"Meteoric” may be the best way to describe Jose Hernández’s life trajectory. He was raised in Stockton, California by a family of migrant workers from the Mexican state of Michoacan and did not learn to speak English until he was 12 years old. He spent summers helping his family harvest crops in the hot, dusty fields of the California’s Central Valley.
Yet despite his humble beginnings, Hernández went own to earn a Master's of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. As an engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he helped to develop the first full-field digital mammography system, which aids in the early detection of breast cancer. In 2004 was accepted into NASA’s space program and in 2009 his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut was realized when he journeyed to space on the STS-128 mission.
On Saturday, May 18th, 2013 Mr. Hernández will deliver the keynote speech at the School of Natural Sciences/School of Engineering commencement ceremony. To commemorate this event, the UC Merced Library is proud to present a display in honor of Mr. Hernández’s achievements.
The display is located on the 4th floor of the UC Merced Library, just outside of the McFadden Willis Reading Room and will be available for viewing April 19-June 3, 2013.
For more information on Commencement 2013, visit commencement.ucmerced.edu
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