Edgar Sida - President
Ivan Gonzalez - Vice-President
Ivan was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. His parents were from Durango and Monterray Mexico and migrated over to the US for a better opportunity. Ivan graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelors degree in computer engineering, with a concentration in electronics in May of 2005. He worked for Verizon Communications from July '05 until March '06. He was a construction coordinator for the FTTP project in Sarasota, Florida. While successful at his position, he decided that he wanted to use his degree a little more and become more technical. He currently works at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as an Eletrical Designer. He is designing the motherboard for his international project. Ivan has been an active SHPE member since 2001 as a student, including a tenure as Vice President for the Texas A&M chapter. Ivan is interested in playing most physical activities such as football, basketball, especially running, but also doesn't mind relaxing and staying every once in a while. His other likes are movies, music, dancing, eating, and College Football Saturdays!
Catalina Rios-Meyer - Treasurer
Catalina is a Manufacturing Team Lead for the 8000 Series Tractors at John Deere in Waterloo, IA. She is a native of Guayaquil, Ecuador and grew-up on the East Coast. Prior to joining John Deere, Catalina graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineer with an Aerospace concentration at the New York Institute of Technology. From there she worked as an engineer at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York where she actively participated in SHPE and made great friends during that time that she stays in touch with today. She moved to Boston to attain an MBA at the Harvard Business School. Catalina enjoys living in the Mid-West, where she can persue current interests such as water skiing, cycling, learning German, and tap dance.
Jairo Munoz - Secretary
Jairo Muñoz is an Industrial and Systems Engineer with a diverse background in project management, operations, engineering, quality and safety of machinery. His consulting firm, STAR&D Methods, is a multidisciplinary, professional, engineering service organization providing clients with answers on the cause and origin of process deficiencies that lead to poor performance, injuries, uncontrolled variation, excessive costs and business disruption.During his 23-year career, Dr Muñoz has worked in government, academia and in a variety of industries ranging from food and beverages to aeronautics. His applications of statistical methods for process improvements gained him recognition as Employee of the Year of the Fabrication Division of The Boeing Company in 1989. His book, “Manufacturing Processes and Systems” published by John Wiley & Sons in 1997, has been translated into Chinese and Korean.
Dr Muñoz earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, his MS in Management Engineering at the University of Houston and his BSIE at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá-Colombia.
Africa Espina - Student Liaison
Africa is a proud native of Chile, but grew up with the tall corn in Iowa City, IA. She received a bachelors degree in 2002 and masters thesis degree in 2004 in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa. For over 4 years during her student career she was involved with SHPE Iowa student chapter. The culmination of her leadership was serving as the Conference Chair for the 2003 Midwestern Expo. After graduating she was involved with SHPE Chicago professional chapter and helped plan a small career fair. Currently she is a member of the Eastern Iowa Professional Chapter serving as the student liaison. Africa works as an Environmental Engineer for Stanley Consultants where she makes a small, yet rewarding, contribution to environmental water protection and cleanup. She is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys backpacking, running, travel, and when possible, rock climbing. She also plays in the Iowa City Community String Orchestra, volunteers at the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic as a Spanish interpreter, and is currently learning Russian just for kicks.
Steven S. Montgomery - Webmaster
Born and raised in Indiana, Steven attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He graduated in May 2005 with a B.S. in Computer Science. He now works as a Software Engineer at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, IA.Juan Eduardo Valles
Born and raised in Chihuahua Mexico. Began college at the Instituto Tecnologico de Chihuahua (Chihuahua Technological Institute). Also participated as the IEEE chapter chairman from January 2000 to May 2002 while studying Electronics Engineering. In July 2002 moved to Texas to complete degree as an Electrical and Computer Engineer. Currently working as a Hardware Electrical Engineer for Rockwell Collins and planning to start a master degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU) in January 2006. Involved with SHPE since May 2003. Personal interests include: meeting people and participating in personal/professional activities. Interested in promoting science, technology, and involvement of electronics in everyday life.
Jacinto Ramon Vasquez
Born in Dallas, Texas. and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. Entered the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in 1983 after graduating from Bettendorf High School. Received a A.A.S. Degree in 1985 and held various positions as an Electronics Technician. Returned to college in 1995 while working for Square D Company and received a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in 2004. Presently employed as an Electrical Engineer at Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, IA.
Luis Carlos Hernandez
Born in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico and raised mostly in the northern tiers of Mexico, (Cd. Juarez-El Paso, TX). Moved to United States to go to college in 2000. Attended University of Texas in El Paso and majored in Computer Science. Joined the US Army in 2001. Served two years in the 82nd Airborne Division and attended jump school at Fort Benning, GA. Stationed in Fort Bragg, NC for two years. Received BS in Computer Science in 2003 from Campbell University in North Carolina. Currently working in MS in Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. Involved with SHPE since 2004. Currently working at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, IA as a Software Engineer. Has attended NTCC at Dallas, TX in 2005. Also attended a regional career event in Tulsa, OK in 2004. Hobbies include: going to the movies, playing sports, and sleeping... a lot.
Jorge R. Buenfil
Born in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Where he lived until going to College in Mexico City. Immigrated to the US in 1995, first settling in Mountain View, CA, then moving to Cedar Rapids, IA, where he has lived for the last 9 years. In 1989 Jorge received a B.S. Degree in Public Administration and Political Science from the National University of Mexico. In 1994 Jorge received a M.Sc. in Computer Science from the Research Institute in Advanced Mathematics and Systems, part of the National University of Mexico. In 2005 Jorge received a M.E. in Systems Engineering from Iowa State University. Jorge has held various positions as a manager, computer consultant, university professor, and currently as a senior systems engineer in Systems and Software Design Support/Enterprise Tools Integration (SSDS-ETI) for Rockwell Collins, Inc.