Martinez-Miranda, Luz
Fellow, AAAS
Fellow, APS
Maryland Energy Innovation Institute
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1985
BACKGROUND
Professor Martínez-Miranda is one of the Department's undergraduate advisors. She is also active in mentoring-oriented programs such as the University's Materials Science and Research Engineering Center's Research Experience for Undergraduates (MRSEC REU), and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's efforts to increase and support underrepresented American minority Ph.D. students in math, science and engineering.
Outside of the university she has been active with SACNAS (the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science), where she has been a member of the board and a judge of engineering posters at their annual meeting; and as a member of the NSHP (National Society for Hispanic Physicists), where she has served on the board since 1998 and was the president from 2003-2005.
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Fellow, American Physical Society (APS), 2007
- Visiting Faculty Appointment to the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, 2006
- Fellow, American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2004
- Boricua College Professional Achievement Award in Science, 2004
- NSF Career Advancement Award, 1997
- NSF Visiting Professorship for Women, 1994-1996.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- American Ceramic Society
- American Physical Society (APS)
- American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- NSHP (National Society for Hispanic Physicists)
- SACNAS (the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science)
Professor Martínez-Miranda contributed to the creation of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering's undergraduate program, including the design of two of its junior year materials labs. She also took part in a NSF-funded project to develop new laboratory experiments that effectively engage undergraduate engineering students in the scientific processes and exploration of concepts in nanotechnology.
Links to course descriptions and syllabi are provided where available.
She designed the following courses:
- ENMA 310*: Materials Lab I: Structural Characterization
-
ENMA 311*: Materials Lab II: Electromagnetic Properties
* These courses were changed to ENMA312
- ENMA 445/645 (489L): Selected Topics in Engineering Materials: Liquid Crystals and Other Soft Matter Materials
Liquid crystals and their applications, role in biology, and nanometer structure.
Professor Martínez-Miranda typically teaches the following courses:
- ENMA300/ENME382: Introduction to Materials Science and their Applications
- ENMA445/645: Selected Topics in Engineering Materials: Liquid Crystals and Other Soft Matter
She has also taught the following courses
- ENMA475/681: Selected Topics in Engineering Materials: Diffraction Techniques in Materials Science: X-ray Synchrotron Techniques
- ENES100: Introduction to Engineering Design