{"425521":{"#nid":"425521","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia State Legislature honors AE alumnus Mauricio J. Guadamuz","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe lifelong accomplishments of AE alumnus Mauricio J. Guadamuz were celebrated by friends, family, and colleagues April 30 when the Georgia Legislature issued an official\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.legis.ga.gov\/Legislation\/en-US\/display\/20132014\/HR\/2019\u0022\u003Eproclamation\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;commending the Lockheed Martin systems engineer at a Statehouse ceremony.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe chief author of that proclamation, Rep. Pedro Marin, paraphrased the formal document with words of praise and respect for Guadamuz, whom he called \u0022a role model for anyone who believes in the American Dream.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022There\u0027s a saying in Spanish \u0027Honor serves honor\u0027 and that applies to Mauricio,\u0022\u0026nbsp;he said from the podium. \u0022Mauricio has\u0026nbsp;gone by the call of duty in being a professional and in giving back to the community.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGuadamuz, center, is flanked by AE Prof. Stephen Ruffin, the current director of the Space Grant Consortium, and former AE faculty, Dr. Erian\u0026nbsp;Armanios, Guadamuz\u0027s first advisor and the former director of the Space Grant Consortium.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA 2000 graduate of\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech\u0027s\u0026nbsp;Aerospace Engineering masters program, Guadamuz, a Nicaragua native,\u0026nbsp;has led Lockheed Martin\u0027s efforts to increase minority hiring and improve its research collaborations with top universities. In 2010, he was accepted into Lockheed\u0027s highly competitive Technology Officer\u0027s Corporate Engineering and Technology Ph.D. Program, which allowed him to return to Georgia Tech. His doctoral studies focus on modeling new value-added technologies to improve affordability of systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGuadamuz\u0027s return to school is a\u0026nbsp;wise investment, according to Dr. Alexander Eksir,\u0026nbsp;Lockheed\u0027s\u0026nbsp;vice president for\u0026nbsp;Quality and Mission\u0026nbsp;Success and Guadamuz\u0027s supervisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\u0022rtecenter\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA multi-generational circle of support.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022rteleft\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFirst row: Georgia Guadamuz, 8, Mauricio Guadamuz, Jr. 10, (2 of Mauricio\u0027s children); GT\u0027s Jorge Breton; Second row: GT\u0027s\u0026nbsp;Elizabeth Bryant; ASDL grad student Nicole\u0026nbsp;A. Arockiam, AE\u0027s Dr. George Kardomateas, Dr. Erian Armanios, ASDL\u0026nbsp;grad students Ernesto Estrada and Eric Zellers; Back row: Asgar Kachwalla, AE \u002767, and AE\u0027s Dr. Stephen Ruffin.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022With Mauricio, we are investing in human capital, which is more\u0026nbsp;than\u0026nbsp;our obligation as a corporate\u0026nbsp;citizen, but the future of our country,\u0022\u0026nbsp;he said. \u0022And by promoting individuals of his caliber, we are ensuring the sustainability of what we all enjoy in this democracy, which has been built on the sacrifices of others.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn accepting the proclamation, Guadamuz gave thanks to his father, who left a war-torn Nicaragua in the early 1990s with nothing to fuel him but the determination to have his family survive -- and thrive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Who knows where I would be now, if he had not done that? I am an American by choice.\u0022 Guadamuz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETurning to his own career, he quickly added \u0022My success is not an exception. If you nurture, if you help, if you love any child, they can do what I did.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGuadamuz has been very active in the Latino community, where he\u0026nbsp;frequently does\u0026nbsp;STEM-related outreach and mentoring and\u0026nbsp;has served as the Atlanta Chapter President for Latinos in Information Science and Technology Association (LISTA). He was the 2013 recipient of the Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES) Virtuoso Award and was also nominated to receive the 2013 LISTA\u0026nbsp;Rising Star Award.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELockheed Martin Vice President for Quality \u0026amp;\u0026nbsp;Mission Success Alexander Eksir was on hand to congratulate his colleague, Mauricio Guadamuz.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENone of these achievements or accolades surprised Dr. Erian Armanios, a former Georgia Tech professor who served as Guadamuz\u0027s advisor during his first stint at Tech. \u0026nbsp;Now a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Armanios flew\u0026nbsp;to Atlanta to celebrate the proclamation\u0027s official release.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s nostalgic, really, to see Mauricio get this because I remember him as a masters student, wondering if he should get a Ph.D., and I knew, then, he had the talent and the drive,\u0022 said Armanios.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022They key was that he had a circle of supporters around him -- his family, his Georgia Tech family, his work family - and he had a very strong faith.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat extended family was everywhere apparent at the Statehouse, where clusters of strangers quickly became friends as they spoke about Guadamuz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022He was always engaged in helping Latinos to find out more about engineering and the sciences,\u0022 said AE\u0027s Dr. Stephen Ruffin, who now administers the Space Grant Consortium and Sloan scholarship programs that helped Guadamuz finish his masters degree.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022What\u0027s great, to see him now, is that he has achieved so much more confidence in himself. He has established himself as someone who will be successful and it shows.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFor Mauricio J. Guadamuz, it\u0027s his children\u0027s futures that benefit the most from his hard work. Here, he is seen with Georgia and Mauricio Jr. At home, are Lia, 11\/2 and a soon-to-born sibling.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;See the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/117948618@N08\/sets\/72157644041849450\/\u0022\u003Eentire slideshow\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;of the day\u0027s celebrations.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The lifelong accomplishments of AE alumnus Mauricio J. Guadamuz were celebrated when the Georgia Legislature issued an official proclamation commending the Lockheed Martin systems engineer at a Statehouse ceremony."}],"uid":"27456","created_gmt":"2015-07-16 11:28:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:08","author":"Britanny Grace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"133461","name":"Mauricio Guadamuz"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["communications@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}