About the Director

Background

In addition to directing the National Science Foundation funded Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities (WAESO) program, Prof. Andino is on the faculties of both Chemical Engineering and Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering in, respectively, the School of Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy and the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU.  She was recruited to ASU from the University of Florida’s (UF) Environmental Engineering Sciences (EES) department, where she was first tenured and promoted.

Prof. Andino received her doctorate from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in chemical engineering and a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in engineering sciences. 

Prof. Andino has many “firsts” or “one of the few” as part of her history. She is currently one of only 12 mainland US-born Hispanic women who hold engineering faculty positions in the US, and the only Afro-Latina. (She is Puerto Rican, born and raised in New York.) At UF she was the first woman to be hired, tenured, and promoted to the level of Associate Professor in EES, and the first woman of color to be tenured in Engineering at UF.  She was also the first Black woman and Afro-Latina to receive a PhD from Caltech. 

Research

Prof. Andino’s research focuses on chemical kinetics and mechanisms as applied to air quality (atmospheric chemistry and air pollution control) and energy themes. She also has past industry experience, working for two years at Ford Motor Company. At Ford she was part of both the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering programs where her work focused on (a) characterizing the reactions taking place on novel materials to be used in catalytic converters,  and (b) determining the ambient air quality impacts of fuels and alternative fuels.

Accomplishments and Selected Honors

Prof. Andino has published numerous journal articles, is actively engaged in patenting and commercialization efforts, and is a registered professional engineer. She has been widely recognized for her work by being invited to join high profile panels or boards, including multiple National Academies panels. In addition, she has earned numerous prestigious national and local awards, including (among many others) the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) 2017 STAR Educator of the Year in Higher Education award from the national SHPE organization, a Fulbright US Scholar Award in Renewable Energy for scholarly activities at the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (during her sabbatical from ASU), and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in Geosciences for her atmospheric chemistry work at the start of her career at UF in EES. 

Commitment to Diversity

Prof. Andino has worked- from her very early student years to now in her faculty roles- to mentor and encourage diverse students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas. From her early years of tutoring students in mathematics – in Spanish- as an undergraduate at Harvard to her faculty appointments in engineering, Prof. Andino’s goal has been to open doors for others, particularly those that have been traditionally underrepresented in STEM.  Her role as Director of WAESO  enables her to fuse her interests in engaging diverse communities with STEM education and research while providing opportunities to shape the next generation of globally aware STEM leaders and innovators.