Inventors & STEM

Trikosko, Marion S., photographer National Medal of Science ceremony at the White House for recipients (left to right) Cornelius Barnardus Van Niel, Stanford University Professor of Microbiology; Dr. Jerome Weisner (aide to President Johnson), Norbert Wiener, MIT mathematics professor; John K. Pierce, Bell Telephone Laboratories; Dr. Vannevar Bush, engineer, and Dr. Luis W. Alvarez, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory 1964. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

From Mexican American inventor Victor Leaton Ochoa (1850-1945), inventor of the "Ochoaplane" created around 1908-1911, to Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Luis Alvarez (1911-1988), to astronaut and inventor Dr. Ellen Ochoa (1958-), Hispanic Americans have made significant contributions to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. To learn more about prominent individuals in the STEM fields, examine the resources listed below.

Search the digitized collection of newspapers from 1770-1963 in Chronicling America to find articles related to these remarkable scientists, inventors, and STEM professionals. Check the Biography page for additional information on search strategies and resources for searching inventors and STEM professionals.

The following collection titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content, including finding aids for the collections, are included when available.

Adriana Ocampo by Cynthia Guicidi
Call Number: QB454.2.O23 G85 2006
Published/Created: 2005-10-11
Adriana is a Columbian planetary geneologist. As a scientist who studies geology, her questions about Earth have taken her around the world. She studies the geology of other planets in the Solar System and works with teams of scientists to send satellites and robots to other planets.
Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist by Luis W. Alvarez
Call Number: QC774.A49 A3 1987
Published/Created: 1987-04-01
An enthralling biography of the Nobel prize-winning physicist and his work on such projects as the development of radar and the atomic bomb.
Antonia Novello by Joan C. Hawxhurst
Call Number: R154.N82 H39 1993
Published/Created: 1993-03-01
A biography of President Bush's Surgeon General, focusing on her childhood in Puerto Rico, personal medical problems, training and practice as a pediatrician, and opinions on today's health issues.
Astronaut Ellen Ochoa by Heather E. Schwartz
Call Number: TL789.85.O25 S39 2018
Published/Created: 2017-08-01
This biography describes the life and work of Ellen Ochoa, the first female Hispanic astronaut to go to space. While at NASA, Ochoa developed technology and logged 1,000 hours in outer space. Learn about Ochoa's hard work and perseverance on her journey toward becoming a scientist, inventor, and astronaut.
Hispanic-American Scientists by Walter Oleksy
Call Number: Q141 .O42 1998
ISBN: 0816037043
Published/Created: 1998-10-01
Profiles ten Hispanic American inventors, engineers and scientists, including Luis Alvarez, Henry Diaz, and Ellen Ochoa.
Hispanic Scientists by Jetty St. John
Call Number: Q141 .K248 1996
Published/Created: 1996-01-01
Provides biographical profiles of five Hispanic American scientists of this century, including Carlos Ramierez, Ellen Ochoa, Eloy Rodriguez, Lydia Villa-Komaroff, and Maria Elena Zavala.
Paths to Discovery by Norma E. Cantu (Editor); Aida Hurtado (Introduction by)
Call Number: FLM2016 145800
Published/Created: 2011-07-01
In the book a group of Chicanas trace how their interest in math and science at a young age developed into a passion fed by talent and determination. Today they are teaching at major universities, setting public and institutional policy, and pursuing groundbreaking research. These testimonios--personal stories--will encourage young Chicanas to enter the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering and to create futures in classrooms, boardrooms, and laboratories across the nation.
Path to the Stars by Sylvia Acevedo
Call Number: TA157.5 .A24 2018
Published/Created: 2018-09-04
The inspiring memoir about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo's family forever altered. Sylvia's life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science. Sylvia forged her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master's in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes by Juan Felipe Herrera; Raul ón (Illustrator)
Call Number: E184.S75 H486 2014
ISBN: 9780803738096
Published/Created: 2014-08-07
An inspiring tribute to Hispanic Americans who have made a positive impact on the world This visually stunning book showcases twenty Hispanic and Latino American men and women who have made outstanding contributions to the arts, politics, science, humanitarianism, and athletics. Gorgeous portraits complement sparkling biographies of physicist Luis W. Alvarez, physician Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias, and astronaut and manager Dr. Ellen Ochoa.

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content, including finding aids for the collections, are included when available.

(under)Represented Latin@s in STEM: Increasing Participation Throughout Education and the Workplace by Timothy T. Yuen (Editor); Emily P. Bonner (Editor); María G. Arreguín-Anderson (Editor)
Call Number: LC2669 .U48 2018
Published/Created: 2018-08-10
This book presents a critical investigation into Latin@ underrepresentation in STEM throughout the education pipeline and workforce by highlighting nationally relevant research related to the creation of opportunities for Latin@ students in STEM and the ways in which these opportunities increase Latin@ participation in STEM.
The Borderlands of Education by Michelle Madsen Camacho; Susan M. Lord
Call Number: TA157.5
Published/Created: 2013-03-22
This book is aimed at researchers who study underrepresented groups in engineering and are interested in broadening participation and ameliorating problems of exclusion, with a focus on the experiences of Latina engineers. Available onsite via Stacks. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/cip.2021675725
The Latino Student's Guide to STEM Careers by Laura I. Rendón (Editor); Vijay Kanagala (Editor)
Call Number: Q147 .L38 2017
Published/Created: 2017-09-08
This book focuses on the importance of STEM education for Latinos and provides a comprehensive array of the information students and families need to make informed decisions about entering and succeeding in a STEM career. Students, families, and educators will fully understand why STEM is so important for Latinos/as, how to plan for a career in STEM, how to pay for and succeed in college, and how to choose a career in STEM.

The Library of Congress provides digital content on Hispanic American history through blogs, online research guides and special collections. These guides provide information on print, electronic, and digitized content as well as information on search strategies.

Exploring the History of Women in STEM with Primary Sources, March 5, 2020, Teaching with the Library of Congress
A blog detailing how to use primary sources, with a focus on images and photographs, in the classroom to explore the history of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields.
Latinx and Chicanx in STEM
This guide provides links to resources for children, young adults, teachers and the general public on Latinx/Chicanx in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and related fields.
Occupational Folklife Project (OFP) , American Folklife Center (AFC), Library of Congress
The Occupational Folklife Project (OFP) began in 2010 as a multi-year project by the American Folklife Center (AFC) to document the culture of contemporary American workers during an era of economic and social transition. To date, fieldworkers across the United States have recorded more than 1300 audio and audiovisual oral history interviews with workers in scores of trades, industries, crafts, and professions, including doctors, doulas, and midwives.
Women in Science: A Resource Guide
A research guide useful for students, scholars, and independent researchers wanting to do research regarding women inventors and discoverers. The research guide covers searching the Library's Catalog, print resources, selected internet resources, and selected webcasts.

These links provide access to digitized historical content on Hispanic American contributions in the STEM fields.

Bernardo Alberto Houssay, the Nobel Prize External
“for his discovery of the part played by the hormone of the anterior pituitary lobe in the metabolism of sugar”
Highlighting Hispanic Inventors and Innovators External
This Smithsonian Hispanic Heritage Month article highlights Hispanic inventors and innovators, including Victor Leaton Ochoa ("Ochoaplane"), Ellen Ochoa (astronaut), Jose Luis Hernandez-Rebollar ("AcceleGlove"), Manuel "Many" Vifllafana (heart valve and cardiac pacemaker), and Luis Alvarez (1968 Nobel Prize in Physics).
National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) External
Since 1975, the NAHN has been the nation’s leading professional society for Latino nurses. With a growing membership and more than 40 local chapters, NAHN, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, represents the voices of Latino nurses throughout the United States.
National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) External
Established in 1994 in Washington, D.C., the NHMA is a non-profit association representing the interests of 50,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States.
Oral history interview with Mario J. Molina, Science History Institute External
Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (March 19, 1943 – October 7, 2020) was a Mexican chemist who studied and researched in the U.S. He was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in discovering the threat to the Earth's ozone layer from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases.
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science External
SACNAS is an inclusive organization dedicated to fostering the success of Chicanos, Hispanics and Native Americans from college students to professionals, in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM.
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers External
SHPE changes lives by empowering the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential and to impact the world through STEM awareness, access, support, and development.
Society of Latino Engineers and Scientists External
MAES was founded in Los Angeles in 1974 to increase the number of Mexican Americans and other Hispanics in the technical and scientific fields. The idea to establish a professional society for Mexican American engineers originated with Robert Von Hatten, an aerospace electronics engineer with TRW Defense Space Systems in Redondo Beach, California to combat the alarming number of high school dropouts. He envisioned a national organization that would serve as a source for role models.
Victor Leaton Ochoa Papers, Smithsonian Institution External
The papers document Victor Leaton Ochoa, Mexican American inventor of the Ochoaplane, orinthopter (an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings), a windmill, magnetic brakes, a wrench and a reversible motor. The papers include correspondence, photographs, patents, both United States and foreign, drawings and typescripts for a short story and a novel.

Hispanic Americans in Business and Entrepreneurship: A Resource Guide

Inventors & STEM