At right, Sindia Rivera-Jim茅nez (University of Florida) receives AIChE鈥檚 2021 IDEAL Star Award, with Gabriel Rodriguez (University of Colorado), the current chair of the LatinX group, shown with her.
This month, AIChE鈥檚 LatinX in 91成人短视频 Engineering Community 鈥� an affinity group within the Institute鈥檚 Minority Affairs Committee (MAC) 鈥� is preparing its latest round of programming for the 2023 AIChE Annual Meeting. Now in its third year as a presence in the AIChE community, LatinX in ChE, like other AIChE entities before it, arose from a need identified by AIChE members, and is thriving because of their vision and dedication.
According to Sindia Rivera-Jim茅nez, an assistant professor of engineering education at the University of Florida and the LatinX in ChE Community鈥檚 founder, the idea for the group stemmed from something she experienced as a member of the AIChE student chapter at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag眉ez: a desire to bring the sense of the familiar to the larger world of AIChE.
鈥淥ne of the things that I liked about our AIChE student chapter in Puerto Rico is that everybody spoke Spanish,鈥� says Rivera-Jim茅nez. 鈥淚 didn't need to go to SHPE (the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) because, in my AIChE chapter, people spoke like me.鈥�
Over the past decade, as Dr. Rivera- Jim茅nez began to travel to AIChE鈥檚 Annual Meeting as a professor and as a chaperone to her AIChE students at the University of Florida, she would look for situations that were similar to her student life. 鈥淎t a huge conference, it鈥檚 hard for you to find people to mingle with in Spanish, because we鈥檙e always defaulting to speaking English, which is the primary language of the conference,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I remember having that sense that, 鈥極h, the AIChE that I grew up with is not the same AIChE that I live with as a professional.鈥欌��
More than language alone, though, Rivera- Jim茅nez says that the thing she was most looking for as an AIChE professional was familiarity in a larger sense.
鈥淭he Hispanic community has this 鈥榝amily thing鈥� 鈥� that sense of belonging in an extended family,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen you have familia, you have people 鈥� parents, kids, aunts 鈥� who all play different roles, all with one shared objective of helping you succeed. And, at our AIChE chapter in Puerto Rico, that familia included your professors, peers, and your support network.鈥�
As she entered the larger world of AIChE, Rivera-Jim茅nez found opportunities to build a new network, which she acquired as a conference chair and a member volunteer within AIChE鈥檚 Women In 91成人短视频 Engineering Community (WIC), MAC, and the Societal Impact Operating Council.
鈥淪uddenly I had access to this new network and all this social capital that I didn鈥檛 have before, and I decided to put it to good use,鈥� she says.
Once she had identified a potential AIChE home under the umbrella of MAC, Rivera-Jim茅nez and her colleagues 鈥� including Gabriel Rodriguez of the University of Colorado, who today chairs AIChE鈥檚 LatinX group 鈥� sought to encourage greater involvement from other Latin and Hispanic AIChE members by providing a welcoming and familiar homebase, and to raise the visibility of that community within chemical engineering.
鈥淎IChE is crucial for our community,鈥� says Rivera-Jim茅nez. 鈥淎s we continue to see each other at AIChE conferences, we make connections and help each to advance.鈥�
Initially, Rivera-Jim茅nez struggled with the naming of the group, noting that the term 鈥楲atinX鈥� is an American definition. 鈥淚 have never called myself LatinX,鈥� she says, adding that the community is made up of people who might self-identify as Hispanic, Latin American, Latin, Latino or Latina, Caribbean, American, and more. She says that she settled on LatinX because of the way the phrasing aligned with existing groups in other professional societies.
鈥淲e have a sister, biomedical organization called Latinx in BME,鈥� explains Rivera-Jim茅nez, 鈥渁nd there are other groups that use the hashtag #LatinX, such as . Now, we鈥檙e connected by that hashtag. So, LatinX was a strategic choice, to make it easier to build an audience on .鈥�
And that audience has been growing. Aside from participation at sessions held at AIChE鈥檚 Annual and Spring meetings, Jim茅nez highlights the impact of events such as the recent LatinX in ChE Virtual Symposium 鈥� co-organized by MAC and the LatinX in ChE 鈥� as an example of community building. The event attracted more than 100 online participants, with research presented in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. 鈥淭hat is a true example of what a global AIChE should look like,鈥� says Rivera-Jim茅nez, underscoring AIChE鈥檚 mission to be a truly multifaceted and inclusive global professional society.
Today, Rivera- Jim茅nez continues to act as an advisory board member and advocate for the LatinX in ChE Community, as she turns her attention to a new leadership role as the incoming chair of AIChE鈥檚 Societal Impact Operating Council. Her vision for a united and strong familia remains.
鈥淚 want to see students and faculty and people in industry 鈥� all of them 鈥� on the LatinX board of directors. It is a family, so we need everybody to voice their needs, and to have a seat at the table.鈥�
Invitation to Join LatinX in ChE: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Hello, Familia! We are excited to invite you to be a part of LatinX in ChE, a vibrant community under the AIChE MAC Community鈥檚 umbrella, dedicated to strengthening the bond among AIChE members of Latin American descent.
Our board is a melting pot of diverse roles, including students, faculty, postdocs, and industry professionals. Whether you鈥檙e just starting out or a seasoned pro, there鈥檚 a space for you.
Connect with us
Email us to join our Slack channel: LatinXinChE@gmail.com
Stay updated on our activities and follow us on social media:
Meet the team: /community/sites/committees/minority-affairs/latinx-che/leadership