As the nation honors the cultures and contributions of Hispanic and Latin Americans, the University of Florida invites you to celebrate those who have contributed to the University’s institutional excellence and those who lend their voices to today’s UF experience.
Zoe Milian Barinaga
Zoe began her professional career in 1994 with Exxon Chemical Company as a Process Engineer in Baytown, Texas. She remained in Manufacturing for several years, holding a variety of roles, including the Technical & Financial Manager at the Houston Olefins Plant. After returning from living in Belgium and an extended leave of absence to focus on her family, Zoe transitioned into Chemical’s Headquarters and held positions in Planning, Sales, and Marketing. She also worked in Business Development for the Upstream Gas & Power Marketing Company. Her most recent business role was the Global Polypropylene Marketing Manager, holding responsibility for the business P&L. In 2017, Zoe returned to Manufacturing as the Asia Pacific and Europe Manufacturing Business Manager, living in Singapore. Her most current role is back in the Baytown Chemical Plant as the Process Manager, responsible for the operations of the site.
Zoe is an active leader in the ExxonMobil Employee Resource Networks, both for Hispanics and Women. She was the President of the Global Organization for the Advancement of Latinos (GOAL), is currently on the Advisory Board and is an active member of the Chemicals Women’s Leadership Team.
Family and Community are important to Zoe. Over 15 years, she served as a Board Member of the Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority, The Education Foundation of Harris County, and the Corpus Christi Catholic School Education Council. She is also active in her community through STEM activities and as a Science Ambassador, establishing the first Robotics Program at a local school with her husband.
With her parents emphasizing education her whole life, Zoe graduated as Valedictorian of her high school class. She continued her education at the University of Florida, where she received a Bachelors with Honors in Chemical Engineering, along with being recognized in the University’s Hall of Fame. She has also received her MBA with a concentration in International Business.
Home life is rich with three generations of Cuban tradition under the same roof. Zoe is married to Juan Carlos, has three children (Zoe Isabella -19, Analys – 17, Cristian – 15), and with her siblings, helps care for her father and disabled mother. Language and heritage, brought by her parents and in-laws immigrating to the United States, have been and continue to be a priority for the family.
Please tell us about your work.
I am currently the Process Manager for the ExxonMobil Baytown Chemical Plant, responsible for the operations of the site. We produce various fundamental chemicals, including synthetic oils, polypropylene, olefins, synthetic rubber and aromatics. Overseeing operations means manufacturing the chemicals safely, reliably and most efficiently.
I’ve been with ExxonMobil for over 28 years. In that time, I have worked mostly in the Chemical Company with half of my career in Manufacturing and the other half on the Business side, where I’ve held many different roles, including positions in Planning, Sales and Marketing. I also had an opportunity to work in our Upstream organization in Business Development for the Gas & Power Marketing Company at ExxonMobil. My most recent business role, before returning to Manufacturing in Singapore, was running our Polypropylene business globally.
I have also had the opportunity to live in three continents (North America, Europe and Asia) and hold leadership positions, while taking an extended leave of absence of five years to focus on my family when my children were young. In both my personal and professional life, focusing on people and the greater good has been key for me to grow as a leader.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
In times of difficulty and challenge, my mother used to always say to me, “It Builds Character.” I admit, I did not always like hearing those words because it meant hard times for me. But there was much wisdom in them.
Rather than viewing life challenges or failures as negative, adjust your perception! Look at it as a period of growth and opportunity. Prepare yourself for the next big move you’ll make, and embrace the small accomplishments you achieve along the way. Resilience is very powerful.
Who inspires you?
My parents inspired me from a young age. I was born and raised in South Florida to parents who emigrated from Cuba in their teens, both of them arriving with just a change of clothes. My mom, an only child, was sent alone at the age of 14 as part of a program called Peter Pan, which was a mass exodus of nearly 15,000 unaccompanied Cuban children to the US. My mother stayed in a refugee camp in Florida for about a year and then moved into a foster care home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, until she was reunited with her parents as an adult.
My parents were shaped by those amazing experiences and passed on some key values to their children. The perseverance they had amid uncertainty taught me to work hard and not give up; the love they maintained for family despite years of separation and struggle grounded me in the importance of family and relationships; and their visionary spirit of exploring the world (which continued throughout their life – as we traveled a lot as kids) was one that taught me to look at life as an adventure.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
I hope I am able to inspire others through my focus on servant leadership:
- Focus on serving others…make it about the people and not your own ambitions.
- Focus on having your voice heard and in return cultivating and embracing diverging/different viewpoints; together they lead to better ideas, breeding an environment where innovation can happen.
