The 2003
HBCU
Engineering
Colloquium
“Closing the Expectation Gap”
Presented by
The Council of Engineering
Deans of the Historically Black
Colleges and Universities
February 14 –15, 2003
The Baltimore Convention Center
One W. Pratt Street
Baltimore, Md.
CONTENTS
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4
5
8
9
11
22
The Colloquium Support Team
Welcome Letter
HBCUs: A Historical Overview
The Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges
and Universities
HBCU Engineering School Profiles
Profiles of Distinguished HBCU Graduates
More Distinguished HBCU Graduates
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T H E C O L LO Q U I U M S U P P O RT T E A M
The Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black
Colleges and Universities
The schools of the Council of HBCU Engineering Deans are strategic,
because through their ABET-accredited programs, they graduate nearly
30 percent of all Black engineers in the U.S.
Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE)
A coalition of Industry, government agencies, and the ABET-accredited
HBCU engineering schools, AMIE seeks to forge corporate-academic
alliances that promote and support quality engineering programs.
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF’s mission is to promote the progress of science; to advance national
health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense.
Raytheon
Aspiring to be the most admired defense and aerospace systems
supplier through world-class people and technology, Raytheon today is
focused on defense, government, and commercial electronics, and
business aviation and special mission aircraft.
The Foundation for Educational Development, Inc. (FEDI)
FEDI is a 501(c) organization founded in 1993 to promote engineering,
science, and technology to minorities and women through professional
and career development, educational programs, awards programs, and
career placement opportunities.
Career Communications Group, Inc. (CCG)
CCG, producer of the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference, is
a minority-owned media services company founded 20 years ago with
a unique mission: to promote significant minority achievement in
engineering, science, and technology.
3
WELCOME
Tuskegee University
Founded by Booker T. Washington
Office of the Dean
College of Engineering, Architecture
& Physical Sciences
February 15, 2003
Dear Conference Attendees:
On behalf of the Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Career Communications
Group, Inc., Raytheon, and the partners of Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE), I have the distinct honor of sharing
with you our warmest welcome to the “HBCU Engineering Colloquium – Closing the Expectation Gap.” We are appreciative of the
National Science Foundation for its vision in supporting our event.
We are delighted to have as our colloquium keynote speaker Dr. Howard Adams, the nation’s premier advocate of mentoring. We are
honored to have you as our guests at this year’s Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference, where you will hear and meet the honorees — ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things. They have made and continue to make outstanding contributions to science and technology.
The “HBCU Engineering Colloquium – Closing the Expectation Gap” is a first-ever presentation, in tribute to the HBCU engineering
schools, that addresses: the programs and value of the HBCUs; mentoring principles and strategies; and career and educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The colloquium seeks to support the accreditation criteria for students to address contemporary issues with regard to STEM areas and to determine demonstrative mentoring methods that work.
At each HBCU, you will find elements of our nation’s history. However, don’t expect to find museums there: Instead discover fast-paced,
technology-infused institutions that are dedicated to advancing the sciences and producing the best technical talent for today’s job market. Although each one has an unmatched legacy, these institutions and their graduates collectively have provided nearly a century of
substantive contributions and achievements through overwhelming performance, advocacy for the advancement of underrepresented
groups, and turnkey mentoring activities that nurture their populations.
To support today’s educational challenges for closing the expectation gap in education, this colloquium will provide you with:
Exemplary individuals who have achieved great success in their careers but who are largely unknown — and unrecognized for their
work — in the African-American and technical communities; replicable mentoring strategies that have led to success; instructions for
special programs that have increased student retention and/or graduation rates; demonstrations of the quality of institutional life that
foster the establishment of viable networks to facilitate learning, contacts, and career development; enticement strategies for students to
advance in education and careers in STEM fields; and demonstrative learning environments that help provide an atmosphere that values
diversity among students, faculty, and administrators.
We understand the challenges involved in developing solutions to increase diversity in the technical fields. We challenge you to
engage in conversation with the HBCU deans, industry representatives, and college students at the center of this year’s conference.
Our hope is that you leave this event impressed, rejuvenated, and ready to lead young minds toward the areas of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics. You are here because the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference is the premier event for
Blacks in engineering, science, and technology.
Have a great time.
Sincerely,
Legand L. Burge Jr.
Dean
4
HBCUS
What Are the Historically Black
Colleges and Universities?
By Lango Deen
A historically Black college or university
(HBCU), as defined by Section 322 of Title
III of the Black College and University Act,
is an academic institution established
before 1964, whose principal mission is the
education of Black Americans and that is
accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency or association, as determined by the secretary of the U.S.
Department of Education. Located in 17
states and the District of Columbia, HBCUs
have for more than 150 years provided higher education to predominantly Black student
bodies, although their charters were in
most instances not racially exclusionary.
HOW THEY CAME ABOUT:
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
In 1619, the first African slaves were sold
in America. By 1790, there were 628,000
Black slaves who could not vote and had
no rights.
In some Northern states, where slaves
were few, slavery was abolished soon after
the Revolutionary War ended in 1783. Free
Blacks established churches, private
schools, and fraternal organizations in both
Northern and Southern cities. Many free
Blacks got to attend school, and a number
of slaves were self-taught. But in the
South, where 92 percent of Blacks lived,
every state except Tennessee prohibited
formal instruction of slaves or free Blacks
and made it illegal for Negro families to
teach their own children. More than 90
percent of the adult Black population was
illiterate in 1860.
Education: The Tool for Building a
Better World
Cheney University of Pennsylvania is
the eldest of the HBCUs, with a history
stretching back to 1837, when it was
founded by a Quaker named Richard
Humphreys as the Institute for Colored
Youth. A cooperative effort between the
Methodist Episcopal and African Methodist
Episcopal Churches led to the founding of
Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1856.
The American Missionary Association
(AMA) — which founded seven Black
colleges and 13 normal schools between
1861 and 1876 — and other Northern
missionary groups also took early steps
toward developing a formal system of
schools and colleges for Blacks.
But Southern Blacks from the beginning of
the Civil War made concerted efforts to
educate themselves. After 1865, when
Southern states were mandated by
law to provide schooling for all citizens in
keeping with the 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments, Blacks formed a network of
“Sabbath schools,” whose students met in
church basements, private homes,
warehouses, poolrooms, and shacks. Blacks
also formed societies and raised money
as craftsmen and day laborers to
establish their own private schools. They
purchased land, built schoolhouses, and paid teachers’ salaries.
By 1869, nearly 3,000 schools serving
150,000 students had been registered by
the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and
Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the
Freedmen’s Bureau, which was established
in the War Department by Congress in
conjunction with Northern church missionaries and philanthropists to assist the newly
freed slaves.
Throughout Reconstruction (1863– 1877),
responsibility for instructing illiterate former
slaves was shared by the Freedmen’s
Bureau, a number of church-related
5
missionary and benevolent societies in the
North, and Blacks themselves. Military men
and Black churches, including the African
Methodist Episcopal Church and the African
Methodist Episcopal Church Zion, also
provided financial and other support for
these newly established schools.
Beginnings
Many of the nation’s most prestigious Black
institutions of higher learning were founded
between 1865 and 1873, including Virginia
Union, Shaw, and Atlanta Universities in
1865; Fisk, Lincoln, and Alabama State
Universities in 1866; Talladega, Rust, and
Morehouse Colleges, and Morgan State
and Howard Universities in 1867; Hampton
University in 1868; Tougaloo College in
1869; and Alcorn College in 1871.
