EDINBURG, Texas - A UT-Rio Grande Valley engineering student has explained what it is like to be tutored by Dr. Karen Lozano, professor of mechanical engineering and the Julia Beecherl Endowed Professor at UTRGV.
Alexa Villarreal is one of 18 students that will be in the inaugural class for the university’s new Doctor of Philosophy degree program in Materials Science and Engineering.
Asked about studying with Dr. Lozano, Villarreal said: “Oh my god, it's amazing. And, honestly, it's kind of an engineer's dream come true. I mean, she's an inventor of one of the latest technologies in nanotechnology, and just to be able to learn from her and learn from the whole staff, it's incredible, honestly. It’s an honor.”
Lozano is a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors.
Asked if Lozano is an inspiration to her, Villarreal said: “She really is. And we're actually from the same hometown in Mexico, which is Monterrey, Mexico. So, you can only understand how much of an inspiration she can be.”
Villarreal gave her comments to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service at an Inaugural Ph.D. Launch Celebration hosted by UTRGV’s College of Engineering & Computer Science. During the program, Villarreal was given a shoutout from the stage for always coming up with “crazy ideas.” Asked by the Guardian if she would continue with them, Villarreal said: “Oh, most definitely. You know, my ideas are just starting so the world can definitely be prepared for them.”
The new Doctor of Philosophy degree program in Materials Science and Engineering is the ninth doctoral program to be approved for the university since its inception in 2015, and the seventh to be implemented in the past two years. It is the first Ph.D. program secured by CECS.
Another student participating in the the new UTRGV doctoral program in engineering is Allan Cedillo. The Guardian asked Cedillo what he thought of comments made at the CECS event that university system leaders in Austin used to think South Texas could not produce engineers.
“Oh man, there’s a lot more potential that our students have. We went from a teaching site to research and development and having a center for research and development here in nanotechnology, that's just a big eye opener because that just speaks so much about the community here in South Texas. We’re ambitious, we want to grow educationally. It speaks wonders of who we are as a Latina community here in the Valley.”
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