Anders Hedberg

Anders Hedberg earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology in Sweden. He held positions at the University of Göteborg, Astra/Hässle Cardiovascular and Universität Johan Wolfgang Goethe before joining the Department of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.

He has developed research on mechanisms of pharmacological intervention in hypertension, heart failure, myocardial ischemia, and thrombosis with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Pharmaceutical Research Institute.

In 1991, he became Director of the Center for Science Education, with responsibility for science communication, education, and training of BMS Research Institute scientists worldwide. In that position, he developed a comprehensive science outreach program for BMS, with a focus on improvement and support of elementary and middle school science education in school districts where BMS operates.

Having established strong alliances between BMS and national and international science education agencies, he continues to lead BMS’ worldwide science education outreach efforts.

Dr. Hedberg is active in a number of organizations, including the Building Bridges to the Future Industry-Education Partnership, the National Science Resources Center (NSRC) Advisory Board, Teach for America AmeriCorps Network, and the Education Policy Council of the National Alliance of Business.

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Fernado Solana

Mr. Solana is President of the Mexican Fund for Education and Development, is Advisor of Analytical Consultants and President of Solana and Associates.

He was Executive Director of Infomac Consultants, General Secretary at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) (1966-1970), Secretary of Commerce (1976-1977), Secretary of Education (1977-1982). He also has been General Director of the National Bank of Mexico, President of the Mexican Association of Banks, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Senator for the Federal District and President of the Commission for Foreign Affairs.

He is Member of the Advisory Council for the Latin American Parliament and gives advice of the Boards of diverse companies and cultural organizations. He is author of several books and essays on international subjects, education, financial, economic and business. He is a founder member of Innovation for Science Education.

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Francisco Azcúnaga

Dr. Azcúnaga has a Bachelor´s Degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Advanced Studies (ITESM). Holds a Masters degree from Harvard University and a Doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

He has been professor of business administration at the Monterrey Technology Institute (ITESM), at the Sonora Technology Institute (ITSON) and at the University of Monterrey (UDEM in Spanish), where he has held different positions since 1987 to July of 1993 when he was appointed President of this institution.

He is President of the Higher Education Development Society (SOFES), a nonprofit association that offers financial support to high performance students and in high economic need at national level. He is also President of the Private Mexican Universities Association (AMUP), grouping nine of the best private universities in the country.

During his tenure at the UDEM has become one of the best Mexican universities. Its quality and selectivity has evolved to international levels and a team of teachers has consolidated into one of the best groups in the country. Students have more than 500 options to study abroad and the University admits annually students from 15 countries.

Dr. Azcúnaga management has been characterized for creating more student facilities, including the new Fundadores High School, located north of the city of Monterrey.

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Gabriel Macaya

Dr. Macaya was born in San José, Costa Rica. He studied Chemistry in the University of Costa Rica and made postgraduate studies in France, where he got the Diplome d’Études Approfondies at the University of Paris and received his PhD with honors in Molecular Biology.

Jointly with Doctors Rodrigo Gámez and Pedro León, he founded the Research Center on Molecular and Cellular Biology, which he directed from 1979 to 1980 and 1991-1996. He was Vice-President of Research from 1981 to 1988.
In 1979, he received the National Prize of Sciences Clodomiro Picado Twight. In 1997, the French government named him Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques, and in 1998 the State University of New York gave him the title of Doctor of Humane Letters.
From 1987 to 1993, he was member of the Advisory Council of the Regional Center for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean; and since 1995 he belongs to the Advisory Committee in Genetics and Biotechnology of the International Council of Scientific Unions, which he presided from 1996 to 1997.

Currently, he leads the National Academy of Sciences of Costa Rica and the Inter University Center for Development (CINDA in Spanish). As President of the National Council of Presidents of Universities (CONARE) he participated in the negotiations for the signature of the new agreement with the Special Found of Higher Education.