Fisk, in Nashville, Tenn., began offering
college-level courses in 1871, and was
the first Black institution to be awarded
university status, in 1967. Alabama State
University was founded in 1866 as Lincoln
Normal School. In 1874, the state
reorganized Lincoln to establish the state
normal school and university for the
education of colored teachers and students,
making it the first state-supported
institution for the training of Black teachers
in the U.S. Lincoln Institute, present-day
Lincoln University, was founded in Jefferson
City, Mo., with financial resources put forth
by the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantry
Regiments. The American Baptist Home
Mission Society was instrumental in
founding Morehouse in Augusta, Ga.,
Virginia Union in Richmond, Va., and Shaw
in Raleigh, N.C.
Tuskegee University began in 1881 with 30
men and women in a one-room shanty.
Lewis Adams, a former slave, and George
HBCUS
W. Campbell, a former slave-owner,
negotiated a political deal that led to
passage of legislation that appropriated
$2,000 annually for teachers’ salaries for
a school to educate Black youth in Macon
County, Ala., and its surrounding counties.
They asked Hampton Institute to
recommend a teacher, and the principal
sent 26-year-old Booker T. Washington, who
became the first principal of Tuskegee
Normal and Industrial Institute.
Spelman College, founded in 1881, began
in a damp church basement with 11 pupils
— mostly women — and soon expanded
with financial help from oil magnate
John D. Rockefeller.
From 1865 to 1890, more than 200 private,
Black educational institutions were founded
in the South. Many included “normal,”
“college,” and “university” in their titles,
although most were elementary and
secondary schools. Nonetheless, without
this educational base, historically Black
colleges and universities could not have
been built.
With very few exceptions, Blacks during
this period were not permitted to attend
White public or private colleges or
universities. This practice foreshadowed
the “separate but equal” educational
system legitimized by the U.S. Supreme
Court’s 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling,
which held that separate accommodations
did not deprive Blacks of equal rights if the
accommodations were equal. In 1899, the
court went further, declaring in Cumming v.
County Board of Education that laws
establishing separate schools for Whites
were valid, even if they provided no
comparable schools for Blacks.
In the decade following the passage of the
Morrill Act of 1890, which authorized federal
land-grant funds for higher education, 17
Black public schools were established as
“land-grant colleges” in Southern or Border
states, primarily to provide segregated
agricultural, mechanical, and engineering
training. By 1914, every Southern state had
passed laws that created two separate
societies: one Black, the other White.
To the Civil Rights Movement
The Great Migration — begun during the
First World War — brought thousands of
Blacks to the North and out of rural
Southern areas, in search of better lives.
More Blacks began to attend universities
and engage in Northern society.
World War II brought an increased
awareness of discrimination in America and
in education specifically. During the war,
400,000 Black Americans had served in the
military. These veterans were changed by
their experiences in ways that made
it difficult to readjust to the contradictions in
American society.
The first major blow to the Jim Crow
system of racial segregation was struck on
May 17, 1954, by the Supreme Court’s
decision in Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas — argued for the plaintiff by
HBCU graduate Thurgood Marshall —
which declared segregation in public
schools unconstitutional. The ruling laid the
legal foundation for later court rulings
mandating integration of public colleges and
universities in the South.
By the mid-1960s, the Brown decision
increasingly was affecting life at Black
colleges. Under the Higher Education Act of
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1965, the federal government provided
grants to students to attend college
anywhere in the U.S., if they demonstrated
financial need, met admissions standards,
and maintained satisfactory academic
records. Title III of that act provided
subsidies for historically Black private and
public colleges.
The availability of student aid money helped
predominantly White colleges in the North
and West to seek variety among their
students and thus stimulated an unprecedented recruitment competition for the
best-prepared Black high school graduates.
The effects of the new competition on
many Black colleges, particularly the smaller
ones, was severe. In 1972, the number of
Black students attending White colleges
equaled the number of Black students
attending HBCUs. Black high school
graduates for the first time began enrolling
in large numbers in traditionally White
colleges and universities nationwide, and
the nature, value, and long-term existence
of Black educational institutions was thrown
into question.
During the 1980s, majority institutions
became especially interested in minority
students because of government grants
that were available to these institutions
based on the number of minority students
enrolled. Thus affirmative action plans were
built into admissions processes, and there
was the continued loss of the better
minority students to majority institutions.
HBCUS
THE HBCUS TODAY
Around 1993, the trend began to turn
around. Government grants based on
minority enrollment decreased in number,
and many Black students at majority institutions began to seek a more comfortable
social and academic climate. As a result,
Black students and their parents began to
take another look at the HBCUs. In general,
student enrollments took an upward turn
for the HBCUs in the mid-1990s.
Today, the mission of historically Black
colleges and universities remains largely
the same. HBCUs produced approximately
70 percent of all Black college graduates up
to 1991. They have maintained their identity
among the nation’s educational institutions
by staying close to the struggle of Blacks
for survival, advancement, and equality in
American society.
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THE COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING DEANS OF THE
H I STO R I C A L LY B L AC K C O L L E G E S A N D U N I V E R S I T I E S
Their number may be small, but the 10 engineering educators listed here, heads of
the ABET-accredited engineering programs at the nation’s historically Black schools,
make a big impact. Their colleges and universities graduate a third of the Black
engineering students in the U.S. each year. And their programs are growing.
Dr. Arthur J. Bond
Dean, School of Engineering and
Technology
Alabama A&M University
Dr. Bond has been dean of Alabama A&M’s
School of Engineering and Technology since
1992, during which time he has overseen a great
expansion of the school’s programs. His career in
technology spans more than 40 years: in the military, where he was a member of the U.S. Army
Signal Corps; in private industry, as a technician
and later as an engineer; and in academia, on the
faculties of Purdue and Tuskegee Universities,
before coming to AAMU. He holds B.S.E.E.,
M.S.E.E., and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue.
Dr. Ching-Jen Chen
Dean, College of Engineering
Florida A&M/Florida State
University
Dr. Ching-Jen Chen came to the United States in
1960. He serves as dean for both Florida A&M
University and Florida State University; as professor of mechanical engineering; and as a research
scientist with Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Institute of Florida State University. He received
his M.Sc. in mechanical engineering from Kansas
State University and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Case-Western Reserve University.
Dr. Morris H. Morgan III
Dean, School of Engineering and
Technology
Hampton University
As dean since 1996, Dr. Morgan has implemented interdisciplinary design across traditional
boundaries and provided a teaching model that is
representative of the type of environment that
students will encounter in industry. Before coming to Hampton, he was associate professor of
chemical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute and before that worked as an engineer
and scientist in private industry. He has published
more than 70 scientific and engineering papers.
Dr. James H. Johnson Jr.
Dean, College of Engineering,
Architecture and Computer
Sciences
Howard University
Dr. Johnson received his B.Sc. from Howard
University, his M.Sc. from the University of
Illinois, and his Ph.D. from the University of
Delaware. He has served his entire professional
academic career at Howard University and is now
a professor of civil engineering. Before his
appointment as dean, he was chair of the
Department of Civil Engineering and interim
associate vice president for research.
