Bio-Rad Employee Gives Back at Contra Costa Science & Engineering Fair
March 26, 2025
High school students present their projects during the Contra Costa Science & Engineering Fair on March 14, 2025 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, California.
This March, Bio-Rad continued its longtime sponsorship of the Contra Costa Science & Engineering Fair in Pittsburg, California. For the last four years, Bio-Rad employee JR Hernaez has been a judge at the fair, and his involvement with the competition stems all the way back to his sophomore year of high school.
“I participated in the first Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair in 2006 and was the first Grand Prize Recipient of the fair,” JR says. “Bio-Rad was a founding member of the fair and continues to be a primary sponsor until this day. Because of Bio-Rad's commitment to sponsoring the science fair, I feel that Bio-Rad indirectly contributed to my success at that early age, which I am very grateful for.”
JR Hernaez, Global Product Manager for Bio-Rad's Gene Expression Business, poses during the Contra Costa Science & Engineering Fair on March 14, 2025.
After the competition, JR became a finalist at the California State Science Fair and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair before earning a Bachelor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Master of Business Administration from UC Davis. Today, he is the Global Product Manager for Bio-Rad's Gene Expression Business, managing Bio-Rad's conventional PCR thermal cyclers and the nucleic acid gel electrophoresis product portfolios.
“This experience was definitely a steppingstone in my career,” JR says. “The experience gave me confidence in communication and helped with critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”
Students present their projects during the Contra Costa Science & Engineering Fair.
As a chief judge for the Biological Sciences category since 2023, JR says he continues to volunteer as a way to support the future generation of scientists. “It’s important for me to give back in this manner because I was in the same position as these young scientists 20 years ago,” he says. “There were roughly 300 students who participated, which is a hundred more students than last year...This really shows the commitment by a lot of students in STEM.”
Students present their projects during the Contra Costa Science & Engineering Fair.
JR says he is living proof that Bio-Rad's support of STEM students and science education is paying dividends in the real world. “I am a product of Bio-Rad's commitment to the local community," he says, "which shows how important it is to invest in the young leaders of tomorrow.”
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