In 1999, he participated in the fight against the modernization bill of the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity.

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Gabriel Meyassed

Dr. Meyassed is a Senior professional of World ORT, an international organization that promotes scientific and technologic education. In his last position as Chief of the Education and Technology Department of the World ORT in London, Dr. Meyassed promoted the development of new curricula concepts in areas such as systems engineering, distance education, computerization of scientific laboratories, development of resources centers in the field, etc., as well as its implementation with teachers and directors through international seminars.

Dr. Meyassed earned his Doctorate in Sciences from Telchinon-Israel Institute of Technology, and has a Master’s in Education from the University of Tel Aviv. For four years, he was the head of the ORT University Institute in Geneva. He directed a school of 1,550 students and after having occupied this position he was appointed Supervisor of an entire District in Israel.

During the 1990s, Dr. Meyassed served as Director of ORT Mexico, where he opened a Technical-Operative Center for the introduction of advanced technologies in schools, as well as for teachers’ professional development. Jointly with the Mexican Secretary of Education, as well as social organizations, ORT established projects on technical assistance and creative education in the states of Oaxaca, Mexico and Veracruz, among others.

Currently, he is dedicated to improve the standards of science teaching, facilitating data collection and its organization in tables and graphics, for the student to be able to dedicate to the comprehension and analysis of scientific phenomena.

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Georges Charpak

Dr. Charpak is a French physicist of Polish origin. He was born in Dabrovica in 1924, and in 1946 got the French citizenship. He studied at the Paris School of Mines.

He finished his education at the Frederic Joliot-Curie laboratory, associated to the National Scientific Research Center (1947-1949). In 1954 obtained the Doctorate on Nuclear Physics from the French College, and in 1958 accepted a research post at the European organization for nuclear research (CERN), a Center dedicated to particle detection.

In 1984, while still part of CERN, he obtained the Physics and Chemistry Chair from the Physics and Letters Higher Institution.

He is member of the French Academy of Sciences since 1985. In 1989, he received the Higher Energy and Particle Physics Award from the European Physical Society. And in 1992, the Nobel Prize in Physics “for his invention and development of detectors in particular for his proportional multiwire chamber” which has had applications in different fields such as aeronautical engineering and biology.

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Indira Samarasekera

Since taking office in July 2005 she has spearheaded the development of a plan that will guide the University’s quest to become one of the top 20 public universities in the world by 2020. Dr Samaraskera’s vision is of greater research support, a discovery-based learning experience for under-graduates, increased numbers of graduate students, a resurgence in funding for the humanities, and aggressive pursuit of breakthrough discovery and commercialization.

Previously, Dr. Samarasekera served five years as Vice-President Research at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where she was on faculty for close to 30 years. At UBC she was also Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering, and was the first incumbent of the Dofasco Chair in Advanced Steel Processing.

Dr. Samarasekera received her B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ceylon, a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, and a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

To facilitate knowledge-transfer, Dr. Samarasekera has consulted extensively for industry and parti-cipated in sixty short courses on steel processing at companies around the world. Her international experience has greatly informed her view of the world, and her deep connection with Sri Lanka shaped her humanitarian consciousness. She is passionate about eradicating intolerance, as she is passionate about the value of education as a means of achieving prosperity and wellbeing, both in Canada and around the world.

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Janet English

She is currently on leave from teaching and is the Director of Educational Services for KOCE-TV, Orange County's PBS station.  She has been teaching eighth grade science and seventh and eighth grade multimedia communications at Serrano Intermediate School in Orange County's Saddleback Valley Unified School District for thirteen years. She received the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2003.

With the Director of Education Services for KOCE-TV, Ms. English started the Schoolhouse Video Project, which broadcasts student video work on PBS.  Ms. English has been a contributor to and a staff person for the National Science Education Standards, a consultant with the Cal Tech Pre-college Science Initiative, and a committee member of the Defense Investment Initiative, which assists displaced scientists and engineers who are transitioning to teaching in inner-city schools. 

