NASA will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the James Webb Auditorium in the agency’s headquarters in Washington on Thursday, Oct. 12, with a discussion of the contributions of Hispanics to NASA’s mission and the importance of Hispanic representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers.

¡Latinos STEM Up! is open to the public and will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 10 a.m. EDT.  

Opening remarks will be delivered via video from Dr. Ellen Ochoa, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and the first Hispanic woman in space. The event features a panel moderated by Elvis Cordova, former acting under secretary for the U.S Department of Agriculture, which will discuss increasing Hispanic participation in the STEM fields. The panelists are:

Dr. Marla Perez Davis, deputy center director, NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
Sandra Cauffman, Earth Science Division deputy director, NASA Headquarters
Dr. Yaireska M. Collado-Vega, physical scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
MarilĂ© ColĂ³n Robles, education outreach coordinator, NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
Dr. Carolina Aguirre, director, Reaching Rural STEM Students, University of New Mexico
Jose Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO, Hispanic Heritage Foundation
Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot will deliver closing remarks via recorded video.

¡Latinos STEM Up! is being hosted by NASA’s Hispanic Outreach and Leadership Alliance (HOLA) and the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management Division (EODM). For information about the event, contact Maria Santos at 202-358-2436.

For more about NASA’s missions, programs and activities, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov