Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the contributions of people from five Latin American countries, including El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. LEFT: Cuban inventor Yolando Perez Baez demonstrates his engine-starting device which can work in the place of a starter motor-a component that frequently fails. From groundbreaking biologists and physicists to innovators in the fields of medicine, botany, and environmental studies, here are 10 game-changing Hispanic scientists you should know about. It has no known side effects, and the shot costs the Cuban government $1 to make. She holds several patents for the technology to isolate various types of stem cells. 1947. Try this: Find an old CRT TV or monitor and learn how cathode ray tubes work using a strong magnet. Try this: Make your own camera obscura with a box and basic household supplies. (July 4, 2014) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/18131/Luis-W-Alvarez, Frierson, J. Gordon. Try this: Look around your classroom or home and find all the devices that use USB ports and technology. The trade embargo is holding up research in some crucial areas. He was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007. Instead, he gave the world the concept of crop rotation. Subscribe to Here's the Deal, our politics newsletter. She first served on a nine-day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery, where she and a team of astronauts studied Earths ozone layer, then returned to space three more times, spending nearly 1000 hours in orbit. He was prolific, but his best-known inventions include the incandescent light bulb, phonograph, and an early movie camera. "Luis W. Sep. 6, 2010. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Born in 1870 in Washington D.C. to a Mexican diplomat father, Mexia spent many years as a social worker before enrolling as an undergraduate at the University of California Berkeley and discovering her passion for botany. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. George Washington Carver, though famous for his idea of peanut butter, did far more than that. Instead, he spent those 20 years refining his theory, breeding mosquitoes, and conducting hundreds of tests to support this theory. Now, wifi and warming relations with the U.S. are paving the way for a digital revolution. Photo by Ernesto Oroza. The electronic DJ duo Pauza, comprising of Zahira Sanchez and Paula Fernandez, play at a restaurant across the street from the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Occurrences of yellow fever have ramped up in recent years [sources: WHO]. Alvarez." The administration is also easing travel restrictions, allowing individuals to visit Cuba for "people to people" educational tours, whereas before Americans were only allowed to make such trips as part of a tour group. Indeed, an Italian study found that Nimotuzumab, in combination with another drug and radiation treatment, appeared to induce a response with few side effects. Since then, people huddled around smartphones has become a ubiquitous sight. During that time, Finlay didnt give up on his research. Known for: If youre reading this right now, thank Tim Berners-Lee. Reed and his colleagues, who had been dispatched to Cuba to fight the disease that had killed so many soldiers during the Spanish-American War, helped Finlay improve his experiments and verified that the species now known as Aedes aegypti was indeed the culprit. (July 4, 2014) http://anthropology.si.edu/olmec/english/archaeologists/caso.htm, Sullivan, Walter. Heres why each season begins twice. (July 7, 2014) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1388825/Cesar-Milstein.html, USA Science & Engineering Festival. 40 Black Inventors That Changed the World - EDGY Labs The seven-time Grammy Award winner. Known for: Kids may not give a lot of thought to cataracts, but they should still know about Dr. Bath. Learn more: Thomas David Petite, Readworks. Even before a reliable Internet connection, Cubans had created their own versions of Craigslist, Yelp, and eBay. Ruiz pays contacts in the U.S. to buy and bring the necessary technology to Havana. 1: Franklin Chang-Daz (1950-) and Ellen Ochoa (1958-), Anthropology News. Famous Hispanic Inventors or Latin Inventors As economic and diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba continue to normalize, here's hoping that these promising Cuban medical treatments can be investigated fully in the U.S. Americans have been waiting long enough. Closely following them are Galileo, Pythagoras, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin and Nicola Tesla. (July 7, 2014) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/26/world/cesar-milstein-74-who-won-joint-nobel-prize-in-medicine.html, Chinea, Eyanir. Benacerraf was born in Caracas, Venezuela, but lived in Paris as a youth and spent most of his life and career in America. "Nobel Prize. There is more to the list of famous Cubans than you can fathom. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/bizarre-brilliant-useful-inventions-cuban-diy-engineers, How communism turned Cuba into an island of hackers and DIY engineers. Category:Cuban inventions Category Talk Edit View history Help Cuba portal Pages in category "Cuban inventions" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. Vol. Guatemalan-born Luis von Ahn is regarded as one of the pioneers of crowdsourcing. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. After earning his medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires, he worked at the Institute of Physiology with Bernardo Houssay. She was the first African-American female doctor to receive a medical patent. He became an American citizen in 1977. In 1969, Liotta developed the first total artificial heart to . 2. New music is taking over for salsa in Havana's hippest clubs. For decades, Cuba has been closed off to technology. Cuban artist Ernesto Orza has spent the last decade photographing and collecting many of these creations. Try this: Da Vinci was fascinated by flying machines. X-Ray Reflection Microscope Mexican American physicist Albert Vinicio Bez co-invented the X-ray reflection microscope. The cost, around $2 an hour, is prohibitive for locals, but enterprising Cubans have figured out how to divide them up to sell in smaller allotments. in the subject to his philosophy master's degree and law degree, all from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) [sources: Anthropology News; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Gaillard; Smithsonian]. Photo by Ernesto Oroza & Penelope de Bozzi. 8. The New York-based Roswell Park Cancer Institute is evaluating CimaVax for use in the U.S. A pacifist, he refused a series of defense industry positions during the Cold War arms race, instead conducting research and teaching physics at the University of the Redlands, Baghdad University, MIT, and Harvey Mudd College. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics Learn more: Grace Murray HopperA Legacy of Innovation and Service. who was a sun goddess in early irish mythology; famous cuban inventors. After the war, he worked on the first proton linear accelerator and was awarded the 1968 Nobel Prize in physics for his work with elementary particles [sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica; PBS; Sullivan; Wohl]. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1984." Known for: Any kid whos ever played with a Super Soaker or Nerf blaster has Dr. Johnson to thank! (July 3, 2014) http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1995/crutzen-lecture.pdf, Encyclopedia Britannica. In 1985, the British Antarctica survey detected a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, and the rest is history [sources: Nobel Prize; Nobel Prize]. "Seeking Signs of Compatibility." . Now, with new technology coming into the country, these old cars are being revamped with mini-DVD players and stereo systems that blast out oldies in Spanish and the latest American pop. He also served as rector of UNAM and director of the National Museum and of the National Institute of Anthropology and History [sources: Anthropology News; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Gaillard; Smithsonian]. Since then, rum and coke has been among the world's most well-known cocktails. (July 7, 2014) http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/about/people/orgs/bios/ochoa.html#.U7sDpfldV8E, Nobel Prize. Invented by scientists at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, the treatment, which its creators describe as an epidermal growth factor, is injected near the affected area and can accelerate the skin's healing process, closing a wound safely over the course of about three months. Today, yellow fever afflicts roughly 200,000 and kills 30,000 people annually, mostly in African areas lacking vaccines. Famous Hispanic Inventors or Latin Inventors "Csar Milstein, 74, Who Won Joint Nobel Prize in Medicine." She was the first Hispanic president of the American Public Health Association as well as a founding member of the Committee to End Sterilization Abuse, an organization that fought against the practice of forced sterilization. By isolating a new class of substances called sugar nucleotides, Leloir found the key to deciphering this voluminous backlog of unsolved metabolic reactions. Cuban inventor turns trash into farm tools | Reuters (July 7, 2014) http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1984/milstein-bio.html, Molina, Mario J. Later, he led fusion propulsion teams at MIT and Johnson Space Center (JSC) on projects with potential Mars mission applications. Read more about Cuban inventions in How communism turned Cuba into an island of hackers and DIY engineers, Lamps made from household items like glass jars and toothpaste tubes. All rights reserved. Still, the country is an unlikely global leader in public health and scientific investment. Surgery is the primary way to treat most head and neck tumors, but these procedures can severely affect people's ability to chew, swallow or talk. A large weight is hoisted up and dropped to spin a flywheel to start motors around the farm. For this reason is it hardly enjoyable for anyone involved, Oroza says. He spent the rest of his career at Cambridge and held dual Argentine-British citizenship [sources: Chang; Nobel Prize; Telegraph UK]. Read more about Cuban inventions in How communism turned Cuba into an island of hackers and DIY engineers. Born in 1889 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Charles Terres Weymann would go on to become a leading light in coachwork technology, his designs featuring on many of the finest automobiles of his era. List of Cuban Americans - Wikipedia Ochoa, who was honored with NASAs Distinguished Service Medal, served as the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, from 2013 to 2018. 2014. "Luis Alvarez: 1911-1988." The drugs Cetuximab and Panitumumab, which are in the same class as Nimotuzumab but are available in the U.S., can cause unsightly and unpleasant acne-like rashes, while international reports about Nimotuzumab suggest its incidence of rash is a lot lower. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. Try it: If you can get your hands on an old computer thats no longer needed, deconstruct it with your class to learn about the pieces and parts inside. How Technology is Changing Cuba - Photography Read more about Cuban inventions in How communism turned Cuba into an island of hackers and DIY engineers. 1.. A portable bluetooth speaker for sale is tested out on the streets of Central Havana. Now, theyre opening Facebook accounts, listing their homes on Airbnb, and watching Netflix. Known for: Do you have a home security system? Alcohol and tobacco use, as well as human papillomavirus, are major risk factors of the diseases. We're all painfully aware of how growth, sexual maturity and metabolism kick into overdrive during puberty, but we're usually too distracted to consider the tiny bean-shaped gland with its foot on the throttle. Vol. "Nobel Lecture: Polar Ozone Depletion." Underground DJs like Joan Coffigny and the female duo Pauza spin at clubs like the Fabrica de Arte Cubano and house parties. Category:Cuban inventions - Wikipedia Try this: Explore the history of the internet and find out what early web pages looked like. His impact was felt through his extensive papers, his widely published textbook, "Human Physiology," and his organization of the Institute of Physiology at the University of Buenos Aires, which produced such medical luminaries as Luis Leloir and Csar Milstein, both on this list [sources: Magill; Houssay; USASEF]. For as long as there have been empires, juntas and dictators, there have been ideas that are easier to suppress, mock or beat down than to face in open debate. "Luis Leloir -- Biographical." He tested its efficacy in children against diffuse pontine glioma (aggressive and difficult-to-treat brain tumors) across multiple sites in Canada and the U.S., and found that the drug wasnt effective. Please be respectful of copyright. However, most transactions between Cuba and the U.S. are still prohibited, which is why Cuban drugs face additional regulatory hurdles for testing and marketing compared to other drugs developed overseas. Jony Ive. Cancer is not one disease, but a collection of hundreds of different illnesses. March 2014. Though he created the device, which allows scientist to examine living cells, in 1948, its still considered a crucial scientific tool to this day. The most promising change yet came Tuesday, when the Obama administration announced that American dollars will now be usable in financial transactions in Cuba. The island nation, hemmed in by a 54-year trade embargo with the U.S., cant exchange goods with one of the worlds largest economies and the largest medical market. By studying burial offerings there, he proved that the Mixtec people succeeded the Zapotec as masters of the city. All rights reserved. 6: Luis Alvarez (1911-1988) Father-and-son research team Luis and Walter Alvarez peer through a star dome, which shows the orbit and location, relative to Earth, of stars and constellations. Working against a wide-ranging embargo from the neighboring United States, Cubans have been getting along without many basic goods for half a century. Known for: This Founding Father was an innovator in more ways than one, and he was among historys most famous inventors. His all-electronic television system made TV one of the worlds favorite past-times. Ted Cruz is the first Hispanic-American to serve as U.S. To wit: Mark Cuban. A new television covers the wall of an old home in Havana. Countries of origin include: Argentina, Cuba, Spain, United States and Venezuela. (July 7, 2014) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fever/peopleevents/p_finlay.html, PBS. The Alvarezes postulated that a giant asteroid or comet hit Earth millions of years ago, causing mass extinctions. Known for: When the Wright Flyer I took off from Kitty Hawk and flew for 12 seconds, the Wright brothers made history! After studying robotics in art school, Yusnier Mentado Fernndez started working on his own creations using processors from Italy. What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? In 2001, she was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for her work on behalf of people with HIV and AIDS. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has authorized the importation of some Cuban medicines in the past, but only enough to conduct research and clinical trials, according to a spokeswoman for the Treasury. Andrs Arturo Garca Menndez, professionally known as Andy Garcia, is a Cuban American actor. "Ellen Ochoa (Ph. She invented the first compiler, a program that translates programming code to machine language. Known for: Gutenberg was the first European to invent the printing press. After discovering a love of ancient regional architecture and writing systems, the Mexico City native began taking classes in anthropology. 8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier - HISTORY mon - fri 8.00 am - 4.00 pm #22 beetham gardens highway, port of spain, trinidad +1 868-625-9028 With fans that include Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Steve Gadd, Taj Mahal and Quincy Jones, Martinez is the world's first-call rumbero, and a consummate master of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and.