Rafael Rangel Sostmann

Biography

Rangel was born in Parral, Chihuahua, into a family formed by Rafael Rangel Romo, a mining engineer from Aguascalientes and co-proprietor of (a flour mill) and Josefina Sostmann, he has a sister Josefina Rangel Sostman who is a painter. He undertook his secondary and preparatory studies in Parral at Instituto Regional, a school managed by the Society of Jesus, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in 1965.

After his graduation he moved to the United States, where he completed a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1966 and worked for two years as a development engineer for Honeywell, in Minneapolis, before returning to Mexico and rejoining his alma mater in 1968 as an assistant professor. In Mexico, he lectured on automation, machine instrumentation, and trained staff for the local industry before marrying Margaret "Peggy" Marshall, daughter of Dr. W. Robert Marshall Jr., dean of engineering of UW–Madison, on 25 January 1969. After 26 years as rector, on 21 June 2010, he announced his retirement.