- Finally, focus on how you can leverage the things within your control to positively influence and make a difference in the long-term.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
Even though we have been living outside of Florida since graduating college, the University of Florida has been and continues to be a significant part of our lives. My and my husband’s five siblings all graduated from University of Florida, and our oldest daughter is now a senior at UF. GO GATORS!
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
Beyond traveling and being with our three kids, my husband and I enjoy home remodeling – we recently finished our 5th home project after returning from living in Singapore. We also enjoy supporting STEM activities for young students, which led us to start a robotics team at a local elementary and middle school in Houston.
We are soon to be empty nesters, so this summer my husband and I completed El Camino, our first pilgrimage, in Spain. Here we go exploring new adventures as move into our next phase in life.
Antonio Jesús Iglesias, BSCHE, PharmD
Antonio J. Iglesias, PharmD, is a Vaccines Medical Director, Pfizer US Medical Affairs/Vaccines Medical Development and Scientific Affairs. Dr. Iglesias is committed to making a difference in geographies that include children and adults with disproportionate vaccination rates. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Florida. In addition, he completed a University of Florida/Jackson Health System Pediatrics Pharmacy Practice Residency.
Please tell us about your research.
Vaccine Medical Directors are vaccine experts who work with healthcare professionals, policy groups, medical societies, and professional organizations, providing scientific knowledge and solutions to improve healthcare outcomes related to vaccine-preventable diseases.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
To always have a plan and execute it; the journey may not be a straight line.
Who inspires you?
People who believe in the importance of community and social responsibility and do selfless acts to help and protect others.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
Working hard with dedication, having the flexibility to embrace change, and never forgetting every person deserves to be seen and heard.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
I am a Cuban-American who does not dance well or smoke cigars <smile>
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
Spending time in France with family and friends and working on a model railroad when extra time is available.
Fernando J. Mérida Figueróa, Ph.D.
Please tell us about your research.
I am currently researching various approaches to modernize unit operations lab-based courses by redefining the scale and structure of experiments, enforcing elements of design of experiments, and diversifying the nature and applicability of experiments by collaborating with colleagues in other institutions/countries.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
The best advice I have received is that you must feel proud of accomplishments and achievements (even if they are small!) both at professional and personal levels.
Who inspires you?
World travelers. Some people travel for work, some for pleasure, others for spiritual connections, and some others looking for identity. World travelers always have inspiring stories behind their journey and as a traveler myself, I like to hear and learn from these adventures.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
I want to inspire next generations by telling them that working hard is key to succeed in life but making mistakes (and learning from them!) is also part of the road to success. Sometimes we just see the tip of the iceberg, but we have no idea of how immense its base is, hidden under the water.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
Every day I listen to a morning show called “El Despelote de la nueva 94”, broadcasted by a Puerto Rican radio station. The show has news, entertainment, technology, contests, sports, and other segments but hosts add the “latino picardía” to all segments along with reggaeton music (which I love it!) I’ve done this for the last ~ 12 years every morning. If you see me laughing while driving to work every morning, is because I am listening to “El Despelote de la nueva 94”
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
My idea of fun is and will always be going to the beach. I just need a small cooler, beach chair and umbrella, sunblock, and a wireless speaker to get in the beach mode. Either for taking a splash in the water or just watching the waves and feeling the ocean breeze, going to the beach has that unique, soothing effect on me (physical and spiritual).
Hansel Montalvo-Castro
I was born and raised on the island of Puerto Rico. I pursued my passion for math and science early, engaging in Math Olympics and Scientific Fairs. I completed my undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. I am currently at UF, working on my Ph.D. degree focused on heterogeneous catalysis in metallic and zeolite systems. I am passionate about research and academia and aim to be instrumental in developing our understanding of the universe.
Please tell us about your research.
My research focuses on theoretical heterogenous catalysis. Using density functional theory calculations, I seek to elucidate reaction mechanisms and relevant catalytic properties over metallic and zeolite-based catalysts.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
Embrace and trust the process; to learn to be compassionate with myself while setting reasonable but still ambitious expectations. My best does not look the same every day, and that is OK.
Who inspires you?
I am inspired by my family and myself. The ambition to learn and become better than my current self, every day.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
I seek to inspire awareness, to wake the power of the human mind. Becoming aware, beyond the typical, is the first but transcendental step to greatness. That science is a product of the human mind, and therefore, accessible to all, with the appropriate awareness.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
The letters from my second name are contained within the first.
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
I like to read about quantum mechanics, God, and philosophy. When not reading about it, I am talking about it. I also like videogames, not to relax, but to compete.
Marisa O. Pacheco
Please tell us about your research.
