Dr. Mark Hernandez is a registered professional civil engineer and an expert on the characterization and control of bioaerosols indoors and out.  He runs a research lab that assesses the efficacy of new disinfection practices for the military, industrial hygiene, and sanitary engineering sectors. He’s the lead inventor on several patents that support various start-up companies. He’s worked side-by-side with some of the greatest minds in the industry throughout his educational career.

But, before all of that, Mark was a street kid whose path could have been much different. In his words, “education saved my life”.

On this episode, we discuss Mark’s journey from street kid to sought-after scientist who’s been making a difference the entire way. And we explore how his background and career have made him a champion of diversity, and a mentor to the underrepresented within the scientific community.

Mark Hernandez, PhD

Dr. Mark Hernandez attained all his degrees from the University of California at Berkeley.  He is a registered professional civil engineer and an expert on the characterization and control of bioaerosols – both indoors and out.  

A generation of his research leverages modern forensic science for wide-area aerosol surveillance and the design of novel disinfection systems for the built environment.    

During his 25 years on the University of Colorado’s engineering faculty, he has authored over 100 archival publications.  

Dr. Hernandez’s research group operates a state-of-the-art environmental microbiology laboratory, which houses one of the largest bioaerosol chambers in the United States.  Since its commissioning, this laboratory has been active in aerobiology research supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (CDC/NIOSH), the US EPA, and various private and public companies, as well as philanthropic foundations.

Dr. Hernandez maintains a modest consulting practice, serves as an expert witness in the remediation field, and holds several US patents that are currently licensed to the technology sector.    He has recently served four US National Academy of Science Committees, focusing on the risk assessment of secure containment for the next generation of bioterrorism research,  the microbiology of the indoor environments, and aerosol disease transmission in urban settings.

Learn more:         

• https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/hernandez/
• https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BpJEifoAAAAJ&hl=en

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