InnovaCreate Woman Leadership Award 2026: Recognizing a New Generation of Chemical Engineering Leaders
- Lorena Padro Cortes
- Mar 29
- 4 min read
This year, the InnovaCreate Leadership Award highlights a new generation of professionals who are driving meaningful impact across engineering and scientific disciplines. With great honor, the InnovaCreate staff proudly recognizes Eng. Kamille Santiago-Padró as the recipient of the InnovaCreate Woman Leadership Award 2026.
This distinction celebrates women leaders who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and dedication to advancing science, engineering, and society.
Kamille earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (UPRM) in December 2025. She represents a compelling model of collaboration, adaptability, and resilience—paired with a strong commitment to social responsibility, positive influence, and strategic decision-making.
During her undergraduate years, Kamille distinguished herself not only academically but also athletically. As a 400m hurdles athlete representing COLEGIO (UPRM), she achieved 3rd place among top LAI athletes in 2023—demonstrating discipline, perseverance, and excellence across multiple dimensions.
Her passion for chemical engineering and its application in biomedical engineering and biotechnology was further strengthened through her participation in the RISE/E/BASE Program, where she was mentored by Dr. Miguel Castro. As a RISE-E-Base undergraduate alumni, she developed strong competencies in research presentation, computational chemistry, technical writing, experimental design, and graduate school preparation process. Her exposure to biomedical engineering topics—including tissue immunology, genetic sequencing, genome data security, and cancer immunotherapy—broadened her perspective on research and innovation pathways. This experience positioned her to pursue advanced studies and contribute to biotechnology, biomedical engineering, and chemical engineering innovation. The program allow her to demonstrated a strong commitment to mentorship and community development. She has mentored undergraduate students and led workshops focused on career development and technical writing, reinforcing her dedication to knowledge-sharing and competencies-building.
As an undergraduate researcher, Kamille has exhibited exceptional intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and rigorous application of the scientific method. She contributed to hyaluronic acid (HA) bioprinting research in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Harrington during her summer research experience at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston). Her work advanced bioprinting techniques and was presented at the ABRCMS 2024 Conference, where she was recognized as an Engineering Poster Awardee (2024). Her contributions are further reflected through her role as co-author of the publication: A FRESH APPROACH: 3D PRINTING OF ALIGNED PEPTIDE AMPHIPHILES FOR PROTEIN DELIVERY TO ENHANCE CAVERNOUS NERVE REGENERATION.
She also continue developing her scientific skills in the Center of for Biomedical Engineering and Nanomedicine at UPRM with Dr. Maribella Domenech. She performed studies to enhance biomaterials in tissue wells to accelerate cell growth and improve cell manufacturing techniques. She was able to increase her passion in leadership development and mentoring by collaborating in Pre-Engineering in a Box. She collaborate in the CATALYST: ChemE Symposium to provide a better understanding of research outcome and its potential impact in the future of economic development withing cell manufacturing and other biomedical treatment application in Puerto Rico and globally.
Through her COOP experience at the Eli Lilly site in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Kamille further demonstrated her engineering capabilities by supporting three key projects. Her contributions included equipment selection, pilot plant process design, process characterization, capacity improvement, cost optimization, and continuous process improvement.
Currently, Kamille continues to invest in the development of others by mentoring technical writing skills at the Graduate Research and Innovation Center (GRIC) at UPRM. She is mentoring and delivering workshops to graduate students and the broader university community, including “Demystifying Academic Conversation,” aimed at strengthening scientific communication and fostering meaningful academic dialogue through presentation and technical writing.
Beyond her academic and professional accomplishments, Kamille has actively contributed to her community through volunteer work focused on developing values and leadership skills among youth aged 13 to 30—demonstrating her commitment to empowering the next generation.
InnovaCreate has had the privilege of sponsoring, mentoring, and coaching Kamille throughout key stages of her academic and professional development. Our mentorship focused on strengthening her foundation in research methodology, statistical analysis, and applied chemical engineering. InnovaCreate provided a sponsorship opportunity to Kamille during her summer research experiences. In parallel, Kamille participated in the coaching program for her career pathway development, interview preparation, and effective research presentation. Over the course of this year, InnovaCreate has witnessed firsthand how Kamille’s attitude, adaptability, and exceptional ability to learn and embrace training opportunities. These journey has significantly accelerated her career growth. It reaffirms her leadership, and we confidently recognize her as a rising woman leader who will continue to drive meaningful transformation in her future endeavors.
This recognition stands as a testament to Kamille’s outstanding contributions as a leader and her commitment to advancing emerging technologies. True leadership is defined by the ability to inspire, empower, and create pathways for others to succeed. Kamille embodies these qualities through her relentless pursuit of excellence and her dedication to fostering leadership in others.
On behalf of InnovaCreate and all those whose lives she has impacted, we proudly celebrate Eng. Kamille I. Santiago-Padró as a Woman Leader and recognize her growing contributions at a global level. May this distinction serve as a reflection of the profound impact she—and many other women—continue to make in shaping the future of engineering and society.
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