Four Cuban Engineers Honored by Pan American Union of Engineering Associations

In a ceremony held in San José, Costa Rica, four Cuban engineers were celebrated with awards from the Pan American Union of Engineering Associations (UPADI) for the year 2025. This event coincided with the International Day of Pan American Engineering and the organization's anniversary.

The announcement was made via UPADI's social media this week and reported by the Cuban News Agency (ACN) on Friday. The ACN included statements from the National Union of Architects and Construction Engineers of Cuba (UNAICC), whose Board of Directors publicly acknowledged the achievements of the four honorees.

As per UNAICC's statement, the awards highlight the talent, professional excellence, leadership, and contributions that drive the advancement of engineering disciplines.

Since the awardees could not attend the ceremony in Costa Rica, Germán Pardo, acting president of UNAICC, accepted the awards on their behalf, with the commitment to deliver them to Cuba, as reported by the state agency.

Achievements of Honored Engineers

The Jorge Spitalnik Pan American Award in Engineering was awarded to Dr. Hugo Wainshtok Rivas, a prominent civil engineer from Havana. With over fifty years in the field, Wainshtok Rivas graduated from the University of Havana in 1965, earned a master's degree from the University of British Columbia, Canada, in 1973, and later completed a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences at the Technical University of Poznan, Poland.

A pioneer in the use of ferrocement in Cuba, he began teaching at CUJAE in 1977, was named Professor Emeritus in 2003, and received an honorary doctorate in 2014. He is also a full member of the Pan American Academy of Engineering.

The Carlos López Rivera Pan American Award for Integration and Solidarity went to engineer Antonia Amalia González Almeida, also hailing from Havana.

Cuban Representation and Broader Context

The "Vector de Oro" Engineering Teaching Award was shared by Dr. Luis Gerónimo García Faure from Santiago de Cuba and Dr. María Onelia Urbina Reynaldo from Holguín.

In this edition, UPADI recognized a total of 13 professionals, with the four Cubans making up nearly 31% of the awardees. UNAICC highlighted this as a significant representation of the country and extended public congratulations to the group.

Other notable awardees included Alexandra Arias Alvarado, who received the Luis Wannoni Lander Sustainable Development Award; Luis Fernando Andrés Jácome, honored with the Golden Plumb Award; and Irene Campos Gómez of Costa Rica, who received a Special Recognition by decision of the organization's Assembly, Board, and Advisory Council.

This recognition occurs at a time when Cuba continues to actively train engineers: CUJAE graduated over 300 engineers and 33 senior technicians during the 2025-2026 graduation ceremony held on July 16, in fields ranging from industrial and chemical engineering to biomedical, hydraulic, and telecommunications engineering.

Nevertheless, this skilled workforce faces intense challenges: low state salaries, an energy crisis impacting even the educational system, and a significant emigration of skilled graduates seeking better living conditions abroad, a stark contrast to the continental accolades these four engineers have recently received.

Founded on July 20, 1949, in Rio de Janeiro during the First Pan American Congress of Engineering, UPADI's awards are considered the highest hemispheric honors in the discipline. Costa Rica was chosen as the host of the organization's General Assembly in 2026, which explains the ceremony's location in San José.