African-American Role Models in Science and Technology
By Carolyn White
The need for more African Americans to pursue
opportunities in engineering and technology is greater now than ever.
Here are 10 stellar examples of the heights they can attain. The
scientists profiled in the list of 10 African-American Role Models in
Science and Technology are phenomenal individuals holding top-level
management positions in cutting-edge disciplines. They make decisions
that affect the quality of our daily lives. Collectively, they comprise
a Technology Intelligencia of sorts, a group held in high esteem not
just by their companies, but also throughout their industries.
Although each tells a different story, they have
some things in common. Each received unconditional support and
encouragement from parents. Each is passionate about their work. Each
feels compelled to “give back” and is going out of his or her way to
open doors so that more minorities can follow in their footsteps.
RODNEY ADKINS
IBM
Growing up, Rodney Adkins spent a lot of his free
time dismantling his family’s appliances — “the TV, radio, even my
mother’s vacuum cleaner,” he said. “It drove my parents crazy. But as
long as I put everything back so that it worked, there was no problem.”
Today — 26 years after he graduated from college
and joined IBM — Adkins is senior vice president of development and
manufacturing for the company’s Systems & Technology Group. In this
high-profile job, overseeing a global operation spanning 30 locations
and 20 countries, Adkins has distinguished himself as one of the most
powerful IT executives in the country.
Adkins is in charge of product development and
manufacturing for IBM parts, technologies and semiconductor systems,
including the silicon chips and microprocessors that power game systems
such as Sony’s PlayStation 3, Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Wii. He
also oversees work on hardware and software for storage systems for
everyday activities such as ATM transactions and online airline
reservations.
It was a joint degree program that allowed him to
get a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech in
1981 and another in physics from Rollins College in 1982. He received a
master’s degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech in 1983. At
IBM, Adkins quickly advanced from engineer to division leader and held a
number of product development, business operations and general
management positions. As head of IBM’s Pervasive Computing Division,
Adkins was part of the team that created the ThinkPad.
IBM recognized Adkins’s leadership abilities by
naming him to its Worldwide Management Council. He earned the Golden
Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Industry from the National
Society of Black Engineers (2001) and was one of Fortune magazine’s 50
most powerful black executives in the country in 2002. In 2005, Adkins
was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is the 2007 Black
Engineer of the Year.
DAVID BLANDING
BOEING PHANTOM WORKS
David Blanding, a sharecropper’s son from rural
South Carolina, didn’t grow up dreaming about becoming an engineer. “I
knew that I enjoyed math and science, and I always wondered why things
worked the way they did,” he said. “When I got in high school, I got
involved in a drafting class that allowed me to design and build things.
To me, that was a whole lot better than heading for the cotton fields.”
His humble beginnings helped Blanding keep things
in perspective as his engineering career took off. In 36 years at Boeing
Phantom Works, the advanced research and development unit of Boeing Co.,
Blanding has was worked on major aircraft including the B-1B Bomber, the
AC-130 Gunship, the Space Shuttle, the National Aerospace Plane and the
Apache Helicopter. He has been instrumental in developing new
technologies for Boeing’s Space Launch Initiative and has been awarded
$40 million for other research and development contracts.
Blanding, a Boeing Technical Fellow, won the 2006
Black Engineer of the Year Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution
in Industry. He is currently involved in groundbreaking work —
developing advanced technology to implement the company’s all-electric
aircraft. Using a technique Blanding developed, “we will be removing all
the hydraulically powered devices that steer the aircraft and replace
them with electric actuators.” That will make planes easier to maintain
and repair.
Blanding grew up in Anderson, S.C., and received a
Bachelor of Science degree in intelligence at UCLA.
For all his groundbreaking work, Blanding
acknowledges his help. “God has always been part of my life,” he said.
“My faith in him has allowed me to take risks and develop new things.”
Blanding also serves both his company and his alma
mater as Boeing’s executive recruiter for Florida A&M University. “The
most important thing has been for me to keep things in perspective and
remember I didn’t get here by myself,” Blanding said. “A lot of people
have helped and encouraged me along the way.”
MARK E. DEAN
IBM
Mark E. Dean, whose name appears on numerous lists
of African-American inventors, was as important to the development of
the personal computer as Thomas Edison was to the light bulb.
Dean, who holds three of IBM’s original nine PC
patents, was chief engineer on a project to enable computers to use
high-performance software and communicate with multiple external devices
such as keyboards, printers, speakers and modems. Earlier PCs were
single-use devices with no memory, no video and no audio. He and his
associates truly made the personal computer what it is today.
Dean, who joined IBM in 1979, is now vice president
of the company’s Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif. He is also
IBM’s senior location executive for Silicon Valley. He oversees the work
of more than 400 scientists and engineers and has led in the design of a
wide range of IBM products.
“I'm crazy about technology,” said Dean, who
arrives for work by 7 a.m. each day. “I have a vivid imagination. To me,
anything you can imagine is possible. I’m not afraid to try.”
Dean grew up in rural Jefferson City, Tenn. He was
an outstanding athlete and straight-A student known to have a penchant
for science. His father, who built a tractor from scratch, was his role
model and hero. In 1979, Dean received a bachelor’s degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Tennessee, a master’s in electrical
engineering from Florida Atlantic University in 1982, and a Ph.D. from
Stanford in 1992.
In 1996 and 1997, Dean was named an IBM Fellow, the
company’s highest technical award. He has received scores of outside
awards, including the 2006 National Institute of Science Outstanding
Scientist Award, The Black Engineer of the Year President’s Award,
induction into the National Academy of Engineering and the NSBE
Distinguished Engineer Award. Dean was inducted into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997 and has more than 40 patents or patents
pending.