I am working in the Stoppel lab on a project involving the development of silk fibroin particles as hemoglobin-based oxygen therapeutics for use in situations where a blood transfusion may not be available or possible. Currently we are focused optimizing silk particle synthesis techniques that avoid the use of harsh solvents.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
The best advice I have received was given to me by my dad in the form of one of his favorite, and now my favorite, poem by Antonio Machado, Caminante, no hay camino. He gave me a copy on the day I moved into the dorms at undergrad and the poem basically serves as a reminder that you and only you decide your path in life and no two paths are the same. This poem and idea helped give me a lot of confidence in making the decision to move out of Colorado for graduate school.
Who inspires you?
My grandfather is one of the people that inspires me most. He worked up to being a professor at CU Boulder and the Director of the BUENO (Bilinguals United for Education and New Opportunities) Center. He researched how to ensure bilingual students and neurodivergent populations have access to effective education pathways from K-12 to higher education. One of my main goals in life is to ensure in my career I am pushing forward those same values.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
Honestly long-term, my hope would be that I am not all that special to the next generation. I would hope soon there are enough women and Hispanic women working in areas where we have long been underrepresented, doing amazing things that I would not stand out from the next. Until that is true, I hope younger people can look to me and see comfort and familiarity to the point where they recognize if they want to do similar science, they absolutely can.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
If I wasn’t in grad school, I would love to be a high school chemistry teacher.
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
I love spending time outside with my pup Oso, listening to music, cooking, and doing puzzles/playing games.
Carlos M. Rinaldi-Ramos, Ph.D.
Please tell us about your research.
My group studies fundamentals and biomedical applications of magnetic nanoparticles in suspension. We characterize and model the behavior of these small particles in complex media representative of biological environments, and we synthesize and functionalize nanoparticles for therapeutic and diagnostic applications, with relevance to cancer and other diseases.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
Work hard, play hard. This was advice I received as an undergraduate student. I have no issues with the work hard part, so it is a constant reminder to also enjoy life.
Who inspires you?
It is difficult for me to choose one person, as I’ve had many different mentors and role models throughout my career, and I’ve been inspired by many different people at different stages of my life. However, I always think back to a guidance counselor who helped me navigate my parent’s divorce in high school and made me realize that my lack of academic achievement at the time was entirely my responsibility.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
This is such a tall order! Personally, I strive to make things better all around me. I hope I can inspire others to do the same.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
I spent my first summer assisting a diving instructor in taking tourists on trips around my hometown in Puerto Rico.
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
Lately I’ve been enjoying watching cartoons with my daughter. Periodically I’ll play videogames, especially whenever a new Zelda or Metroid game comes out.
Victor G. Rivera-Llabres
My name is Victor Rivera-Llabres, I was born in a coastal town in Puerto Rico called Fajardo. Ever since a young age I’ve been curious about how the world works and this curiosity led me to pursue studies in Chemical Engineering and now a Ph.D.
Please tell us about your research.
My research encompasses the use of magnetic nanoparticles and hydrogels for biomedical applications by fabricating tissue substitutes that promote regeneration of damaged tissues in the body.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
I would say the best advice I have received is to have commitment. Not just with others, but with yourself. To question and be honest about my intent and commit to it.
Who inspires you?
I am inspired by the relentlessness and willingness of humans to push the boundaries of our knowledge of the physical world. I am inspired by the potential of what I can be if I pursue that image with conscious intent.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
I hope to inspire awareness; that self-awareness is a tool one never stops developing and that the ultimate project you can work on in life, is yourself! And embracing failure and uncertainty is key to success.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
I was born the same day as Albert Einstein, which is also Pi Day.
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
As a hobby I like exploring my artistic side. I paint, draw and love working with trees and make bonsai from them. I also love doing sports although I don’t do it as often as I did.
Juan Manuel Restrepo-Flórez, Ph.D.
Please tell us about your research.
My research aims at developing methods and models to support the decision-making process in the broad area of sustainability. We employ a broad set of tools from optimization to multiphysics simulations to address problems in the design of sustainable energy systems, plastic waste upgrading, and chemical separations design.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
“Search for the pleasure of searching, not for the pleasure of finding”
that is my free translation of a Jorge Luis Borges short stanza and I think it really touches on the way science is crafted.
Who inspires you?
My grandpa because he was able to constantly enjoy everything that was around him. He could see the beautiful and joyful things in everything.
How do you hope to inspire the next generation?
I would like for my students to learn to enjoy the work that we do, and to find some freedom to be creative, and revolutionary through the work that we do in our group.
Please share a fun fact about yourself.
I have not worn a blue jean in more than 20 years. Despite the popular belief, I find that they are very uncomfortable.
What do you do for fun, or as a hobby?
I like to read; I have a very large library. My wife and I also like gardening, and we are especially fond of the tomato crop.
