Three Engineers Honored for Latino Excellence and Achievement

May 6, 2024 - Three Anteater engineers – Michelle Digman, Cody Gonzalez and John Tracy’87 – were recognized for supporting student success and research excellence in the Hispanic/Latinx community at the 2024 Latino Excellence and Achievement Awards Dinner (LEAD).

Digman, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, received the Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award for her leadership and commitment in fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in academia and empowering individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in STEM fields.

Digman’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Boliva, when she was seven years old. Growing up in the Chicago area without speaking English was tough, but she was drawn to science by her curiosity about the world. She initially attended community college with tuition help from her church’s congregation and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a master’s degree and doctorate in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Digman came to UCI in 2006 as a postdoctoral researcher. She joined the faculty in 2013, and she currently serves as the Stacey Nicholas Endowed Chair for Diversity in Engineering Education, adviser to the Samueli School’s Office of Outreach, Access and Inclusion and biomedical engineering associate dean for graduate affairs. She also served for five years as co-equity adviser for the school.

“I’ve experienced firsthand the positive impact of programs and mentors that championed my pursuit of engineering and the sciences,” said Digman who is director and co-investigator of the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics and director of the W.M. Keck Nanoimaging Lab. “It’s essential that all students feel included and have access to the necessary tools and support for academic success.”

In 2023, she was one of two UCI faculty to attend the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, a meeting aimed at mobilizing and building community for Latina women in engineering, and since co-led two successful proposals. She also created the Undergraduate Student Initiative for Biomedical Research in 2011, an outreach program for minority community college and high school students.

“I have mentored students who have exceeded their own expectations which is wonderful to see,” said Digman. “Their dedication and success exemplify the values of diversity, equity and inclusion that I strive to promote in my research group.”

Gonzalez, a fifth-year doctoral student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, was honored at the dinner with a Graduate Student Excellence Award. He was born to Salvadoran and

Mexican immigrant parents, a seamstress and a handyman, and he grew up locally in San Pedro. Gonzalez earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Cal Poly, Pomona, and worked in aerodynamics for Team Penske and Chevy before reentering academia to join the doctoral program at UCI.

Gonzalez conducts research in fluid mechanics with Haithem Taha, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. His focus is in Low-Reynolds number flows, vortex-dominated flows and reduced-order modeling, and he has been credited for his contributions to Taha’s research discovery of a new theory of lift, published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. He is a Eugene Cota-Robles Scholar and has received a fellowship from NASA in support of his research. Gonzalez credits his father's efforts to nurture independent thought, creativity and curiosity as the base of his research philosophy.

Tracy, who holds a doctorate in engineering from UCI, received the Outstanding Alumni Leadership Award for his continuing support of local STEM and Latinx communities. Tracy worked for the Boeing Company as chief technology officer and senior vice president of Engineering, Operations & Technology from 1981 until retiring in 2016. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Royal Aeronautical Society and American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has received numerous Hispanic engineering honors, including being named to the Hispanic Engineering National Achievement Awards Corporation Hall of Fame in 2009, the Great Minds in STEM: Hispanic Engineer of the Year in 2006, and receiving the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Renaissance Award in 2014. In 2020, Tracy charitably funded four undergraduate scholarships at UCI to be awarded each year to underrepresented students in STEM fields, based on financial need. He currently volunteers as a math tutor at Taller San Jose Hope Builders, an organization dedicated to equipping young adults with life and job skills, and as a math tutor and special services coordinator at the Orange County Rescue Mission homeless shelter.

The LEAD is cosponsored by UC Irvine’s Latinx Resource Center and Office of Inclusive Excellence. At this year’s event, held April 4 in the UCI Student Center, awards were given to 15 graduate students, two faculty members and one staff member, alumnus and community member.

– Lilith Christopher