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SME Education Foundation announces brand-new academy programs and officers
Dearborn, MI - The Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) program of the Education Foundation of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) is about to expand. Designed to give middle-school students hands-on engineering experience, the new academy program is modeled on the society's successful STEPS camps. The academies are day programs, which will allow even more students to participate.
Five pilot sites were developed last year. This year the foundation plans to expand STEPS academies to fifty sites nationwide. The foundation and its partner organization, Project Lead the Way, plans to open 200 STEPS academies by 2010.
SME's Education Foundation has also named new officers and selected new members to serve on its board of directors. ChE Glen Pearson is now president of the foundation, ME Sandra Bouckley is VP, and EE Dr Winston Erevelles, dean of the school of engineering, math and science and a professor of engineering at Robert Morris University (Coraopolis, PA), will serve as board secretary.
Board members guide the foundation in its mission to develop programs to interest young people in manufacturing, engineering, science and technology. For more information contact Bart Aslin, director, SME Education Foundation, baslin@sme.org.
Women continue gains in science, engineering
Washington, DC - Women are making substantial progress in preparing for careers in science and engineering, according to the sixteenth edition of Professional Women and Minorities,published by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST). From 2003 to 2004 they earned half the bachelors degrees, 44 percent of the masters and 37 percent of the doctorates awarded in science and engineering fields.
Gains by underrepresented minorities have been slower, but overall progress is being made.African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans earned 16 percent of the bachelors degrees, 11 percent of the masters, and nearly 6 percent of the doctorates awarded in science and engineering in 2003-2004.
Over the past forty years women have more than doubled their share of the bachelors degrees awarded in science and engineering. They are approaching parity in medicine, earning 46 percent of the degrees. They made up about 25 percent of the STEM labor force in 2005, but individual proportions varied widely by occupation (see chart).They are best represented in social science and psychology, and least well represented in engineering.
Gains by underrepresented minorities in overall STEM professions have not been as substantial.
For more information on CPST or to order a copy of the report, check out www.cpst.org.
DLA earns CAP award for disabilities services
Fort Belvoir, VA - The Computer-Electronic Accommodation Program, which provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities throughout the federal government, recently honored the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) with its CAP achievement award.
The award is given for excellence in increasing accessibility and employment opportunities for people with disabilities within the federal government. The award was accepted by Major General Bennie Williams, DLA logistics operations director; Famia Magana, DLA's equal employment opportunity director; and Eric Spanbauer, DLA disability and workforce recruitment program manager.
Spanbauer was recognized with his own special certificate as DLA's CAP point of contact. CAP director Dinah Cohen notes that Spanbauer's efforts have resulted in CAP's providing accommodations to benefit the workforce improvement program, teleworkers with disabilities, and workers' comp claimants.
Lockheed's Linda Gooden moves to IT&S EVP
Bethesda, MD - Linda R. Gooden is the new EVP of Lockheed Martin's Information & Technology Services (I&TS) business area. Gooden has been president of Lockheed Martin IT since 1997; before that she was VP of Lockheed Martin's software support services unit. She joined the company in 1980, after several years as a software engineer for General Dynamics.
Gooden was named Black Engineer of the Year at the 2006 Black Engineer of the Year awards conference. She received her degree in computer technology from Youngstown State University (Youngstown, OH), and completed grad studies at San Diego State University (San Diego, CA). She also holds a BS in business admin from the University of Maryland, University College.
In 2005 she was awarded an honorary doctor of public service degree by U Maryland for her service to the community and to higher education.
ASSE examines role of emerging tech
Des Plaines, IL - At its fall 2006 meeting the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) addressed finding, using and adapting emerging technology to increase safety and health for workers in all industries. The theme of the meeting was "Solutions in safety through technology."
Hands-on workshops and lectures illustrated the impact of technological innovations on safe human performance. Technology solutions to safety issues were also shown at a mini-expo of technology products and services.
Paul A. Esposito, president of Star Consultants, Inc (Annapolis, MD), presented a seminar on evaluating safety audit and assessment technologies. Dr Deborah Kearney, president of Job Smart Systems (Pittsburgh, PA), discussed building safety into the design of a robotics process. Dr Ellen Haas, director of the multimodal control and displays lab of the U.S. Army Research Lab (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD), talked about emerging multimodal technologies for enhancing combat and civilian safety.
For more information check out www.asse.org.
Math achievement grows but gap widens
New York, NY - The Urban League reports that since 2002, when the No Child Left Behind program was enacted, black children have shown strong progress in their mathematics scores. From 1990 to 2005, the percentage of African American fourth graders scoring at or above proficiency dramatically increased, going from one percent to 13 percent. But at the same time, the gap between white and black fourth-graders with adequate math skills grew by four percentage points, from twenty to twenty-four percent.
The Urban League's president and CEO, Mark Morial, notes that "Overall, more than 60 percent of U.S. fourth- and eighth-graders in 2005 failed to perform at their grade level in reading and math. That bodes ominously for our future. How on earth can we expect our future workforce to compete in a global economy against competitors with better-educated children?
"It is partially our responsibility as parents and members of the community to ensure that future generations acquire the skills needed to thrive in a dynamic and competitive world economy, and to hold the powers that be accountable for their obligation to provide a good public education to all, regardless of color, religion or economic class."
Kwame Building Group president receives award
St. Louis, MO - Kwame Building Group president Anthony Thompson received a corporate executive award from 100 Black Men of Metropolitan St. Louis at the organization's gala last fall. Christopher Young-El, mentoring chair for the group, nominated Thompson for the award based on his outstanding contributions to mentoring, education, economic development and health and welfare.
