The official biography below was current at the time of the award. Awardees may choose to provide their latest biographical information on their profile page.

Luis Colón's achievements in mentoring include:

Creating a pipeline to enable students from his native Puerto Rico to study chemistry at the University of Buffalo (UB). For 20 summers, Colón has brought undergraduates from his native Puerto Rico to Buffalo to conduct research. More than half a dozen of these students have gone on to enroll in UB’s graduate programs in chemistry, with four earning Ph.D.s while working in Colón’s lab.

Co-founding iSEED at UB. Short for the Institute for Strategic Enhancement of Educational Diversity, iSEED builds on Colón’s success in chemistry to offer summer research opportunities to undergraduates in many STEM fields. The institute also helps to build a culturally and intellectually diverse academic community by providing professional development and support for graduate students. It is funded through the UB Office of the Provost’s E Fund.

Personally guiding the education of dozens of students, including many minorities. Colón has supervised and mentored 27 Ph.D.s (17 of whom are from underrepresented groups and/or women); 14 master’s students (11 of whom are from underrepresented groups and/or women); and more than 35 undergraduates. He says he helped recruit more than a dozen Hispanic Ph.D. students to his department, including the candidates from Puerto Rico.

Participating in existing programs that support underrepresented students in graduate programs. Over the years, Colón has been active with programs such as the Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program and National Science Foundation-SUNY Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation.