Notable Hispanic Scientists
Over the years, many scientists have emerged from the Spanish speaking countries. Franklin Chang-Díaz, the American Physicist worked on controlled fusion and fusion reactor design. He specialized in Applied Plasma Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received the doctorate degree from the same university. He became an astronaut in 1981 and later worked at NASA as well. Ellen Ochoa, the astronaut and 1st Hispanic woman to go to space pursued her research on information processing from Sandia National Laboratories and NASA Ames Research Center. She is also a co-inventor on patents in optics, object recognition and image processing. Other Hispanic scientists including Mario J. Molina, who stated that CFC’S are harmless and César Milstein, one of the fathers of modern medicine to developed the first monoclonal antibodies in 1975 are Hispanic scientists. Baruj Benacerraf, Jacinto Convit, Luis Alvarez are a few Hispanic scientists who also made their contributions to the world.
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1
Mario J. Molina(Mexican Chemist Who Won Nobel Prize for Discovering the Threat to Earth's Ozone Layer from CFC Gases)
Birthdate: March 19, 1943
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico
Died: October 7, 2020
Mario J. Molina was a Mexican chemist who played a key role in understanding and explaining the threat from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases to the Earth's ozone layer, which earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995. Molina was the third Mexican-born Nobel laureate and the first Mexican-born person to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
2
Ellen Ochoa
(The First Hispanic Woman to Go to Space)
Birthdate: May 10, 1958
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Ellen Ochoa is an American engineer and classical flautist. A former astronaut, Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman in space. In 2012, she became the first Hispanic director of Johnson Space Center. Ochoa has won several prestigious awards including NASA's Distinguished Service Medal and Space Flight Medals. In 2017, she was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Birthdate: September 14, 1905
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Luarca, Spain
Died: November 1, 1993
Nobel Prize-winning Spanish biochemist Severo Ochoa is remembered for his discovery of the enzyme polynucleotide phosphorylase and his subsequent success in synthesizing RNA. His research took him to top institutes such as the universities of Oxford and Heidelberg. He had also taught at the New York University.
Birthdate: September 6, 1906
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 2, 1987
Luis Federico Leloir was an Argentine biochemist and physician whose discovery of metabolic pathways in lactose earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1970. His research into renal hypertension, carbohydrate metabolism, and sugar nucleotides has led to progress in understanding and treating galactosemia. During his career, he won many awards, such as the Legion of Honour.
5
Bernardo Houssay
(Argentine Physiologist Known for His Work on Pituitary Regulation of Glucose in Animals)
Birthdate: April 10, 1887
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died: September 21, 1971
Bernardo Houssay was an Argentine physiologist best remembered for winning the 1947 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine and becoming the first Argentine Nobel Prize winner in the field of sciences. Bernardo Houssay won the award for discovering the role of the pituitary hormones in regulating the amount of glucose in animals.
