Profiles

Rafael Padilla

Rafael Padilla, a recent graduate of New Mexico State University (NMSU) who holds a degree in mechanical engineering, is doing thermal engineering work this summer in Los Alamos National Laboratory's Engineering Sciences and Applications-Applied Engineering Technologies Group (ESA-AET).

He is a participant in the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. (GEM).

In September, he will be moving to Stanford University, where he plans to earn a graduate degree in mechanical engineering—probably with a specialty in heat transfer. He said he probably will be at the Laboratory again next summer, although he will also be juggling Stanford work requirements.

Because Padilla is originally from Las Vegas, New Mexico, where he graduated from Las Vegas-Robertson High School, northern New Mexico is nothing new to him. He and a friend from NMSU have an apartment in Santa Fe for the summer.

In a recent interview, he said he found out about the GEM program because, "They had an information session at NMSU." But his main source of information about the program now is his mentor, Don Quintana at ESA-AET.

Asked about his work in ESA-AET, Padilla said, "My main project is setting up instrumentation that will measure very small velocity and temperature fluctuations." ESA-AET could use his work in measuring velocity and temperature in odd-shaped materials, he said.

Would he recommend the GEM program? He said, "Yes, I would. It's really challenging." Not only is he using what he learned as an undergraduate, he said, but he is "also learning some new stuff."

He hasn't yet determined what his goals will be once he finishes his master's degree. He said he will consider seeking a Ph.D. at Stanford, but, "We'll see how these first two semesters go, and then I'll make a choice after that."

Eventually, he said, he might like to come back to the Laboratory as a staff member. "I enjoy working here," he said.

In the meantime, his family in Las Vegas is proud of him and enjoys having him just an hour away.