The Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) is excited to partner with the Division of Physical Sciences to recruit the CSRC’s inaugural Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) STEM Faculty Director.
The Search Committee would like to invite you to attend the following job talk. The candidate will present during a Special Seminar both in-person at the Chicano Studies Research Library (144 Haines Hall), and streamed via Zoom. The talks will also be recorded for those unable to attend.
Abstract: In this talk, I will focus on how my experience as an undocumented immigrant for more than two decades presented unique challenges at all educational levels (e.g., public high school, community college, and the University of California system) and shaped my use of a holistic approach to address current challenges faced by Latinx community in STEM fields. Finally, building upon ongoing efforts at UCLA, I will discuss my vision as CSRC Senior Hispanic Serving Institution STEM Faculty Director to create the premier R1 HSI for the next generation of Latinx STEM scholars.
Bio: Osvaldo Gutierrez was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, and raised in Sacramento, California. As the sole family provider, his father worked as a farmworker and later in landscaping while his mother was a stay-at-home wife. He is the 8th child of a family of 14 and, while working in construction (among other jobs), he managed to be the first in the family to graduate from high school. He attended Sacramento City College and transferred to UCLA in 2006 where he used computational tools to examine problems in organic chemistry and, in turn, use this information to design more efficient catalytic systems in the laboratories of Prof. Houk. He obtained his Chemistry B.S./M.S. in 2009 and completed his Chemistry Ph.D. in 2012 (UC Davis) under the guidance of Prof. Tantillo. From 2012-2016 he worked as a postdoc with Prof. Kozlowski at the University of Pennsylvania where he used computational and experimental tools to study chemical reactions promoted by transition metals. In 2016 he started his independent position at the University of Maryland College Park as an Assistant Professor, and then promoted to Associate Professor in Summer 2021. In the Fall of 2021, he moved to Texas A&M University where his research combines computational and experimental approaches to advance our understanding of radical-based transformations with a focus on iron catalysis. In addition to research interests, Osvaldo is involved in a series of initiatives to increase diversity in STEM including serving as president of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering (ADSE) and organizer of the annual Young Researchers Conference (YRC) and Breaking Barriers Through Chemistry (BBTC).
Zoom link | Meeting ID: 912 9678 9521 | Passcode: 968931
Post-Talk Survey Link
