, Galvan has been an active member of professional and volunteer organizations in the community, including the Houston Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Houston Partnership, the International Space School Foundation, the Commission of Technology Transfer, and Space Week. He is an emeritus member of the CRPC External Advisory Committee and participates in CRPC programs for K-12 teachers and underrepresented minorities. In addition, he facilitates, promotes, and supports various educational programs in local K-8 schools, hosts groups of students at his company, and is involved in reform and outreach programs at the state and national level.
Richard Tapia
Both Barrera and Galvan have worked closely with Richard Tapia, Rice University Noah Harding Professor, CRPC Director of Human Resources and Education, and renowned leader in nationwide efforts to encourage underrepresented minorities in mathematics, science, and engineering. Tapia was recently nominated to the National Science Board by President Clinton and won the 1996 Hispanic Engineer of the Year award by Hispanic Engineer Magazine.
For More Information, contact...
For more information, contact Danny Powell at danny@rice.edu, 713-348-6011, or 713-348-5136 (fax).
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Updated by Debbie Campbell (dcamp@cs.rice.edu) and the CRPC Web Support Team
Posted August 20, 1996.
http://www.crpc.rice.edu/CRPC/WhatsNew/awardBarrera-Galvan.html