Jorge Soberón-Mainero exceptionalism recognized
An eminent Kansas scientist belongs to some elite groups. Jorge Soberón-Mainero is one of only 31 people worldwide to receive Mexico’s first-ever Distinguished Mexicans award. And in April, he was elected an international honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Distinguished Mexicans prize honors Mexican nationals for their outstanding work in their respective fields. The accolades were presented to honorees where they reside by local Mexican consulates and diplomatic officials in the 31 host cities in 16 different countries.
Soberón accepted the award from Kansas City Mexican Consul Alfonso Navarro-Bernachi in a public ceremony on Sep. 27 at KCP&L headquarters in downtown Kansas City. Watching as Soberón received the accolade – a framed certificate and specially minted silver medallion – were his wife, Aída Hernández, son and daughter-in-law, Jorge and April Soberón, extended family members, friends and colleagues and officials from the University of Kansas.
Soberón is a university distinguished professor and senior scientist at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute. His research on ecology has advanced the general knowledge on biological species through statistics and mathematics, read the announcement by the Mexican consulate in Kansas City.
In 2014, the university honored Soberón’s position for his “prolific research and teaching activities” with its highest academic recognition: University Distinguished Professor. He’s written 152 scientific articles in English and Spanish; some have been translated into other languages. He’s also published in specialized books, peer-reviewed science journals and newspapers and other non-scholarly journals.
While acknowledging that he’s “very happy and proud” to win the Distinguished Mexicans award, Soberón says he thought of many others very deserving. He supports the award and considers its positive benefits.
“In Mexico, people who leave are often criticized, and it’s never kind,” he says. “It’s very nice for a change that they’re seen as worthy of some kind of recognition. And this is again a way of stating that so many Mexicans that live abroad contribute positive things to the countries where they live, in contrast to some of the declarations that one sees in the newspapers.”
This weekend, Soberón will be in Cambridge, Mass. His family will be with him as he’s inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
“I’m very much looking forward to that,” he says.
He joins the 238th class of the prestigious academy which “convenes exceptional scholars, leaders, artists and innovators and engages them in sharing knowledge and addressing challenges facing the nation and the world.”
Past luminaries inducted into the Academy include Albert Einstein, Temple Grandin, Chief Justice Earl Warren, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Lister and over 250 Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, among others.
There’s some discussion in Soberón’s household over where to display his most recent awards. A wall in Soberón’s home is dedicated to awards, his and those of his wife and his late father-in-law, a “very prominent medical doctor in Mexico.” Among the certificates is an award conferred to Aída for leading a program of reforestation in Mexico on a large scale, Soberón says. Pro Natura Mexico, the nation’s largest environmental conservation organization presented the award.
The Distinguished Mexicans honorees represent an extensive array of industries and professions. Their ranks include architect, artists, business executive, dancer, engineer, entrepreneur, financier, industrialists, master engraver and banknote designer, musicians, photographers, physicians, psychiatrist, researchers, scientists, teachers and writers.
Soberón’s honors are well-deserved, says Aída Hernández. “He will never say he’s the best, but he is. He has worked so hard for other people.”
