ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two Sandians have been named among this year’s Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) winners. Dan Arvizu, Director of Sandia’s Advanced Energy Technology Center, won the Executive Excellence Award. Jim Pacheco, Senior Member of Technical Staff in the Solar Thermal Technology Department, won in the category of Outstanding Technical Achievement. Seven Sandians have received awards from HENAAC over the past three years.
To be eligible for the Executive Excellence Award, candidates must be upper-level managers with responsibility for large departments and budgets. Nominees need 16 plus years experience in the science, engineering or technology fields. Arvizu was recognized for career achievements in renewable and fossil energy technologies, industrial partnerships, management of large research programs, and promotion of career development for minorities and females. He has a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State University and a master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
Outstanding Technical Achievement award winners were judged by significant contributions in science, engineering or technology. As Team Leader for Sandia’s Solar Power Tower Development Program, Pacheco has played a key role in developing and implementing technical advances for new solar technologies, most recently Solar Two, the world’s largest solar power plant, located in Barstow, CA. Pacheco is active in the American Society of Engineers and in programs advancing the careers of engineers. He also is a volunteer in the Labs’ Manos after-school science and engineering program for Hispanic middle-school students. He has a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State University and a master’s from the University of California at Berkeley.
All 19 of this year’s award winners will be recognized at the HENAAC awards banquet October 12 in Houston, TX.