For example, Thompson has donated $400,000 in scholarship funds to several regional universities. He works with a mentoring program at a local middle school. And his company encourages minority involvement in construction projects, such as the new Busch Stadium and the Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.
Thompson earned his MSCE from Washington University and his MBA from Webster University. He also holds a BS in architectural engineering and a BA in environmental design from the University of Kansas.
ExxonMobil Foundation supports NACME scholarships
Dallas, TX - The ExxonMobil Foundation recently made a $270,000 contribution to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME). The money will be used to support scholarships for minority engineering students and other programs.
Since it began, NACME has provided financial support to more than 20,000 African American, Native American and Hispanic engineering students through partner colleges and universities across the country. ExxonMobil has been a corporate sponsor since the council was founded in 1974. Including this grant, it has contributed more than $10 million to the organization.
"We are proud of our partnership with NACME and we value the opportunity to assist outstanding students in their pursuit of an engineering education," says Steve Simon, Exxon Mobil SVP, who serves as a NACME board member.
To learn more about NACME and its scholarships, visit www.nacme.org.
IBM's Rodney Adkins is black engineer of the year
Baltimore, MD - At the twenty-first Black Engineer of the Year awards conference, Rodney Adkins, VP of development for IBM, was named black engineer of the year for 2007.
Other categories recognized techies who have made their mark in government and industry, honoring both lifetime achievement and pioneering accomplishments. Other winners of the coveted awards include:
Career achievement in government:
James C. Dalton, SES, regional business director, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division; and Rear Admiral Anthony L. Winns, U.S. Navy, vice director for ops, J-3, the Joint Staff.
Career achievement in industry:
Joan Robinson-Berry, director, integrated defense systems supplier diversity, the Boeing Co; and Wyllstyne D. Hill, VP and CIO, IT, Raytheon Missile Systems, Raytheon Co.
Affirmative action in industry:
Terry Howard, diversity director, Texas Instruments, Inc.
Affirmative action in government:
Tony E. Carter, CE, program management branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District.
Community service in industry:
Latesha Y. Young, sub-project manager, Northrop Grumman Corp; and Jimmie Lee Davis Jr, PhD, systems engineer, the MITRE Corp.
Corporate promotion of education:
Mark D. Vaughn, PhD, manager, diversity recruiting and technical talent pipelining, Corning, Inc.
GEM student leadership:
Jerome Crocker, associate, Booz Allen Hamilton.
Most promising in industry:
Edward J. Daniel, PhD, senior member of tech staff, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Most promising in government:
Gilena Monroe, general engineer, human/machine systems, NASA Ames Research Center.
Outstanding technical contribution in industry:
Michael M. Bridges, PhD, controls engineer, senior professional staff, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab; and Richard Priestley, PhD, development associate, Corning, Inc.
Outstanding technical contribution in nonprofit/noncommercial organization:
Charles A. Brooks, PhD, principal communications engineer, the MITRE Corp.
Professional achievement in industry:
Richard Owusu, plant manager, Jefferson North assembly plant, DaimlerChrysler; and Melvin Fulto, principal, Booz Allen Hamilton.
Professional achievement in government:
Gary L. Hawkins, chief of design services branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District; and Neville A. D. Thompson, senior electronics engineer, department of the Air Force, Air Force Research Lab.
Lifetime achievement:
Lewis L. Cole Jr, vehicle line director, General Motors Corp.
Student leadership:
Julius Gunn, engineering co-op student, Rolls-Royce Corp.
Technical sales and marketing:
Eunice H. Heath, global business director, designed polymers, the Dow Chemical Co, Dow Europe GmbH; and Hugh E. Taylor, president, IT commercial, state and local group, Northrop Grumman Corp.
President's award:
Paul Engola, program management director, Lockheed Martin Corp.
Deans' award: Reggie White, aerospace engineer, Naval Air Systems Command, U.S. Navy.
Pioneer award: Darryl A. Stokes,
manager, substations and distribution design, Constellation Energy Group, Baltimore Gas & Electric.
Alumni award:
Rodney P. Hunt, president and CEO, RS Information Systems, Inc (RSIS).
Special recognition awards were given to a number of techies:
Wendell Taylor, military assistant to the director/program manager, Office of Economic Adjustment, Department of Defense.
Wesley W. Haswell, analog design engineering department manager, Texas Engineering Center, Raytheon Co.
Robert K. Auten, deputy manager CEV avionics, flight and software, GN&C NASA program, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Valerian Mayega, senior design engineer, Texas Instruments, Inc.
Lashun Booth, propulsion and power engineer, Naval Air Systems Command.
Pauline Bennett; associate, Booz Allen Hamilton.
Willie (Earl) Nicks, senior principal engineer, ARINC, Lt Col (Ret) Johnny A. Martin, senior associate, Booz Allen Hamilton.
Renee Arrington-Johnson, lead engineer, General Motors Corp.
Dorothy R. Williams, software engineer tools manager, integrated defense systems, the Boeing Co.
Commander (Ret) Joyce Dawkins, program manager/business planning consultant, EDS Corp.
Jeremy L. Harrison, systems integration engineer, Lockheed Martin Corp.
Jarrell T. Hutton, engineering leadership development program member, Lockheed Martin Corp.
Commander Richard R. Bryant Sr, commanding officer, U.S.S. Miami, U.S. Navy.
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