Three … two … one … liftoff! On Nov. 4, the ground shuddered as the SpaceX rocket roared off the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center. What made the sight even more spectacular to Marcus Pitre, Maheen Bukhari, and Amna Qureshi — sitting on bleachers at the nearest viewing site — was knowing their science experiment was aboard. Competitive edge In fall 2023, a year earlier, 52 San...

Robin Torres felt lost, alone. Not only was El Paso 800 miles from family, but hospitals nearby had begun setting up portable morgues. Life in fall 2020 was fragile. But Torres couldn't give up. And reflecting on his family’s sacrifices, he wasn’t about to. “I'm a bit stubborn,” he said. Discovering medical path Growing up in Detroit, the son of immigrants, Torres trusted that life...