Two University of Missouri-Rolla students received awards at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ (SHPE) Midwestern Expo, held Nov. 6-9 at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

More than 600 students from 19 states as well as corporate representatives and professors attended the conference, which serves as the largest meeting in the Midwest that specifically targets Hispanics in engineering, mathematics and science fields.

Lynda Melgarejo of Puebla, Mexico, a junior in engineering management, received the Student Leader of the Year award for her contributions to the UMR student chapter of the SHPE and to the Hispanic community. Melgarejo created a program, called "Si Se Puede" (Yes You Can), to encourage Hispanic high school students from the Kansas City, Mo., area to attend UMR. As part of the recruitment program, students in the UMR SHPE are working with UMR’s Minority Engineering Program and the Kansas City office of LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens.

"I am convinced more than ever that it is our social responsibility to support the development of the Hispanic community and to create better opportunities for our youth to reach their potential," Melgarejo says."UMR is lucky to have such a great group of people that not only motivate, but also support and facilitate students like me to make a difference in our community."

Amy Trujillo of Carl Junction, Mo., a senior in ceramic engineering, won the undergraduate technical poster competition for all regions for her research on solid oxide fuel cells. Trujillo worked on the project for a year with Zach Byars, a graduate student in ceramic engineering at UMR; Dr. Wayne Huebner, vice provost of research at UMR; and Dr. Harlan Anderson, Curators’ Professor Emeritus. Along with her plaque, she was awarded $600.