Three Latino Student Inventors Celebrated by U.S. Secretary of Education and White House Initiative for Hispanics in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month

Today three student inventors affiliated with the Lemelson-MIT Program (LMIT) shared stories of what inspired them to invent with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and employees of the U.S. Department of Education attending a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. The panel discussion, “Spotlight on Latino Student Innovators & Aspiring STEM Leaders,” was part of a larger event (“Creando Futuros Brillantes”) sponsored by the White House Initiative for Hispanics. Secretary Cardona noted, “When we fight to raise the bar for Latino students, we not only make good on our nation's promises to ourselves, but we honor the journeys of all of those who came before us.”

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Representatives of Lemelson-MIT, Students, Families and Teachers meet with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona (center). Photo courtesy of The Lemelson Foundation)

Elias Escobar Argueta, a high school junior from Calistoga, California, spoke about his team’s invention, DulceTemperatura, a patent pending invention designed to help farm workers keep cool and warm when working outdoors and another device to help cool firefighters. Also participating were two former Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam^® students: Katia Avila Pinado, from Pomona, California, holds a patent for her team’s invention Heart and Sole, and Lesly Rojas, of Salem, Oregon, who’s team developed an adaptive flow rate cup for people with dysphagia. Avila is pursuing a degree in Networks and Digital Technology at the University of California Santa Cruz. Rojas is pursuing a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Oregon State University.

Dr. Cristina Sáenz, Invention Education Manager with LMIT, also participated in the celebration and had an opportunity to speak with Secretary Cardona about the students’ achievements. Sáenz noted, “We had this incredible opportunity for three young Latino inventors to amplify their experiences and share their inventions with members of the U.S. Department of Education. While this celebration of Hispanic Heritage enabled these three students to shine, one in four students in the U.S. school system are Latino who also need access and opportunities to showcase what they bring to their local and national communities. Si se puede!”

LMIT’s Executive Director, Dr. Stephanie Couch, said “I am incredibly grateful to these students for sharing their stories of the power and promise of invention education. I hope that one day many more young women and people of color will be accessing invention education programs like ours, including learning how to protect their good ideas with a patent. These students offer glimpses into the life changing nature of participation on an InvenTeam and/or LMIT’s other invention education offerings that are led by Dr. Sáenz.”

About Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams and Inventing Smart Solutions:

In 21 years, the InvenTeams initiative has enabled 18 teams of high school students to earn U.S. patents for their projects. Our programs are part of deliberate efforts to remedy historic inequities among inventors, protect intellectual property, and commercialize creations. We’ve worked with 3,883 students across 296 different teams nationwide. Inventing Smart Solutions is curriculum designed to teach invention education.

ABOUT THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM

LMIT is a national leader in efforts to prepare the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs, focusing on the expansion of opportunities for people to learn ways inventors find and solve problems that matter to improve lives. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion aims to remedy historic inequities among those who develop inventions, protect their intellectual property, and commercialize their creations.

The Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was founded in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation and administered by the MIT School of Engineering. For more information, visit Lemelson.MIT.edu.

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