She was the Director of the Institute for Chemical Education's physics and chemistry camps at the University of Northern Colorado, an Instructor for the Apple Teacher Institute and the Apple Colleges of Education, and a Teacher-trainer for the California Technology Assistance Project. Ms. English is an associate member of the National Research Council’s Teacher Advisory Committee and serves as the Vice-chair of the California Teacher Advisory Council.

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Jaume Urgell

Jaume Urgell holds a BA and MBA from ESADE Business School, a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, with a focus on international security policy, and an MA in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Barcelona.

He is the author of numerous papers on his areas of academic competence: management and leader-ship, international security, political theory, and philosophy and art. He co-authored a book on nonprofit management; directed a book on the external relations of Catalonia for the Catalan Government, and recently he has published a book on the philosophy of Marcel Proust.

Professionally, Jaume is now in charge of Promotion and Communication of ESOF2008. Prior to this, he has held various executive positions: Director of Human Resources at a 1,000-large public consor-tium in Barcelona in the education sector; Head of Institutional Relations and Parliamentary liaison for the Ministry for Universities, Research and the Information Society of the Government of Catalonia; responsible for the International Security Program at CIDOB Foundation in Barcelona, and member of the Program Committee of the Internet Global Congress.

He has taught management, communication and leadership courses at ESADE Business School and La Salle. In the recent past, Jaume was the secretary of the Board of the "la Caixa" fellows, promoting interdisciplinary meetings and networking events among fellows. He is also an active contributor to various social initiatives in Barcelona and at Harvard.

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José Lozano

He is a Geologists and Geophysicist from the National University of Colombia. He received his Masters from the University of Tulsa and his Doctorate from the University of Columbia.

Since 1991 until now, he has been Executive Secretary in the Colombian Academy of Natural, Physical and Exacts Sciences.

He is Chairman of the Colombian Environmental Training Network, Secretary of the Professional Council of Geology and Coordinator of the Science Education Program of the Inter American Network of Academies of Sciences and National Coordinator of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme.

He has held several different positions such as Professor in the National University of Colombia, Curricular Director of the Geosciences Department, and member of the Postgraduate Program of Marine Biology. In addition, he is Vice Dean of Students of the Faculty of Sciences, External Evaluator of the CNA, Director of the Institute of Marine Research of Punta Betín and Associate Professor in the University of South Carolina.

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José Natividad González Parás

He was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León; a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the International Institute of Public Administration of France, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Paris.

He has been professor at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, at the College of Mexico; at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, as well as at the Faculty of Law of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM in Spanish). He has several essays and publications in Public Administration, Political Science, and Foreign Policy.

As public servant ha has occupied several positions that include: Chairman of Organization and Institutional Development for the Executive Office of the President; General Sub-coordinator of Administrative Studies of the President’s Office, General Secretary of the Government of Nuevo León; Director of the Office for Foreign Policy; Federal Deputy for the 1st District of Nuevo León and Secretary of the Great Commission for the Chamber of Deputies of the LVI Legislature; Undersecretary of Political Development for of the Interior Ministry.

He was also PRI’s Candidate to the Government of Nuevo León; President of the Board of the Latin American Centre of Administration for the Development (CLAD in Spanish) and President of the Board of the Mexican National Institute of Public Administration (INAP); Senator with leave of absence from 2000 to 2006; and currently he is the Governor of the Nuevo León.

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José Sarukhán

Mr. Sarukhán holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the UNAM, a Masters in Agricultural Botany from the College of Postgraduates and a Ph. D in Ecology from the University of Wales.

From 1979 to 1985, he was Director of the Institute of Biology at UNAM, position in which he was reelected. In 1987, Dr. Sarukhán was appointed as Scientific Research’s Coordinator at UNAM and was sworn in as President of this institution for the period of 1989-1992 and reelected in this position for 1993-1996

He has served as President of the Botanical Society of Mexico (1972-1975), President of the Academy for Scientific Research (1984) and of the Association for Tropical Biology from (1986-1987).