Dr. Eugene M. DeLoatch
Dean, School of Engineering
Morgan State University
Dr. DeLoatch holds bachelor’s
degrees in mathematics from Tougaloo College
and electrical engineering from Lafayette College
and a master’s in electrical engineering and
doctorate in bioengineering from the Polytechnic
University of Brooklyn. Dr. DeLoatch is president
of the American Society of Engineering
Education, a member of the Editorial Board of
the Journal of Engineering Education, and chair
of the Council of Engineering Deans of the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Dr. Joseph Monroe
Dean, College of Engineering
North Carolina A&T State
University
Dr. Monroe is the Ronald E. McNair Endowed
Chair Professor of Computer Science and the
chairperson of the Department of Computer
Science at North Carolina A&T. He graduated
from A&T with a B.Sc. in mathematics, English,
and French. At graduation, he was commissioned
a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Before
assuming his present position, he was vice chancellor of academic affairs at Fayetteville State
University.
Dr. Milton Bryant
Dean, College of Engineering
Prairie View A&M University
Dr. Bryant assumed his present post
in July 1997. He holds a bachelor’s in mathematics from Florida Southern College and a master’s
in engineering and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University. Dr. Bryant served
in the U.S. Air Force as a navigator, electronic
warfare officer, operations research analyst, director of management analysis, and staff scientist
from 1958 to 1978.
Dr. Habib Mohamadian
Interim Dean, College of
Engineering
Southern University
Dr. Mohamadian received his B.Sc. in mechanical
engineering from the University of Texas at
Austin and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at
Louisiana State University. A member of the
Southern University engineering faculty since
1979, he now is professor of mechanical engineering and interim dean. His research interests
include material characterization, solid modeling,
and failure analysis.
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Dr. Decatur Rogers
Dean, School of Engineering,
Technology and Computer
Science
Tennessee State University
Throughout his 26-year career in academia, Dr.
Rogers has been drawn back continually to his
alma mater, Tennessee State, where he received
his B.Sc. in mechanical engineering, in 1967. His
first teaching job was as assistant professor of
mechanical engineering at TSU, from 1975 to
1976. He has held his current post since 1988.
Dr. Rogers received M.Sc. degrees in mechanical
engineering and engineering management and a
doctorate in mechanical engineering from
Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Legand L. Burge Jr.
Dean, School of Engineering,
Architecture, and Physical
Sciences
Tuskegee University
In addition to being dean, Dr. Burge is a professor of electrical engineering at Tuskegee. He was
formerly dean of the Defense Systems
Management College, vice commander of Air
Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, and professor of electrical engineering at several universities. He holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Oklahoma State University.
H B C U E N G I N E E R I N G S C H O O L S | S E E W H AT T H E Y H AV E TO O F F E R
and video server for distance learning;
C-band and KU-band satellite downlinks;
video production facility
Alabama A&M University School of
Engineering & Technology
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1148, Normal, AL 35762
Ph: (256) 372-5560
Fax: (256) 372-5580
E-mail: ajbond@aamu.edu
Web Site: www.aamu.edu
Degree Programs:
Civil, Electrical and Mechanical
Engineering; Technology Programs
(civil, electrical, mechanical and industrial)
Number of Faculty: 40
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
96 males; 45 females
(Figures Include Computer Science Majors:
28 males; 26 females)
Facilities: New, three-story,
90,000-sq. ft. facility
Florida A&M/Florida State University
College of Engineering
Mailing Address:
2525 Pottsdamer Street, Tallahassee,
FL, 32310-6046
Ph: (850) 410-6437
Fax: (850) 410-6546
E-mail: cjchen@eng.fsu.edu
Web Site: www.eng.fsu.edu.
Degree Programs:
Biomedical (grad only), Chemical, Civil,
Electrical, Computer (B.Sc. only), I
ndustrial, and Mechanical Engineering
Number of Faculty: 80+
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02,
FAMU Only:
Bachelor’s Degree: 25 females; 53 males
Master’s Degree: 12 females; 8 males
Ph.D.: 1 female; 0 males
Facilities: Three computer labs with 130
computers; teaching and research labs in
each of the five departments; two classrooms for multimedia presentations; additional LAN- and Internet-connected computers in the Computing and Communications
Services Division.; videoconferencing link
Hampton University School of
Engineering and Technology
Mailing Address:
Olin Bldg. Rm. 117, Hampton, VA 23668
Ph: (757) 728-6370
Fax: (757) 728-5189
E-mail: morris.morgan@hamptonu.edu (cc:
secretary: penny.house@hamptonu.edu)
Web Site: http://www.hamptonu.edu
Degree Programs: Chemical, Electrical, and
Computer Engineering
Number of Faculty: 10
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
Chemical Engineering - 3 males; 7 females
Electrical Engineering - 18 males; 1 females
Facilities: Lockheed Computer Laboratory,
Department of Education Computer
Modeling and Simulation Laboratory, Nortel
Communication Laboratory with a
DSM-10, Hewlett-Packard Integrated Circuit
Laboratory, Low Speed Wind
Tunnel, Army Research Lab Virtual Parts
Center, Aeropropulsion Center
Howard University College of
Engineering, Architecture and Computer
Sciences
Mailing Address:
Mackey Building, 2366 Sixth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20059
Ph: (202) 806-6565
Fax: (202) 462-1810
E-mail: jj@scs.howard.edu
Web Site: www.howard.edu
Degree Programs: Bachelor of
Architecture; Bachelor of Science (Chemical
Engineering, Computer Engineering, Civil
Engineering, Electrical Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, and Systems and
Computer Science); Master of Computer
Science; Master of Engineering (Civil,
Electrical and Mechanical); Master of
Science (Chemical Engineering); Master of
Science (Electrical Engineering/Materials
Science); Master of Science (Mechanical
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Engineering/Atmospheric Sciences); Ph.D.
(Electrical Engineering and Mechanical
Engineering); Ph.D. (Mechanical
Engineering/Atmospheric Sciences); Ph.D.
(Electrical Engineering/Materials Science)
Number of Engineering Faculty:
49 full time; 11 part time
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
Bachelor of Science - 34 females; 65 males
Master of Computer Science - 5 females;
4 males
Master of Engineering - 4 females; 8 males
Master of Science - 1 female
Ph.D. - 1 female
Facilities: Laboratories for instruction and
research in all program areas; Computer
Learning and Design Center; five labs in the
Department of Systems and Computer
Sciences; state-of-the-art hardware and
software in the Institute for Multimedia
Applications; computer labs in all dormitories, six eStop e-mail and information
walkup facilities
Morgan State University School of
Engineering
Mailing Address: 5200 Perring Parkway,
Baltimore, MD 21251
Ph: (443) 885-3231
Fax: (443) 885-8218
E-mail: soe@eng.morgan.edu
Web Site: www.eng.morgan.edu
Degree Programs: Bachelor of Science Civil, Electrical, Industrial; Master of
Engineering - Civil, Electrical, Industrial;
Master of Science - Transportation; Doctor
of Engineering - Civil, Electrical, Industrial
Number of Faculty: 38
Number of Graduates, 2001-02:
Bachelor of Engineering - 67 males;
33 females
Master of Engineering - 3 males; 2 females
Master of Science/Transportation - 4 males;
3 females
Doctor of Engineering - 2 males; 0 females
Facilities: Two-building, 75,000-sq. ft. complex with 20 instructional labs; 17 research
labs; library; 300-seat lecture hall; student
lounge; 10 specialized research centers,
including the Center for Advanced
Microwave Research and Applications; highspeed connectivity to the desktop; wireless-accessible; access to on-campus
supercomputer
H B C U E N G I N E E R I N G S C H O O L S | S E E W H AT T H E Y H AV E TO O F F E R
North Carolina A&T State University
Mailing Address: 651 McNair Hall, 1601 E.
