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Prof. Arturo J. Hernández Maldonado is to receive the Professional Achievement Award conferred by the Great Minds in STEM (GMiS™) organization

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Prof. Arturo J. Hernández Maldonado, co-director of the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez’ Nanotechnology Center is to receive the 2016 GMiS™ Professional Achievement Award during the national meeting of this organization to be held in October of this year in Anaheim, CA. He is a faculty member of the Dept. of Chemical Engineering and one of the most productive and successful researchers of the University of Puerto Rico. He has been recognized several times by the institution for his accomplishments and despite his impressive résumé, he has not disregarded his commitment to students. 

Through this award GMiS™ is recognizing Prof. Hernández’ leadership not only in Puerto Rico but in the entire Hispanic professional community in the US. His achievements in the Nanotechnology field through his research on nanoporous adsorbents are aimed at different applications, including the deep removal of carbon dioxide for breathing air revitalization in closed-volume systems such as the International Space Station.. Along with his team, he has discovered a new way to modify the structure of flexible molecular sieves for better removal of natural gas impurities (such as CO2) at ambient conditions. This could help to increase energy production via natural gas streams while helping to mitigate problems related to the environment. His recent development of novel mesoporous silica with zero surface microporosity as well as zeolite-carbon composites to remove contaminants of emerging concern have the potential of revolutionizing the field of inorganic adsorbents that are used in water treatment. 

Prof. Hernández leads and co-leads efforts of different research grants, including a NASA research grant, and the National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored Institute for Functional Nanomaterials. Since 2008 he has been co-director of the NSF-supported Nanotechnology Center of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM), the largest NSF investment in this institution with more than $9,300,000. 

Great Minds in STEM™ (greatmindsinstem.org) is a leading US institution, considered as the gateway for Hispanics in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Established in 1989, as HENAAC, as one of the largest Hispanic professional institution, this is a non-profit organization that provides resources for recognition and recruitment of Hispanics in STEM on a national level, connecting multi-areas of engineering and science arenas to the general population. 

On behalf of our Center, we join the UPRM research community in congratulating Prof. Hernández for this outstanding recognition.

This information was received via press release from the UPRM Nanotechnology Center. 

 

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