Professor Osvaldo Gutierrez

Professor Osvaldo Gutierrez
Department of Chemistry
Texas A&M University
Abstract

Dreamer’s Pathway to Become a Professor: Tips and Tricks

This talk will be based on my own experience as an undocumented immigrant in this country for more than 25 years and navigating through the school and university system to fund my Ph.D. and beyond. Challenges to address diversity and the role of the Alliance for Diversity in Science in Engineering in addressing these issues will be covered briefly.

Osvaldo Gutierrez

Osvaldo was born in Mexico and raised in Sacramento, California. He attended Sacramento City College and transferred to UCLA in 2006 where he worked as an undergraduate at the laboratories of Prof. Houk where his research focused on the use of quantum mechanical calculations to study organocatalysis. He obtained his B.S./M.S. in 2009 and completed his Ph.D. in 2012 (UC Davis) under the guidance of Prof. Tantillo. From 2012-2016 he worked as a postdoc with Prof. Kozlowski at the University of Pennsylvania where he used computational and experimental tools to study transition metal-catalyzed processes. In 2016 he started his independent position at the University of Maryland College Park as an Assistant Professor, and then promoted to Associate Professor in Summer 2021. In the Fall 2021, he moved to Texas A&M University and recently promoted to Full Professor. His research combined computational and experimental approaches to advance our understanding of iron- and photo- catalyzed reaction mechanisms. In addition to research interests, Osvaldo is involved in a series of initiatives to increase diversity in STEM including serving as president of the Alliance for Diversity in Science and Engineering (ADSE) and organizer of the annual Young Researchers Conference (YRC) and Breaking Barriers Through Chemistry (BBTC).

Hosted by Alexander Umanzor