Market Street, North Carolina A&T State
University, Greensboro, NC 27411
Ph: (336) 334-7589
Fax: (336) 334-7540
E-mail: monroe@ncat.edu
Web Site: www.ncat.edu
Degree Programs: Architectural,
Bioenvironmental, Civil, Electrical, Industrial,
Chemical, and Mechanical Engineering;
Computer Science
Number of Faculty: 88
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
129 males; 64 females
Facilities: Machine shop; metal shop; 100
laboratories for research and instruction
Prairie View A&M University College of
Engineering
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 397; Prairie View, TX 77446
Ph: (936) 857-2211
Fax: (936) 857-2222
E-mail: Future_Engr@pvamu.edu or
College_Engr@pvamu.edu
Web Site: www.pvamu.edu/engr
Degree Programs: Chemical Engineering,
Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, Computer
Science, Electrical Engineering Technology,
Computer Engineering Technology, and
Computer Engineering (Proposed Fall 2003)
Number of Faculty: 51
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
College of Engineering - 55 females;
70 males
Engineering Program - 31 females; 45
males
Facilities: Approximately 145,000 square
feet of office, classroom, and laboratory
space in a four-building complex
Southern University College of
Engineering
Mailing Address: P.B.S. Pinchback
Engineering Building, Baton Rouge, LA
70813-9969
Ph: (225) 771-5290
Fax: (225) 771-5721
E-mail: mohamad@engr.subr.edu
Web Site: http://www.subr.edu/academic/
newengineering/index.html
Degree Programs: Civil Engineering,
Electrical Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering, and Electronics Engineering
Technology
Number of Faculty: 39
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
54 males; 27 females
Facilities: 150,000 gross square feet of
space; 46 active laboratories for instruction
and ongoing research; Computer Aided
Engineering Network for engineering-related research and education; secure wireless
network to be implemented by March
2003; state-of-the-art workstation laboratory; library with more than one million volumes on four floors, 200-plus computers,
distance learning facilities, and a seating
capacity of 1,400
Tennessee State University College of
Engineering, Technology and Computer
Science
Mailing Address: 3500 John A. Merritt
Blvd., Nashville, TN 37209-1561
Ph: (615) 963-5401
Fax: (615) 963-5397
E-mail: drogers@tnstate.edu
Web Site: http://engineer.tnstate.edu
Degree Programs: Undergraduate Architectural and Facilities Engineering, Civil
and Environmental Engineering, Electrical
and Computer Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering, Aeronautical and Industrial
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Technology, Computer Science; Master of
Science in Computer Information Systems;
Master of Engineering in Biomedical
Engineering, Electrical Engineering,
Environmental Engineering, and
Manufacturing Engineering; Ph.D. Computer Communications and Networks,
Control Systems and Signal Processing,
Robotics and Computer Integrated
Manufacturing
Number of Faculty: 39
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
Undergraduates - 59 males; 49 females
Master’s Graduates - 12 males; 3 females
Facilities: 29 laboratories for research and
instruction
Tuskegee University College of
Engineering, Architecture, and Physical
Sciences
Mailing Address: 200 Luther Foster Hall,
Tuskegee University, AL 36088
Ph: (334) 727-8355
Fax: (334) 727-8090
E-mail: lburge@tuskegee.edu
Web Site: www.tuskegee.edu
Degree Programs: Aerospace, Chemical,
Electrical, Mechanical, Material Science;
also Architecture, Construction Science, and
Physics; Computer Science is now housed
in the College of Business and Information
Science
Number of Faculty: 66
Number of Engineering Grads, 2001-02:
68 males; 37 females
Facilities: Programs housed in six independent buildings and recently constructed
Solar House; research facilities in such
fields as electronics, control systems, highperformance computation, mechatronics,
power systems, fluid mechanics, combustion, heat transfer, solid mechanics, materials, polymers, sources of energy, and environmental engineering; 17 instructional and
research laboratories; main library and two
branch libraries
DISTINGUISHED
B L AC K C O L L E G E A N D U N I V E RS IT Y G R A D UAT E S
Can Black college
grads compete?
These 20 profiles
represent thousands
of success stories
that answer with a
resounding, “Yes!”
HBCU alumni have
been competing, and
winning, for years, in
private industry, the
military, academia,
and elsewhere —
anywhere talent, a
good education,
and a well-honed
work ethic count.
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”Receiving an engineering degree from an HBCU has
truly benefited my career.... The educational experience
has taught me that anything is possible with a little bit
of persistence. The ideas that I generate...all stem from
the creative ideas that we had to use while attending
Prairie View A&M University. I would not trade my
experience for the world, as it prepared me for success
with any challenge.”
Leona Green
Prairie View A&M University electrical engineering graduate Leona Green,
Class of 1993, develops and manages campaigns to promote TI’s digital
signal processing (DSP), wireless, and imaging services. She manages
teams that support TI’s $6-billion Applications Specific Products business
and facilitates world-wide DSP workshops and seminars. She also created
and managed the interactive DSP Developers’ Village Web Portal. The first
member of her family to attend college, Green is an active member of her
church in Dallas and serves as a mentor for youth in several community
programs and as a recruiter of Prairie View’s students for TI. She completed
her M.B.A. at Southern Methodist University in August 2001. That same year,
she received a Special Recognition Award during the Black Engineer of the
Years Awards Conference, for her work in sales and marketing.
Worldwide ASP Customer Relationship Manager
Texas Instruments Incorporated
”Howard University offered an excellent educational
program that solidly grounded me in the engineering
discipline. The faculty was top-notch and in some cases
‘world class.’ I gained a much better appreciation of this
fact when I left Howard University to attend graduate
school, where I was the only African American in my
graduate engineering program. I quickly found out that I
was just as prepared for the rigorous study as anyone,
and in most cases, even better prepared....”
Gen. Lester Lyles is responsible for the acquisition, management services,
and logistics support necessary to keep the Air Force combat-ready at all
times. He began his Air Force career in 1968, after earning his B.Sc. degree
in mechanical engineering from Howard University. He went on to receive
an M.Sc. in mechanical and nuclear engineering in 1969, from the Air Force
Institute of Technology program at New Mexico State University and later
attended numerous armed forces management and technical training
programs.
Gen. Lester L. Lyles, U.S. Air Force
Commander
Air Force Materiel Command
Among the highlights of his distinguished career, Gen. Lyles has served as
director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and as vice chief of
staff of the Air Force, and has received many military honors. He assumed
his current position in April 2000.
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Lonnie Johnson leads an advanced technology research and development
company that specializes in developing environmental and energy-related
products in areas such as heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics,
and control systems. He also owns Excellatron Solid State, LLC, another
high-tech company that now is introducing a multilayer lithium ion battery
that represents a major breakthrough in battery technology. He earned a
B.Sc. in mechanical engineering in 1975, from Tuskegee University College
of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences. He also holds an
M.Sc. degree in nuclear engineering and an honorary Ph.D. in science
from Tuskegee.
