NASA Astronaut José M Hernández Keynote Speaker at the 43rd Anniversary of CET

Hernandez was born on August 7, 1962, in French Camp, California. He is an American engineer of Mexican descent and a NASA astronaut. He calls Stockton, California, his hometown. His family is from La Piedad, Michoacán, with indigenous Purépecha roots. In an August 25, 2009 conversation with President Felipe Calderón of Mexico, Hernández stated that as a child, he lived half the year in La Piedad and half in the United States. As a child, Hernández worked alongside his family and other farmworkers throughout the fields of California, harvesting crops and moving from one town to another. He attended many schools and didn't learn to speak English until he was 12. In 2008, he served as chief of the Materials and Processes branch of Johnson Space Center. Hernández previously developed equipment for full-field digital mammography at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Hernández was assigned to the crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-128.
Education
José Hernández participated during high school in Upward Bound, a Federal Trio program that prepares students for college. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of the Pacific in 1984.
In 1986, Hernández earned an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Awards and honors
Hernández has earned or been awarded:
* Graduate Engineering Minority Fellow (GEM) (1985)
* Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award, “Outstanding Technical Contribution” (1995)
* Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES) “Medalla de Oro” recipient for professional and community contributions (1999)
* U.S. Department of Energy “Outstanding Performance Commendation” (2000)
* NASA Service Award (2002, 2003)
* Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory “Outstanding Engineer Award” (2001)
* Upward Bound National TRIO Achiever Award (2001)
* Eta Kappa Nu Electrical Engineering Honor Society member and awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from University of California at Santa Barbara (2006).
Engineering career
In 2001, Hernández joined the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas.
Hernández was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in May 2004. In February 2006 he completed Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, and physiological training. He worked various technical assignments until his selection on July 15, 2008, as a mission specialist on the STS-128 mission, which launched on August 28, 2009. While in orbit, Hernandez became the first person to use Spanish language in space while tweeting. STS-128 mission ended its 14 day journey on September 11, 2009 at Edwards Air Force Base, California at 5:53 pm PST.
Personal life
Hernández is married and has five children, ages six to 14. His wife, Adela, runs a Mexican restaurant just outside the Johnson Space Center gates, called Tierra Luna Grill, which is Spanish for Earth Moon Grill.
In September 2009, Hernández advocated support of a legalization path for immigrants. "Having 12 million undocumented people here means there's something wrong with the system, and the system needs to be fixed." Hernández called this his personal opinion, and not a representation of NASA policy. ∆