Graciela Gonzales

Today, when I walk into my office at Sam Houston State University and see the "Dr. Graciela Gonzalez" plaque outside the door, I realize how much my years at UTEP meant to me. I am now an Assistant Professor of Computer Science.

I graduated in December of 2000, with a PhD in Computer Engineering. My Bachelor's and Master's were also in Computer Science, granted by UTEP. This past year, it has become more evident than ever to me that learning in the right environment and with the right mentors makes a huge difference in how you later evolve as a professional. The Computer Science Department at UTEP, with well-equipped labs and excellent faculty members, always willing to work closely with students and make them active part of their research provides an opportunity for growth that is not found easily.

I remember Dr. Chitta Baral, my mentor and advisor, encouraging and challenging me every step of the way since I was a Junior until the completion of my PhD. He and Dr. Michael Gelfond, as well as all other professors still at UTEP, Dr. Kreinovich, Dr. Longpré, Professor Bell, all of them taught me invaluable lessons. All were determinant influences on what I am today. Dr. Gelfond once told me, "To be a teacher, you need to be willing to constantly learn from your students." That is the general environment I found at UTEP, a place where students make a difference, where students can participate in their education, grow, and be part of important projects. CS students at UTEP work one-on-one with professors, where they publish scholarly papers with them and learn from them both inside and outside of the classroom.

Just as a token of what is possible, all but one section of my dissertation has been published in prestigious conferences sponsored by ACM and IEEE, right alongside papers from people at Stanford, MIT and UC Berkeley.

UTEP is a place where you can shape your future, where you can become whatever you work for, where you can build the foundations to those castles in the air you make when you finish High School. It was for me.

Dr. Gonzalez is currently Coordinator of the BioAI Lab in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Arizona State University.