Before launching his own businesses, he served with NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory as a senior systems engineer on multiple space-based programs,
including Galileo, the Cassini Mission to Jupiter, and the Mars Observer.
Johnson holds more than 80 patents in a wide range of innovative
technologies, but he is best known as inventor of the popular Super Soaker
water gun, which has generated approximately $600 million in sales and
has made him a hero to children nationwide.
Lonnie Johnson
President and Founder
Johnson Research and Development
Company, Inc.
Nuclear power reactors can be dangerous, as the world saw with the
Chernobyl disaster and nearly witnessed at Three Mile Island. As a senior
reactor inspector for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it’s the job of
McKenzie Thomas to make sure America’s nuclear reactors operate safely
and, if problems do develop, that plant operators are trained properly to
prevent widespread catastrophe.
Thomas earned his B.Sc. degree with honors at Alabama A&M University
in 1975, after first completing an associate’s degree program at Selma
University. He then entered Howard University, where he earned an M.Sc.
in nuclear engineering.
After graduation, he joined the NRC in 1978, just as the spotlight glared
on the entire industry after the disaster at Three Mile Island. As a senior
inspector, he takes charge in the field of all aspects of a power plant’s
pre-operational tests; its restart after maintenance or repair; and corrective
action program inspection. Thomas won the 2002 Black Engineer of the
Year Award for Career Achievement in Government.
McKenzie Thomas
Senior Reactor Inspector
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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Dr. Frederick Humphries is head of NAFEO, the umbrella organization for
more than 100 of the nation’s historically and predominantly Black colleges
and universities. He works full time to articulate the need for a system of
higher education that is available to all Americans regardless of race,
ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
Before being named to his current position, Dr. Humphries was president
of Florida A&M University, where he earned a national reputation as an
effective and determined college administrator during his tenure, from 1985
to 2001. He is credited with reestablishing FAMU as one of the leading
institutions of higher learning in the country. The university was selected as
the Time Magazine-Princeton Review College of the Year in 1997. In 1997,
1998, and 1999, FAMU was the nation’s number one producer of African
Americans with baccalaureate degrees. FAMU beat Harvard in 1992, 1995,
and 1997, and tied that venerable university in 2000 in recruitment of
National Achievement Scholars.
Dr. Humphries holds a B.Sc. in chemistry, cum laude, from FAMU. He
received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh
and served as president of Tennessee State University for 10 years, before
taking the top position at FAMU.
Frederick S. Humphries, Ph.D.
President and CEO
National Association for Equal Opportunity in
Higher Education (NAFEO)
As director of Information Technology for Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS)
since May 1998, Wyllstyne Hill has been responsible for guiding the
company’s strategic technology initiatives. She joined Raytheon (previously
Hughes Aircraft Company) in 1971, and has held a wide range of technical
and managerial positions as a project engineer, technical manager, and IT
supervisor. She is a member of the RMS executive leadership team, where
she is responsible for ensuring that the company’s IT organization supports
the company’s overall business objectives and project requirements.
Hill earned a B.Sc. degree in mathematics, with a minor in computer
science, from Tuskegee University in 1971. She pursued graduate studies
in computer science and systems engineering at the University of Arizona
and completed the Arizona Executive Program in Business Management at
the University of Arizona and the Senior Manager Development Program at
Southern California University.
Hill was honored for Managerial Leadership in Defense at the 2001 Women
of Color Government and Defense Technology Awards Conference.
Wyllstyne D. Hill
Senior Director, Information Technology
Raytheon Missile Systems
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Dr. Horace Moo-Young began as an award-winning scholar-athlete at
Morgan State University, earning his B.Sc. degree, summa cum laude, in
civil engineering in 1991, and being named class valedictorian. He won a
Graduate Engineering for Minorities scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, completing his master’s in 1992, and his Ph.D. in civil and
environmental engineering in 1995. His work at Rensselaer earned him
the Rensselaer Scholar Fellowship, the National Defense Science and
Engineering Graduate Fellowship, the ASEE Helen T. Carr Graduate
Fellowship, the Rensselaer Award for Excellence, and the Bedford Award
for Outstanding Dissertation.
He returned to Morgan to teach civil engineering before joining the faculty
at Lehigh University. He has conducted extensive research in waste
containment systems, geosynthetics, frozen ground, waste and recycled
material testing, transport through porous media, and nondestructive testing
techniques. He holds numerous faculty awards for excellence and innovation
in teaching, including the Lehigh University Junior Faculty Award, General
Electric Minority Faculty Award, Lindback Minority Faculty Award, and
Padnos Design Competition Award. He won the Black Engineer of the
Year Award for Promotion of Higher Education in 2001.
Horace K. Moo-Young Jr., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental
Engineering
Lehigh University
The company James Garrett founded and leads today, SENTEL, is one
of the largest minority-owned firms in Virginia, employing 250 engineers,
scientists, managers, and support personnel. The company specializes in
electromagnetic interference and frequency management, biological
detection, and test engineering for electronic warfare and satellite
systems software.
Garrett, a native of North Carolina, earned a B.Sc. in electrical engineering
from North Carolina A&T State University in 1964, and worked as a
civilian for the Navy for many years, specializing in communications systems
and electronics. He went on to earn his M.B.A. from Southeastern
University and pursued combat design systems training at MIT. By 1987,
Garrett was considered the Navy’s leading expert on electromagnetic
compatibility issues. As director of the Navy’s Systems Electromagnetics
Division, he designed the topside of Navy vessels to minimize
electromagnetic interference and designed the placement and allocation of
frequency systems. That expertise was evident in Operation Desert Storm,
where he was in charge of preventing electromagnetic interference among
joint services systems operating on 26,000 separate frequencies.
James F. Garrett
President and CEO
SENTEL Corporation
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Togo West Jr. returned to the practice of law in 2000, after serving as an
official in three presidential administrations. He was President Gerald Ford’s
associate deputy attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice. For
President Jimmy Carter, West served as general counsel of the Navy; later,
as special assistant to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense; and,
thereafter, as general counsel of the Department of Defense. He served in
President Clinton’s first administration as secretary of the Army. In the
second Clinton administration, he was secretary of Veterans Affairs and a
member of the President’s Cabinet. While secretary of the Army, he also
served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal
Commission.
West received his B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Howard
University in 1965, and a degree in law from Howard in 1968, where he
was managing editor of the Howard Law Review, graduating cum laude and
first in his class. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery Corps and served active military duty
in the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps, in the Office of the Judge
Advocate General, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs. For his military service, he was awarded
the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Togo D. West Jr.
Attorney-at-law
Covington & Burling
Sherrie Green is a biologist by training, but the work for which she has
passion today is encouragement of minority students and those with
disabilities to pursue careers in science, engineering, and technology. Holder
of B.A. and M.Sc. degrees in biology from Lehigh University and North
Carolina A&T State University, respectively, she now serves as program
manager at the NSF Office of Integrative Activities, where she is responsible
for administering congressionally mandated and special projects. Previously,
she directed the Academic Research Infrastructure Facilities Modernization
Program and the Awards for the Integration of Research and Education at
Baccalaureate Institutions activity. Green also directs the NSF Summer
Scholar Internship Program.