In 1992, he was appointed as National Coordinator of the National Commission for Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, responsibility that carries until now. He has been President of the Union of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (UDUAL in Spanish) and Vice-president of the Posgraduate Iberoamerican University Association (AUIP), and Coordinator of the Latin American Botanical Network.

On December 2000, he became the Executive Officer for Social and Human Development of the Presidential office, role that he played until January, 2002.

Dr. Sarukhán has received honorary doctorates from several universities such as: the National Major University of San Marcos of Lima, in Peru; the University of Wales; the University of New York; the College of Postgraduates; the University of Colima, the University of the State of Hidalgo and the Autonomous University of Morelos.

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Josefina Vázquez Mota

Josefina Vázquez Mota was born in Mexico City. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economy from the Iberoamericana University. She studied the Program of Management at the IPADE Business School, and a Certificate in Ideas and Institutions at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM).

At the end of the 1980s, she participated in a National Political Organization called Civic Coordinator, in which she served as Secretary of Women issues.

She has been adviser of different business organizations such as the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (CONCANACO) and the Mexican Employers Association (COPARMEX).

She has also worked in the field of journalism. In 1990, was senior editor at the Novedades newspaper. During 1991 and 1992 she wrote articles for El Financiero, from and in 1992 she worked as senior editor in El Economista.

She was also Federal Deputy for the National Action Party (PAN) during the LVIII Legislature. In this period she acted as Vice-coordinator of Economics.

From December 2000 to January 2006, during the government of Vicente Fox, she served as Secretary of Social Development.

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Juan Carlos Romero Hicks

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations. In 1979, he holds a Masters in Social Sciences at the Southern Oregon State College, where also he graduated from the Masters in Business Administration (1981). 

He has had an intensive life as professor at the University of Guanajuato. En 1991, he was appointed as Vice- Chancellor of this prestigious college and during his mandate, the autonomy of this house of studies were fixed in 1994.

Also, he has held different positions in an important number of institutions: he was member of the National Council for Science and Technology’s Board of directors; of the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES); the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE); the Union of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (UDUAL); the School of Education, Science and Technology of the State of Guanajuato (CECyTEG); the Centro Inter- universitario del Conocimiento de Guanajuato; the State Commission for the Planning of Higher Education (COEPES); and the Institution of  Educative Development of Guanajuato A.C., among others.

Certainly, he has collaborated in diverse research centers like the Centre for Research in Mathematics  (CIMAT); the Centre for Research in Optics (CIO); The Center of Applied Innovation in Competitive Technologies (CIATEC); Higher  Education and Research of the State of Guanajuato A.C.; the National School of Science and Technology; Centre of Education, Qualification, Experimentation and Farming Technical Assistance of Leon (AGROEDUCA); Institute of Culture of the State of Guanajuato, among others.

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Juan Pedro Laclette

Dr. Laclette holds a Master’s from the Center for Research and Advanced Learning (CINVESTAV in Spanish), a PhD from the Institute of Biomedical Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a Post-doctorate from the School of Public Health at Harvard University.

During his 28 years teaching work at UNAM, he has thought courses at Bachelor’s level at the Faculty of Medicine; at the Faculty of Sciences, and at the faculty of Superior Studies Cuautitlán. Additionally, he has taught High School courses, and Bachelor’s and PhD level courses during 16 years at the Institute for Biomedical Research.

Dr. Laclette has occupied several academic and administrative positions at UNAM included: Chief of the Department of Immunology at the Institute of Biomedical Investigations and Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences. He has been a member of Special Committees at the Institute of Biotechnology and Ecology, at the Institute of Cellular Physiology, at the Faculty of Dentistry and at the Institute of Biomedical Investigations.

