The Cullen College's own Jose Luis "Pepe" Contreras-Vidal was recently named one of the top 35 Houston Latinos you should know by La Voz, a Spanish-language weekly newspaper distributed by the Houston Chronicle.
Contreras-Vidal joins the ranks of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, and BBVA Compass CEO Manolo Sanchez on La Voz's list. The paper says their list reflects "the diversity that characterizes this city, from those born in Houston to those who have made careers here after coming from Latin American countries and even from Spain, in Europe."
After earning his Bachelor of Science in electronic and communications engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Contreras-Vidal received his Master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Boulder, Colorado and his Ph.D. in cognitive and neural systems from Boston University. As a professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of UH's Laboratory for Noninvasive Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) Systems, Contreras-Vidal is widely considered one of the world's leading researchers in the field of non-invasive BMI technology.
Most recently, he and his lab researchers have created an algorithm that allows a patient to grasp objects with a prosthetic hand powered only by their thoughts.
See La Voz's full list of 35 Houston Latinos You Should Know here.