Latino STEM Organizations Honor Draper Engineer for Educational Efforts

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Latino science and engineering organizations in the Boston area honored Linda Fuhrman, a senior Draper Laboratory engineer, for her efforts to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to minority students during an April 23 ceremony.

Fuhrman was recognized with the Franklin Chang-Díaz Award at the 2012 Latino Science & Engineering Awards Celebration, which was organized by the SACNAS-SHPE-MAES STEM Consortium. Chang-Díaz was the first naturalized U.S. citizen to become an astronaut, and is a former Draper employee.

Fuhrman led the creation of the MAES New England Network of graduate schools and employers, and organized a series of sessions at the 2011 MAES International Symposium’s career and graduate school fair in California to showcase a welcoming Latino professional community in New England. Fuhrman is a member of both MAES and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).

Fuhrman helped establish Draper’s diversity initiatives, and served until recently as the Lab’s director of education. She works with students, science teachers, guidance counselors, and other groups to promote technical education. She has participated at the local, regional, and national levels in efforts to advance STEM education and to raise awareness of aerospace engineering as a career.