He is a member of the Mexican National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. He also sits on the Board of the National Institute of Pediatrics and is an Institutional Representative of UNAM at the Promotional Consortium of the Genomics Medicine National Institute. He is also President of the Mexican Society of Parasitology.

Dr. Laclette has been Visiting Scientist at the School of Public Health and at the Hospital Beth Israel of the Harvard University. Additionally he has been Visiting Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, and in 1992 he won the Prize Miguel Alemán Valdés in Health.

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Juana Inés Díaz Tafur

She studied Education Sciences, with emphasis on Social sciences and obtained a Master’s degree in Higher Education.

She has been Academic Under Secretary and Director of the Education Quality Development of the Bogotá Ministry of Education, Executive Director of the Development Corporation for Basic Education and Corpo Education, Manager of the Education Area in the Share Foundation, Manager of the Scientific Education Studies Program at the Colombian Institute for Science and Technology Development. (Colciencias).

She is currently Vice Minister of Pre School, Basic and Middle School Education in Colombia.

As Vice Minister her duties deal with the achievement of educational plans, programs, and projects, as well as advising the Ministry of Education in policy development or action plans in the Education Sector. She assists in direction duties, coordination and control, and represents the Minister when required.

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Leon Lederman

Dr. Lederman was born in New York. He is an internationally renowned high-energy physicist, Director Emeritus of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, and holds an appoin-tment as Pritzker Professor of Science at Illinois Institute of Technology. He has served as Chairman of the State of Illinois Governor's Science Advisory Committee. He is a founder and the inaugural Resident Scholar at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

For more than thirty years Dr. Lederman was associated with Columbia University in New York City, having been a student and a faculty member there. He was the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Columbia from 1972-1979 and served as Director of Nevis Laboratories in Irvington, Columbia's center for experimental research in high-energy physics, from 1962-1979.

He has served as President and Chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is a member of the National Academy of Science. He has received numerous awards, inclu-ding the National Medal of Science (1965), the Elliot Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute (1976), the Wolf Prize in Physics (1982), the Nobel Prize in Physics (1988), the Enrico Fermi Prize (1993), the Abelson Prize of the AAAS (2000), and the AIP Compton Medal for leadership in physics (2005).

Lederman served as a founding member of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel of the U.S. Depart-ment of Energy and the International Committee for Future Accelerators. Currently he serves on different boards in institutions such as the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, the Union of Concerned Scientists, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Council of American Science Writers, and the Universities Research Association. He has received honorary degrees and academic appointments in over 60 institutions, including those in England, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India and China.

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León Olivé

He studied Mathematics at the Science School of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM in Spanish), and later on graduate from the School of Philosophy. He obtained a Doctorate from Oxford University, England.

Currently, he is a research scientist at the Philo-sophy Research Institute and professor at the School of Philosophy and Letters at the UNAM. He is member of the Mexican National Researchers System, where he has achieved the highest level.

He has published seven books as sole author on epistemology and science and technology philo-sophy and on moral and political philosophy, especially on inter cultural problems; as well as the relationships between science, technology and society.

In 1988, he obtained the Mexican Academy of Sciences Research Award.

Dr. Olivé coordinates UNAM’s Inter Institutional and Trans Disciplinary Project “Knowledge Society and Cultural Diversity”. Also he coordinates the Extraordinary Chair in Multiculturalism at the School of Philosophy and Letters UNAM.

He is member of various international academic committees. He directed the UNAM Philosophical Research Institute (1985-1993) and was Coordinator of the Humanities and Arts Area of UNAM.

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Luis Manuel Guerra

He studied Chemistry at the UNAM and at the Technical University of Munich. He specialized in Dangerous Industrial Waste as fellow of the Carl Duisberg Society in Berlin.

He has developed research at the Institute of Non-Renewable Natural Resources (1974-1978). He worked at the Chemical Division of Merck-Mexico in the Development of New Projects and New Products (1978-1982) and in the Direction of Marketing (1982-1986).

He is member of the boards of institutions such as: The Climate Institute in Washington; the Institute for the Conservation of Energy; Appropriate Technology International-United States; and the Centre for Information and Environmental Communication of North America (CICEANA). Additionally, he is member of the Mexican Institute for Natural Resources and President of the Division of Communications of the Mexican Society for Environmental Quality.

He has earned the prize Alejandro Humboldt (1996), and the Prize of the Society of Environmental Security of Boston (1995).

He has been Responsible Coordinator of several environmental projects. Since 1989 until now he has collaborated in different media projects as commentator of ecology and science issues. He has collaborated for newspapers such as Reforma, Milenio, Crónica and Diario Monitor. He has participated in diverse specialized publications, and he is author of the book El aire nuestro de cada día (1995).

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Mario Molina

Mario Molina was born in Mexico City. He received a degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a Master’s in Kinetics in Polymers from the University of Freiburg, Germany and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

He has been professor and researcher at he UNAM (1967-1968), at the University of California, Irvine (1975-1979), at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology-CALTECH  (1982-1989) and professor at the Massachusetts Technological Institute (1989-2004).

In 1974, he was coauthor of an article published in the British magazine Nature that predicted the thinning of ozone layer as a result of the industrial gases known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC). His researches lead to the Montreal Protocol of Montreal of the United Nations, which forbids the CFC’s production in developed countries since 1996.

Professor Molina sits on boards of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the U.S. Institute of Medicine, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the Mexican Academy of Sciences, the Mexican Academy of Engineering and the Mexican National College.

He has earned many awards for his projects, including more than 18 PhD Honoris Causa, the Tyler Prize for Energy and Ecology (1983), the Sasakawa Prize (1999) and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1995).

Currently, Mario Molina is Professor at the Univer-sity of California, San Diego, and in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Since 2005, he leads the Centro Mario Molina for Strategic Studies on Energy and Environment located in Mexico City.

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Neil C. Hawkins

Hawkins holds Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Harvard University School of Public Health, and a Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech. He is an expert in environmental risk assessment and environmental policy.

He is responsible for driving the transformational initiative within Dow known as Sustainable Chemistry.  This program touches all parts of the company, and it will guide Dow's investment, research, and business decisions for the company's second century. Previously, Hawkins served as Vice President, Global Advocacy and Public Policy, and Global Director for Issues Management and Industry Affairs. This included global trade association leadership for Dow.

Hawkins joined Dow in 1988 and, since then, he has held a wide range of roles across Dow. He led Environmental Health & Safety Programs for a major Dow production site and also for the largest commodity chemical business in the world. In the 1990’s, Hawkins led global issues management activities for chlorine, vinyl, and related products.  Prior assignments include regulatory affairs, product stewardship, and risk assessment leadership roles. 

Hawkins is currently a Board Member of Midland Area Community Foundation. He is also a former Board Member of the Chippewa Nature Center and Little Forks Conservancy. He also served an appointment to Midland County Local Emergency Planning Commission.

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Pablo Rudomín

Mexican Neuroscientist. He studied Biology at the National Biological Sciences School of the Mexican National Polytechnic Institute (IPN in Spanish). He got his Master’s Degree in Sciences from the IPN at the Center for Research and Advanced Learning (CINVESTAV in Spanish), and later a Doctorate in Physiology from the same institution.

He is Professor of CINVESTAV and Director of the Neurosciences Program from this institution since 1984.

He has been Visiting Researcher in the Rockefeller Center at the Medical Pathology Institute of Siena, Italy; at the Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole, in Massachusetts, at the Neurophysiology Laboratories from the National Health Institutes, in Bethesda; at the University of Goteborg, in Sweden; and at the John Curtin Medical School in Canberra, Australia.

