Famous Hispanic Inventors Who Changed The World
Historically, September gives us plenty of reasons to rejoice. The sweltering summer heat begins to fade. Depending on where you reside, the leaves begin to turn to beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds. But perhaps most important of all, September is when National Hispanic Heritage Month begins!
This celebration started as a week-long event in 1968 to honor the culture and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. It was expanded to its current month-long duration by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Today, there are so many ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! You could hone your cooking skills by inviting family and friends over for a Hispanic-inspired dinner party, host a Spanish movie night, or attend a local event put on by a Hispanic organization.
On top of the usual festivities, we’re giving extra recognition to often overlooked Hispanic inventors whose contributions have benefited communities around the world.
Ellen Ochoa
According to the Smithsonian Institution, Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman astronaut. She went on four missions with NASA, spending 978 hours in outer space. She also added co-inventor to her resume when she helped develop three patents in the field of optics. Her inventions now help NASA process information collected on missions.
Ochoa’s family is originally from Mexico, but they moved to California before she was born. Ellen grew up in the Golden State and attended San Diego State University for a degree in Physics.
Her fascination with the field of optics came during her time as a fellowship student at Stanford University. There she developed three optics-related patents, which help computers process information more quickly and efficiently.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, from 2013-to 2018, Dr. Ochoa worked as the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.
Guillermo González Camarena
You sit down on the couch, turn on the TV, and prepare to watch the weekend’s biggest game. For the next three hours, you enjoy the vibrant colors and pristine pictures as your favorite team defeats the opposition. If this scenario is a regular occurrence in your household, you have Guillermo González Camarena to thank.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Gonzalez Camárena received a patent for “a chromoscopic adapter for television equipment” in 1942. In other words, his invention helped introduce the world to colored television!
So every time you turn on the TV and enjoy your favorite show or sport, remember the contributions of González Camarena!
Luis von Ahn
Guatemalan-born Luis von Ahn is regarded as one of the pioneers of crowdsourcing. However, he is most well-known for two significant contributions to modern technology—the reCAPTCHA system and Duolingo.
You may not know what reCAPTCHA is, but you see it almost every time you sign into a new website. It’s those “I am not a robot” checkboxes and distorted text images that you have to complete before accessing certain pages. Though annoying at times, reCAPTCHA helps computers differentiate between robots and human beings, keeping internet users safe from malware and spam.
Luis von Ahn is also the co-founder of Duolingo, a completely free app that has caused major buzz among those wanting to learn another language. The app provides free language education covering 33 languages and serving about 300 million users worldwide according to NBC News.
Raised in Guatemala, Ahn received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and obtained his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. He recently won the prestigious Lemelson-MIT prize and currently works full-time as the CEO of Duolingo.
Alejandro Zaffaroni
Born in Uruguay, Alejandro Zaffaroni was one of the most innovative and impactful pioneers in the history of biotechnology.
His revolutionary work is something many of us benefit from directly on a regular basis. What exactly do we have to thank him for? Well, Zaffaroni helped create multiple biotechnology companies that are responsible for many brilliant medical breakthroughs. According to Nature.com, Zaffaroni played a major role in the development of “extended-release tablets, implantable devices, transdermal patches (notably the NicoDerm CQ nicotine patch), and inhalers, such as Adasuve.” He also served as the head of research at a pharmaceutical company that developed one of the earliest effective birth control pills.
Even after his death in 2014, Zaffaroni’s work continues to live on. His legacy is lasting, and his inventions are helping humans have a higher quality of life each day.
Domingo Liotta
Rounding out our list of famous Hispanic inventors is Argentinian-born Dr. Domingo Liotta, a man regarded as a pioneer in the medical community. Liotta is not only a gifted heart surgeon, but he’s also responsible for creating the first artificial heart used in a human being!
Dr. Liotta developed the organ in 1969 at a hospital in Houston, Texas. According to the National Museum of American History, it was implanted in a patient while they waited for a real human heart to be available for transplant. The recipient lived for 64 hours with the artificial heart before receiving a real one. This procedure proved to be a viable option as a bridge to cardiac transplantation.
Dr. Liotta graduated from the National University of Cordoba in Argentina where he received his doctorate in Medicine and Surgery. Before being hired at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas as Director of the Artificial Heart Program, he worked in Lyon, France. Currently, he is the Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Morón in Argentina.