NASA great Emmett Chappelle joins Inventors Hall of Fame
Greenbelt, MD - Emmett Chappelle, retired research scientist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors innovators who have changed society and improved the way we live.
In his thirty-four years at Goddard, Chappelle did research leading to fourteen U.S. patents. The Museum of Black Innovations and Inventions recognizes him as one of the hundred greatest African American scientists and engineers of the 20th Century.
Chappelle holds a 1950 BS in biochem from the University of California-Berkeley and a 1954 MS in biochem from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA). From 1956 to 1958 he was a research associate in the department of chemistry at Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA). He worked as a staff scientist for the Marrietta Corp (Baltimore, MD) before joining NASA in 1963.
Banneker Institute launches Decade of Blacks in Science
Washington, DC - The Banneker Institute, which named 2006 the Year of Blacks in Science, has declared the next ten years the Decade of Blacks in Science. The aim is to focus attention on increasing the participation of African Americans in fields of science, technology, engineering and math (the STEM fields).
This fall the institute will award the Banneker legacy prize to an adult who has enriched the community by opening opportunities for young people to follow STEM careers. The new Benjamin Banneker youth award will honor a science-oriented young person who is pursuing excellence both in and out of the classroom.
Nominations for both awards are open through August. For more information, see www.thebannekerinstitute.org.
Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) was a self-taught mathematician and astronomer, clockmaker and publisher whose father and grandfather were slaves.
EWeek "girl day" and "family day" promote engineering careers
Washington, DC - 2007 Engineers Week provided many activities aimed at encouraging underrepresented groups to consider careers in engineering. One of the centerpieces of the effort was "introduce a girl to engineering day," when thousands of engineers at hundreds of organizations around the world provided hands-on engineering experiences for girls of all ages.
ExxonMobil, for example, welcomed fifty middle-school girls from the Dallas area to the company's Irving, TX HQ. Students and teachers listened to company engineers talking about their experiences, participated in interactive demos and experiments, and were hosted at lunch by company engineers and other employees.
For four years now, EWeek has kicked off in Washington, DC and many other cities with a "discover engineering" family day. Volunteers from local engineering society chapters and other organizations introduce engineering concepts to young people through a variety of interesting, memorable activities. For details of many EWeek outreach efforts, visit www.eweek.org.
Caltrans gets WTS LA diversity award
Los Angeles, CA - The Los Angeles area chapter of WTS (formerly Womens' Transportation Seminar) presented its diversity leadership award for 2007 to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The award recognizes extraordinary initiatives in developing opportunities for women and minorities; significant contributions to promoting diversity and cultural awareness within an organization or the transportation industry as a whole; and projects or activities that support the mission of WTS.
Caltrans was recognized for several programs promoting diversity in the organization. One is a career advancement program that makes classes available to employees at all levels. Another is participation in the Calmentor supplier diversity program, which helps disadvantaged business enterprises develop and successfully compete for state contracts. Through the program, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has formalized several statewide initiatives to expand the participation of small business enterprises in state contracts.
Louisiana kids' Mwinda City wins Future City competition
Washington, DC - "Mwinda (light)," a model city dreamed up by students from St. Thomas More School in Baton Rouge, LA, won the 2007 National Engineers Week Future City competition. Students Jake Bowers, Emily Ponti and Krisha Sherburne were guided by their teacher, Shirley Newman, and volunteer mentor, CE Guy Macarios.
The competition stresses the use of engineering to solve important social needs. Mwinda, the students explain, offers a good life to its citizens by providing power, housing, water, food and transportation. With innovative technology, modern engineering practices and renewable energy resources, Mwinda has developed an integrated, interdependent industrial design, they say.
Regional winner teams from thirty-five middle schools competed in the finals. First prize is a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, AL.
The Future City organization coordinates the competition each year. Volunteer mentors are always needed. For more details go to www.futurecity.org.
EWeek Foundation's new faces of the year
Alexandria, VA - Every year, the National Engineers Week Foundation's "new faces" list recognizes young engineers who demonstrate outstanding abilities. Nominations are submitted through engineering societies by corporations, academia and engineering professionals.
These are some of this year's honorees. For info on all the nominations, check out www.eweek.org.
Danielle Stephens, structural engineer, U.S. ACOE (Washington, DC).
Carlos Cordeiro, PhD, senior research staff member at Philips Research North America (Briarcliff Manor, NY).
Andrea Martinez, PE, project manager, PBS&J (Orlando, FL).
Harmony Myers, safety and reliability engineer, NASA (Washington, DC).
Aviva Bieler, ME, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (New York, NY).
Ivan R. Diaz, PE, ensures ride safety at Walt Disney World (Orlando, FL).
Amanda Olesky, applications engineer, Acument Global Technologies (Sterling Heights, MI).
Merwin Yellowhair, PE, chief engineer, AmericaBuilt Development (Tucson, AZ).
Asha Sharma, project engineer, Draper Aden Associates (Richmond, VA).
Earl Valencia, EIT, Raytheon Co (Tucson, AZ).
Blacks at Microsoft sponsors minority student day
Redmond, WA - Each February Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) sponsors a minority student day. High school students from local Seattle schools get an inside look at the world of technology through games, projects, tours, hands-on technology labs, info sessions and demos of Microsoft products.
At this year's event, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League (NUL), announced that Microsoft is making a $5 million software grant to the NUL. The grant will be used to increase technology access for NUL affiliates nationwide.
SME Education Foundation funds new STEPS camps
Dearborn, MI - In 2007, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation will spend $900,000 on programs introducing students to manufacturing and engineering careers. The funding will support Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) camps and academies and Project Lead the Way's "gateway to technology" middle school curriculum in seventeen states.
The STEPS programs began as camps for girls at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1997. Today STEPS is open to both boys and girls with the aim of increasing the number of minority youth and women who enter fields of technology and engineering.
For more information about these and other SME Education Foundation programs, visit www.sme.org/foundation.
Connecticut Technology Council presents "women of innovation" awards
Hartford, CT - In January the Connecticut Technology Council (CTC, www.ct.org), the state's industry association for the technology sector, recognized nine women for technical innovation. "These women are making a difference in their workplace and in academia. They are role models and innovators," declares Elizabeth Alquist of Day Pitney, chair of CTC's events planning committee. Among the awards:
Academic innovation and leadership: Materials science PhD Dr Mei Wei, assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy, University of
Connecticut.
Research innovation and leadership: Bioengineer Quing Zhu, a post-doc Fellow in the EE department at the University of Pennsylvania and an associate professor at the University of Connecticut.
Collegian innovation and leadership: ChE Kristyn Greco, currently a grad student at the University of Connecticut.
Large business innovation and leadership: engineer Leslie Abi-Karam, executive VP and president, document messaging technologies, Pitney Bowes (Stamford, CT).
The CTC promotes technological innovation in the state of Connecticut and provides business assistance and specialized programs for its members.
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