He obtained the “Alfonso Caso” National Science Prize awarded by the Mexican Academy of Sciences”; the Prince of Asturias Prize; the Luis Elizondo Prize from the Monterrey Advanced Studies Technological Institute, and the Lázaro Cardenas Medal.

He has been Vice President and later President of the Mexican National Academy of Sciences, Vice President of the Mexican Physiological Sciences Society; General Coordinator of the Sciences Advisory Board and Advisory Member of the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT). His teaching activity dates from 1961 to date. Since 1993, is Member of the National College.

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Rigoberta Menchú

She was born in Guatemala at a k´iche indigenous community. At the age of ten she started to participate as a catechist in her community. Extreme poverty forced her to migrate to the capital of Guatemala. During the armed violence she lost her father, her mother and also her brother.

Since young, she became involved in the fights of indigenous peoples and farmers. These activities make her victim of political persecution and exile. In 1979 she was founder member of the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC in Spanish), of the Guatemalan Opposition Unitarian Representation (RUOG), where she participated in its Direction until 1992. In 1988, she returned to Guatemala and was detained. Under these circumstances she met Nineth Montenegro, who organized a movement to liberate her jointly with the Mutual Support Group (GAM) and with the help of thousands of university students.

In 1995, she received the Nobel Prize in Peace. In 1993, she was appointed Good Will Ambassador to the United Nations Organization for the International Year of Indigenous People, and in 1996 she was appointed Good Will Ambassador to UNESCO. With her closest collaborators she constituted the Vicente Mechú Foundation, today Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation, through which she supports the most needy populations with education, productive and infrastructure projects.

Her work has been widely recognized nationally and internationally. She has received over 30 honoraryDoctorates from several universities worldwide including the San Carlos University of Guatemala in 1996.

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Sally Goetz Shuler

She earned her Master’s Degree in Environmental Health from the George Washington University. She has more than thirty years of national and international experience in Science Education Programs. She is the Executive Director of the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), an organization of the National Academies and the Smithsonian Institution, aiming at the improving science teaching in the United States and other parts of the world.

Before being appointed Director in 2001, she was Deputy Director at NSRC for 15 years, contributing jointly with its Director to develop this organization.

Before joining the NSRC, she worked for over 10 years training teachers and school managers in public and private schools. She has taught mathematics, biology, and earth and space sciences at middle and high schools, as well as in adult education.  

At the international level she worked in Africa on a basic health program financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As part of her work at NSRC, she has collaborated with numerous National Science Academies in different parts of the world in strategic programs to improve their science programs.

Additionally, she has worked as consultant, advisor and manager of numerous directive boards, including the one of the Keystone Center, the Merk Institute for Science Teaching, the Burroughs Fund for Science Teaching, and the Assessment Committee of the National Youth Science Camp.

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Tomás Milmo Santos

Tomas Milmo was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, in November 1964. He is married and has three children.

He earned his degree in Economy from Stanford University and since then has been involved in the development and operation of real state businesses and mining until 1993. In this year he founded Telinor, now Axtel, where he is the Board President and General Director. Axtel is a young tele-communications company with more than six thousand employees, and covers the majority of the Mexican territory.

Milmo is also member of the Administrative Boards of CEMEX, the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM in Spanish), the HSBC bank, the Environment Promoter, the New Dawn Institute and the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP).

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Warren Baker

President Baker earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Notre Dame and his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of New Mexico.

He has led the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) since 1979 and under his leadership this institution has achieved to be rated as one of the top public, regional universities in the West of the United States.

President Baker has achieved distinction as a teacher, scholar and administrator. A few of the honors he has received include: Chief Executive Leadership Award, Far West Region of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) (2004); the Cavanaugh Award, University of Notre Dame (is the highest award bestowed on an alumnus for outstanding public service) (1997); as well as Outstanding Alumnus Awards, from the Colleges of Engineering of the Universities of New Mexico and Notre Dame.

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