Elma gonzalez biography

Mexican-born American plant cell biologist

Elma L. González (born June 6, 1942) is a Mexican-born American plant cell biologist. She is Professor Emerita of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles.^[1] In 1974, she was appointed professor of cell and molecular biology at the University of California, Los Angeles.^[2] At the time, she was the only Mexican American woman scientist in the University of California system faculty.

Professor Martha Zúñiga at the University of California, Santa Cruz, appointed in 1990, was the second.^[3] In 2004, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science recognized González with a Distinguished Scientist Award.^[4]

Early life and education

González was born in Ciudad Guerrero, in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

She is the daughter of Efigenia and Nestor González, both migrant farm workers. At the age of six, her parents brought