Engineering scientist, entrepreneur and educator with advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering and Operations Research. He is currently the founding President and Chief Architect of Afilon Innovation, a company dedicated to the innovation of high-performance critical systems. He has worked in technical and scientific management and engineering positions in large-scale, high-performance, mission-critical enterprise systems at leading US research & development institutions, including the National Academy of Sciences; MITRE, formed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute (IITRI) and Noblis, formed by MITRE. He was the founding President and Chief Scientific of Expertech Solutions, a company dedicated to strategic consulting for the US government. He is best known for having pioneered the concept, the philosophy, the methodology and coined the term of STEM that is revolutionizing science and technology education in the world, particularly in the US, UK, European Union, China, Australia, Canada and Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil. His current areas of research and development include the use of smart devices for voting and real-time processing of electoral results; high-performance algorithms and models for real-time virtual surveillance systems; command and control system for managing natural or man-made disasters; vaccination strategies under epidemic and pandemic circumstances. During the height of the COVID pandemic, Vela, with a group of engineers, medical doctors and an Airforce general, developed a strategy and operational plan for an effective Covid vaccination in the United States. The plan was presented to the White House, members of the US Congress, and the state of Maryland, which led to the first unrestricted street vaccination in the USA, a strategy later adopted throughout the United States and internationally. Vela served as group leader. He has received multiple awards, including the US Presidential Award on Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring; Vice Presidential Award Reinventing Government (Hammer Award) for his contribution to the modernization of the Federal telecommunications system; the Pioneer in Science Award granted by the African- American scientific community for his contribution to science and technology policy; the Junipero Serra Award bestowed by the American-Latino scientific community for his contribution to STEM education; the NBC4-Telemundo Award for Excellence in the STEM Universe; and the Founder of STEM Award given at the Petroleum Institute by Hispanics in Energy. Among his most important contributions are: • The modernization of the US Federal telecommunications system (a project of ten billion dollars), where he served as Lead Engineer. • The modernization of the of the IRS (a project of seven billion dollars), where he served as Chief Scientist. • On the Mapping of Brain at the National Academy of Sciences, where he served as Assistant Study Director. • The merger of the three military medical components of the US Armed Forces: Army, Navy and Air Force for the National Capital Region, including Walter Reed National Medical Center, where he served as Chief Scientist. • The integration and deployment of a geographically distributed emergency response system for the respond to a terrorist attack in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, where he served as Program Manager. • He assisted business and stability operations in Afghanistan as part of the Department of Defense's stabilization strategy, which contributed to the withdrawal of most US troops from Afghanistan during the presidency of Barack Obama, where he served as Program Manager. • IV&V (Independent Validation & Verification) of the Test Program Sets (TPS) for the avionics, communications and control, and other electronic devices and hydraulic units, of major US Air Force weapons systems: E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) for Nuclear Strategic Intelligence; RC-135 Reconnaissance Aircraft. Theater and National Level Intelligence; and A-10 Close Air Support (CAS) for Ground Forces, where he served as Project Manager. Early in his career, Vela conducted R&D in robotics control for metallurgical process; automatic process controls for water production plants; mathematical and algorithmic optimization for storage, production, transmission and distribution of water systems; and mathematical optimization in hydro-thermal power coordination. He has participated in 33 national committees, including the White House, the US Congress, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. He has been a member of multiple non-profit organization boards including the National Council of La Raza (NCLR/UnidosUS), the most important American-Latino civil rights organization in the US.