She prefers to focus on the young beneficiaries of her programs who
now are making contributions to society in the academic and medical fields,
but Green also has been recognized for her own work: She received the
1996 Director’s Award for Program Management Excellence and the 2000
Director’s Award for Equal Opportunity Achievement.
Green attributes her professional accomplishments to the preparation
she received at North Carolina A&T, where she received encouragement
from strong Black role models and mentors.
Sherrie B. Green
Program Manager, Office of Science and
Technology Infrastructure
National Science Foundation
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As CIO for Lockheed Martin Corporation and president of the corporation’s
Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), Joseph Cleveland, a Tennessee State
University graduate, is responsible for formulating the corporation’s
information technology vision and strategy. EIS is responsible for all IT
operations and services across the $24-billion Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Before the merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta, Cleveland was vice
president and general manager of Martin Marietta Internal Information
Systems. He also has been manager of Aerospace Information Technology
and manager of Information Technology for the Defense Systems business
of GE Aerospace. Cleveland began his GE career in 1970, as a member of
the engineering department of GE Medical Systems. From 1982 to 1986, he
held an international assignment as managing director of GE Medical
Systems Operations in Radlett, England.
A native of Shelbyville, Tenn., Cleveland received his B.Sc. degree in
electrical engineering from Tennessee State and has completed extensive
technical, business, and leadership development training throughout his
career. He won the Black Engineer of the Year Award for Career
Achievement in Industry in 1996.
Joseph R. Cleveland
Chief Information Officer,
Lockheed Martin Corporation
President,
Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems
Lt. Gen. Albert Edmonds oversees EDS’ relationship with government
clients at all levels. He recently was tapped by President Bush to serve on
the administration’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council to help
safeguard America’s cyber-security and economy.
Lt. Gen. Edmonds spent the latter part of his Air Force career providing
command, control, communications, and computer intelligence (C4I) to
civilian authorities and the military, as director of the Defense Information
Systems Agency and manager of the National Communications System.
He also was responsible for directing the President’s National Security
Telecommunications Advisory Committee.
Lt. Gen. Edmonds holds a B.Sc. degree in chemistry from Morris Brown
College and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Hampton
University. He completed the Air War College as a distinguished graduate in
1980, and Harvard’s national security program for senior officials in 1987.
Lt. Gen. Albert J. Edmonds, U.S. Air Force
(Ret.)
President, U.S. Government Solutions
EDS
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Jeff Gray is responsible for the day-to-day operations of IEDS, a
minority-owned and -operated firm located in Knoxville, Tenn., that
provides custom designs and construction management for residential
and commercial customers. A graduate of Tennessee State University and
a civil engineer by training, he also serves as structural designer on project
teams, when time allows. His duties also include corporate marketing,
negotiating contracts, and following schedules and budgets to assure
work is completed on time and within budget.
Previously, Gray worked at Lockheed Martin Energy Systems as a civil
engineer and project manager with the company’s Engineer/Environmental
Restoration organization, which is responsible for the environmental
restoration projects on the Oak Ridge Reservation.
He was the engineering division’s affirmative action representative while at
LMES, using his extensive company contacts to help place more than 1,000
Black students in engineering and science internships. For this work, he
received the 1996 Black Engineer of the Year Community Service Award.
Jeff L. Gray Sr.
CEO and Director of Operations
Innovative Engineering Design Services, Inc.
(IEDS)
Gwendolyn Boyd is the fiscal representative responsible for budgeting and
monitoring at the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory. She has additional
responsibilities for coordinating and developing initiatives for HBCUs. One
such initiative is the APL Technology Leaders Summer (ATLAS) Internship
Program, through which JHUAPL invites historically Black college and
university students — primarily engineering or computer science majors —
to work as interns.
Boyd earned a B.Sc. in mathematics at Alabama State University and a
master’s in mechanical engineering at Yale. She joined the APL more than 20
years ago as a navigation systems analyst, specializing in the evaluation and
improvement of navigation systems for nuclear attack submarines. She also
was responsible for analyzing the Poseidon and Trident Strategic Weapon
Systems and evaluating their performance.
Boyd spends many hours in community service, as national president of
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and in many committee assignments, including
The Johns Hopkins University’s Diversity Leadership Council.
Gwendolyn E. Boyd
Assistant for Development Programs
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory
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B L AC K C O L L E G E A N D U N I V E RS IT Y G R A D UAT E S
”...As a young Black student growing up in upstate New
York during the ‘50s and ‘60s, I had no clue as to what
being Black in America was all about! I, of course, had
heard about the struggle and read about the pain and
stupidity of segregation, but I personally had never
experienced it. Attending Howard broadened my
perspective of just who I was. It allowed me to learn
from those who endured the pain. And it showed me
the richness of our past and instilled in me the mantra
‘failure is not an option.’”
Rodney A. Coleman
Partner
Alcalde & Fay
Rodney Coleman has held senior leadership positions in business,
government, and the military. Today, he serves as the Washington
representative of public and private sector clients to Congress, the White
House, and federal agencies for the firm of Alcalde & Fay. Previously, he
was executive vice president for Corporate Planning and Public Affairs at
ICF Kaiser International, one of the largest engineering, construction
management, and consulting companies in America. From 1994 to 1998,
Coleman served as assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower,
Reserve Affairs, Installations and Environment. A decorated Vietnam
veteran, he attained the rank of captain in the Air Force as a civil engineering
officer. Coleman earned a B.A. degree from Howard University and
completed the Executive Management Development Program at the
University of Michigan Graduate School of Business.
”I used the education I received at Prairie View A&M
University as the basis for my two master’s degrees, an
M.B.A. and M.S.E.E. It also set me apart from most of
my counterparts, because I received a good education in
an environment that was designed around my culture....
I feel that HBCUs serve a real purpose when it comes to
making the transition from high school to college for a
person of color.”
W.T. Greer Jr.
After retiring from Fairchild Semiconductor in fall 2002, W.T. Greer
immediately established his own company, making radio frequency
identification devices. Greer grew up on a farm in Wharton, Texas, and then
pursued an engineering education, earning a B.Sc. in electrical engineering
from Prairie View A&M University in 1965; a master’s degree in electrical
engineering at Texas Tech in 1972; and an M.B.A. at Southern Methodist
University in 1987. Both Prairie View and the National Association for Equal
Opportunity in Higher Education have named him an Outstanding Alumnus.
In 1997, he received the Black Engineer of the Year Award for Professional
Achievement in Industry. Throughout his distinguished career in engineering,
with such prestigious organizations as Motorola Semiconductor Products,
Texas Instruments, and Fairchild Semiconductor, Greer has distinguished
himself through his job performance and as a mentor.
President and CEO
Global Identification Technologies
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B L AC K C O L L E G E A N D U N I V E RS IT Y G R A D UAT E S
”I value my experience at Southern University. It
allowed me to grow personally in a learning, nurturing
environment that couldn’t be duplicated. At 18, you’re
not quite ready for the world. My time at Southern
enabled me to identify a great sense of pride in terms
of my ability.”
Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard guides the growth of TRG Construction, a minorityowned, service disabled veteran-owned contracting company with
headquarters in Washington, D.C. His last military assignment was as the
chief of engineers and commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
responsible for headquarters and installation operations, training, and
budget management for more than 20 major training and operational
bases throughout the U.S. Lt. Gen. Ballard’s military honors include the
Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), Legion of Merit (three awards),
Bronze Star Medal (two awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and
Meritorious Service Medal (four awards). He received his B.Sc. in electrical
engineering from Southern University and later earned a master’s degree in
engineering management from the University of Missouri. He is also a
graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the Army
War College. In 1998, he was selected Black Engineer of the Year.
Lt. Gen. Joe N. Ballard, U.S. Army (Ret.)
President and CEO
TRG Construction, Inc.
Dr. William Neal supports transformation of the U.S. Army, applying war
games and modeling techniques to identify enhanced war-fighting
capabilities for 2010 and beyond. Dr. Neal is focused on computer systems
that will be used by American soldiers. His efforts have helped make Army
transformation a strategic thrust within MITRE.
Dr. Neal also is passing on his expertise in computer systems by teaching
advanced graduate courses on computer architecture at Morgan State
University and serving as a mentor for graduate students in electrical
engineering.
He received his B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Howard
University in 1976, and then received a NASA grant to pursue a master’s
degree at Stanford University. While at Howard teaching electrical
engineering and pursuing his Ph.D., he developed SIMNET, the first national
computer network linking the historically Black colleges and universities.
Dr. Neal is a member of the Army Science Board, a select federal advisory
group that provides scientific and technological advice to the Army. He
received the Deans’ Award at the 1999 Black Engineer of the Year Awards
Conference for his contributions as an educator and engineer.
William J. Neal, Ph.D.
Systems Development Engineer
The MITRE Corporation
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B L AC K C O L L E G E A N D U N I V E RS IT Y G R A D UAT E S
”Tennessee State University in the early to mid-1980s
allowed me an environment where I could learn all of the
tools necessary to become a successful engineer. I was
properly prepared to become immersed in the highly
competitive, challenging, and dynamic environment
required to safely produce and fly the Space Shuttle main
engine. I have mentored interns and engineers from a
host of major universities. What I have found is the
education I received at TSU was satisfactory and is
competitive with other major universities’. Of course,
the most important factor is [that] the student must be
assiduous in the pursuit of learning.”
Michael A. Bradley
Michael Bradley leads Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) transient analysis
at Boeing, guiding the engine tests for start, shutdown, and throttling for the
shuttle. He is project lead in efforts to demonstrate that the three engines
that make up SSME during flight operate safely at high power levels. Bradley
was a NASA Fellow while at Tennessee State, where he earned a degree
with distinction in mechanical engineering. He was honored for Outstanding
Technical Contribution at the 1999 Black Engineer of the Year Awards
Conference.
Engineer/Scientist Space Shuttle Main Engine
The Boeing Company
”My Howard University experience expanded my ability
to carry out a full-fledged engineering research project.
This probably would have been the case at any
institution, but the advantage at an HBCU was that I
had professors/mentors that cared about me and
looked like me. Therefore, I felt more in tune with their
accomplishments and inspired to obtain a Ph.D. Also,
being at an HBCU fostered my interest in being involved
with campus activities and politics. I became a graduate
student leader, which required me to be outspoken as
well as a good communicator.”
Dr. Aprille Ericsson has been working in the engineering field for 15 years,
10 of them with NASA. She recently returned from an 11-month detail at
NASA headquarters and is leading a team of scientists and engineers in
writing a proposal for a Space Science Small Explorer that will cost
approximately $120 million. She also has worked as an adjunct professor
at Bowie State and Howard Universities.
Aprille J. Ericsson, Ph.D.
Aerospace Engineer
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Dr. Ericsson received her B.Sc. degree from MIT in aeronautical/astronautical
engineering and her master’s in engineering and Ph.D. from Howard
University, where she was the first African-American female to receive a
doctorate in mechanical engineering with an aerospace option.
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M O R E D I ST I N G U I S H E D H B C U G R A D UAT E S
Since it began publication almost 20 years ago, Career Communications Group’s flagship magazine, US Black Engineer & Information
Technology, has profiled hundreds of historically Black college and university graduates whose accomplishments are deserving of
recognition. Here are just a few from recent years.
1995
Renitalynette K. Anderson
Telecommunications Electronics Engineer,
NASA Office of Space Communications
B.Sc., Norfolk State University
Melissa Young
Technical Staff II, Hughes Space and
Communications Company
B.S.E.E., Morgan State University
1996
Ervin “Earl” Cobb
Vice President and Manager, Secure Systems
Stanley Jones
Office, and Assistant General Manager and
Member of Technical Staff’, AT&T Network
Operations Manager, Federal Systems Solutions,
Systems
Motorola Government and Space Technology
Bachelor’s - Math and Computer Science,
Group, Inc.
Tougaloo College
Tennessee State University
Nathelyne A. Kennedy
Morris Daniely
President, Nathelyne A. Kennedy &
Senior Engineering Program Manager,
Associates, Inc.
Motorola Logic IC Division
Bachelor’s - Architectural Engineering,
North Carolina A&T State University
Prairie View A&M University
Dameshia DeFlora
Henry Panion III, Ph.D.
Mechanical Engineering Student
Chair, Music Department, University of
Prairie View A&M University
Alabama at Birmingham
Bertha R. Holloway
Project Manager Engineer, Central
Intelligence Agency
B.S.E.E., Tennessee State University
Betty Ruth Jones, Ph.D.
Program Director, Career Access Program for
Minorities, Women and the Disabled, National
Science Foundation
M.Sc. and Ph.D. - Biology, Atlanta University
Earl H. Jones Jr.
Manager, Satellite Systems Business Area,
TRW, Inc.
Bachelor’s - Architecture, Tuskegee University
Carolyn G. Morris
Assistant Director, Information Resources
Division, FBI
North Carolina Central University
Hazel R. O’Leary
U.S. Secretary of Energy
Bachelor’s, Fisk University
Bachelor’s - Music Education,
Alabama A&M University
Lydia W. Thomas, Ph.D.
President & CEO, Mitretek Systems, Inc.
Bachelor’s - Zoology; Ph.D. - Cell Biology,
Howard University
William R. Wiley
Vice President, Battelle Memorial Institute
Bachelor’s - Chemistry, Tougaloo College
1997
Charles N. Alston
Operations Research Analyst, U.S. Army Materiel
Systems Analysis Activity
Bachelor’s - Engineering and Math,
North Carolina A&T State University
Maurice Shawn Barnett
Supplier Quality Engineer, Dell Computer
Corporation
B.S.E.E., Tuskegee University
Gerald D. Prothro
Vice President and CIO, IBM Corporation
Bachelor’s; Master’s, Howard University
Yvonne Y. Clark, P.E.
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering,
Tennessee State University
B.S.M.E., Howard University
Marcia Smart
Technical Marketing Engineer,
Hewlett-Packard Company
Bachelor’s - Computer Information Systems;
M.B.A., Howard University
Dixie Tyran Garr
Vice President of Customer Success
Engineering, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Bachelor’s - Computer Science and Math,
Grambling State University
LaTonyia D. Wade
Engineer I, Hughes Network Systems
B.S.E.E., North Carolina A&T State University
Stephan D. Jackson
Reliability Engineer, Black & Decker, Inc.
Bachelor’s - Industrial Engineering,
North Carolina A&T State University
Herbert L. Watkins
General Manager of CS Manufacturing and Site
General Manager, IBM Corporation
Bachelor’s - Math and Physics,
North Carolina Central University
Arthur E. Johnson
Vice President of Strategic Development,
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Bachelor’s, Morehouse College
22
Vernecia S. McKay
Aerospace Engineering Student
Tuskegee University
Cynthia Rand
Principal Director for Information Management,
ODASD
B.Sc. - Math, Hampton University
Capt. Winston E. Scott, U.S. Navy
Astronaut, NASA
B.A. - Music, Florida A&M University
Col. Otis Williams
Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Bachelor’s - Zoology; Ph.D., South Carolina State
University
Master’s - Educational Administration and
Supervision, Jackson State University
1998
Charles E. Harbor-Clark
Marlboro Projects Group Leader, Raytheon
Company
Bachelor’s - Computer Science, Southern
University
Leroy Jones
Senior Regulatory Engineer, Dell Computer
Corporation
B.S.E.E., Howard University
Jerry D. Fenderson
Director, Engineering Corporate Programs,
General Motors Corporation
Physics, Southern University
Marion H. Hall
SEAWOLF Senior Construction Project Engineer,
Department of the Navy
Bachelor’s - Mechanical Engineering, Southern
University
Colin J. Parris, Ph.D.
Research Staff Member, IBM Corporation
B.S.E.E., Howard University
Harold Don Smith
Vice President, Raytheon
Bachelor’s - Math, Bowie State College
Kathryn C. Turner
Founder and Principal Owner, Standard
Technology, Inc.
Bachelor’s - Chemistry, Howard University
Victor H.C. Watt
Diffusion Manager, Process Engineering, Texas
Instruments Inc.
B.S.E.E.; M.S.E.E., Howard University
Waymon Whiting
Chief Project Engineer, The Boeing Company
Bachelor’s - Engineering,
Prairie View A&M University
M O R E D I ST I N G U I S H E D H B C U G R A D UAT E S
1999
Douglas R. Batts
Regional Sales Manager, Texas Instruments Inc.
Bachelor’s - Electronics,
North Carolina A&T State University
Gwendolyn Harvey
Power Delivery Manager, Georgia Power
Company
B.S.E.E., Tuskegee University
Sharon S. Butler
Manager, Network Engineering & Planning, Bell
Atlantic, Inc.
Bachelor’s - Math, Coppin State College
Donna James
Executive Vice President/Chief Administrative
Officer, Nationwide
North Carolina A&T State University
Marsha Gray
Chemist, Monsanto Company
Ph.D. - Analytical Chemistry, Howard University
Sherrie Littlejohn
Vice President, Information Systems, Yipes
Communications, Inc.
Bachelor’s - Math, Xavier University
Allan K. Kennedy
Project Engineer, Delphi Automotive Systems
M.S.M.E., North Carolina A&T State University
Cherrie M. McCoy
D/SIDDOMS Account Executive, EDS
B.S.E.E.; M.S.E.E., Howard University
John W. Thompson
CEO, Symantec Corporation
Bachelor’s - Business Administration,
Florida A&M University
Sabrina Williams
Graduate Student, Mississippi State University
B.Sc. - Math, Southern University
2000
David Anderson Sr.
Electronic Systems Training Manager,
Raytheon Company
Bachelor’s - Computer Science, Southern
University
Ericka Baugh
Engineer - Alliance Fort Worth Maintenance and
Engineering Base, American Airlines
B.S.E.E., Prairie View A&M University
William A. Brown Sr.
Deputy Director of Military Programs, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers
Bachelor’s - Architectural Engineering,
Hampton University
Yvonne L. Cager
Americas DSP Business Development Manager,
Texas Instruments Inc
B.S.E.E. - Prairie View A&M University
André J. Murphy
Project Team Manager, International Airports and
Aircrafts, The MITRE Corporation
B.Sc. - Math, Fayetteville State University
Glenda Pettway
Chemical Engineer, Procter & Gamble
Bachelor’s - Chemical Engineering, Tuskegee
University
Michael J. Wardlaw
Leader, Advanced Systems Concepts Group,
Naval Surface Warfare Center
Bachelor’s - Engineering, North Carolina A&T
State University
Thomas Wilson Jr.
Director, Information Resources Management
Division, U.S. Department of Energy
Bachelor’s - Archaeology, Howard University
2001
Eyerce L. Armstrong-Poston, Ph.D.
Research Associate, Corning Incorporated
Bachelor’s - Physical Chemistry, Spelman College
Clinton J. Brown
Regional Area Manager - Facilities, General
Motors Worldwide Facilities Group
Bachelor’s - Industrial Engineering, Hampton
University
Darrell L. Davis
Laboratory Director, Drug Enforcement
Administration, South Central Laboratory
B.Sc. - Chemistry, Prairie View A&M University
James F. Garrett
President/CEO, SENTEL Corporation
B.S.E.E., North Carolina A&T State University
Glennca A. Faison
Senior Vice President, Division Group Manager,
CACI International Inc
J.D., North Carolina Central University
Johney B. Green Jr.
Development Staff Member, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory
B.S.M.E., Memphis State University
Leona Green
Worldwide ASP Customer Relationship
Management Manager, Texas Instruments Inc.
B.S.E.E., Prairie View A&M University
Dana Hardy
Owner, Page View Internet Consulting Company
Bachelor’s - System Engineering and Computer
Science, Howard University
Lt. Gregory L. Johnson
Power Technology Analyst, United States
Air Force
B.S.E.E., Tuskegee University
Clifton Sean Martin
Electrical Engineering Student
Morgan State University
23
Bonnie L. Pyett-Mora
Deputy Director, Pollution Prevention Division,
Naval Supply Systems Command
B.Sc. - Secondary Education, Cheyney State
University
Gaynelle P. Swann
Senior Systems Engineer II,
Raytheon Missile Systems
M.Sc. - Engineering, Tuskegee University
Margaret E.M. Tolbert, Ph.D.
Director, New Brunswick Laboratory, U.S.
Department of Energy
Chemistry, Tuskegee University
Nigel A. Ziyad, Ph.D.
Computer Engineer, NASA-Goddard Space
Flight Center
Ph.D. - Electrical Engineering, Howard University
2002
Jesse L. Bemley, Ph.D.
Computer Specialist, U.S. Army Cost and
Economic Analysis Center
Bachelor’s - Math, Mississippi Valley State
University
Arthur L. George, P.E.
High Performance Linear Business Unit Manager,
Texas Instruments Inc.
B.S.E.E., Southern University
Julius L. Longshore
Project Engineer Test and Evaluation &
Experimental Test Pilot, Northrop Grumman
Corporation
B.Sc. - Physics and Math, Clark Atlanta University
Calvin Mackie, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Department, Tulane University
Bachelor’s - Math, Morehouse College
Jesse W. McCurdy
Director, Test and Evaluation Engineering
Department, Naval Air Systems Command
B.S.E.E, Howard University
Joseph D. McGhee
Regional Vice President, Southeast Sales,
Avaya Inc.
Bachelor’s - Management and Marketing,
Jackson State University
Leroy T. Parker
Senior Engineer, Ground Weapons Directorate,
U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command
Bachelor’s - Architecture, Tuskegee University
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