LINDA GOODEN
LOCKHEAD MARTIN
At a time when women are disproportionately
underrepresented among top business executives in the technology sector,
Lockheed Martin’s Linda Gooden shows off the possibilities.
Gooden, who joined Lockheed Martin 28 years ago,
has used her technical skills and business acumen to help position her
employer as the federal government’s largest IT provider. Today, she’s
executive vice president of the one of the company’s fastest-growing
groups — the newly combined Information Systems & Global Services
(IS&GS) division based in Gaithersburg, Md. Under her leadership, IS&GS
will integrate $10 billion worth of business and go after an even larger
market share.
IS&GS operates in more than 20 major U.S. locations
and 60 countries. Gooden said she leads an organization of 52,000
“talented women and men who are developing and delivering information
systems and services for our government customers that make a difference
in the lives of millions of people around the world.”
Gooden, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, has a
bachelor’s degree in computer science from Youngstown State University
and a second bachelor's in business administration from the University
of Maryland, University College. She began her career at Lockheed Martin
writing software, and then was promoted through a number of management
positions.
Her rise up Lockheed Martin’s corporate ladder
required more than skill and ability. “The most important characteristic
is the ability to listen and really understand what customers, employees
and managers are trying to achieve,” said Gooden, who grew up in a
household where three of five siblings chose IT careers. “It’s
fundamental to success in dealing with anyone, in any role, at any
level.”
Don’t be afraid to take risks, Gooden added. “You
have to recognize that sometimes you will fail. But you have to regard
both the successes and failures as learning experiences and always focus
on looking forward.
Gooden was named 2006 Black Engineer of the Year by
U.S. Black Engineer and IT magazine, was featured as one of Black
Enterprise magazine’s Women of Power in Business for 2006 and was named
a 2006 Aiming High honoree by Legal Momentum. In 2005, she was awarded
an honorary doctor of public service degree from the University of
Maryland University College in recognition of her service to the
community and higher education.
JOHNEY BOYD GREEN
OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY
We may not understand its intricacies, but we can
all applaud the work Johney Boyd Green does as manager of Oak Ridge
National Laboratory’s Fuels, Engines and Emissions Research Center in
Oak Ridge, Tenn. “We conduct research related to fuels utilization,
engine efficiency and pollution mitigation,” said Green, “We seek to
significantly reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign petroleum.”
Green, who manages a $12 million annual budget and
supervises more than other 30 engineers and scientists, is one of the 50
Most Important Blacks in Research Science, according to the September
2004 issue of Science Spectrum magazine.
Oak Ridge is a science and technology laboratory
managed for the U.S. Department of Energy. Green, who has worked there
since 1995, has collaborated with researchers from Ford Motor Co. while
conducting experimental research for advanced diesel engines designed
for light- duty vehicles. In April 2003, he completed an assignment with
the U.S. Department of Energy, looking for ways to increase the
efficiency of trucks and buses.
The son of educators, Green grew up in Memphis,
Tenn. and Baton Rouge, La. He showed an early aptitude for math and
science, but he said he still relied on faith, persistence and hard work
in pursuing advanced degrees in mechanical engineering. “My path hasn’t
always been straight, but I’m hardheaded,” said Green. “If I believe in
something, I won’t let anyone convince me otherwise.”
After graduating magna cum laude from the
University of Memphis in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical
engineering, Green got his master’s and doctorate from Georgia Institute
of Technology in 1993 and 2000, respectively. In May 2004, Green
received the Black Engineer of the Year Award. The 35-year-old’s biggest
career highlight came in September, when he was invited to participate
in the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering
program near Seattle. This program brings together engineers — ages 30
to 45 — performing exceptional research to share and exchange their
ideas.
As a volunteer who represents his company on the
National GEM Consortium, which addresses the critical shortfall in the
production of engineering talent, Green helps raise money for
fellowships and scholarships for masters and doctoral candidates from
underserved communities. “This program supported a portion of my
graduate education, and I feel compelled to raise money to provide the
same opportunity to others,” Green said.
SHIRLEY A. JACKSON
RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
She's been called “a national treasure” and the
“ultimate role model for women in science.”
Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., ranks high among this country’s
technology elite. She is the first African-American woman to receive a
doctorate from MIT and the first African American to serve as chairman
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. During her celebrated career,
Jackson has held senior leadership positions in government, industry,
research and academia.
Jackson, who has a Ph.D. in physics, grew up
attending segregated schools in Washington, D.C. She earned a doctorate
in theoretical elementary particle physics in 1973.
Jackson has been a change agent in every job she’s
had. At the NRC, she employed a new management system, helped developed
a new reactor oversight program, created a reactor license renewal
program.
Congress recently passed legislation taking note of
what Jackson calls our nation’s “Quiet Crisis” — the looming shortage in
the country’s science and engineering workforce. “The generation of
scientist and engineers who came of age after World War II are reaching
retirement age and there are not enough people in the pipeline to
replace them,” Jackson said.
The fact that many U.S. students are not interested
in developing the basic science and math skills needed to pursue careers
in science, engineering and related careers” is a cause for concern, she
said. So is the fact that minorities and women are underrepresented in
technology. “They comprise two-thirds of the population,” Jackson said.
“If we don’t have more representation from these groups, it means we
aren’t tapping the talent pool.” Although Congress has responded
affirmatively, Jackson said, she is planning another initiative to get
the measure funded.
The National Science Board awarded Jackson its 2007
Vannevar Bush Award for “a lifetime of achievements in scientific
research, education and senior statesman-like contributions to public
policy;” She has 44 honorary doctorates and other awards and honors —
far too numerous to mention.
COLETTE M. KELLY
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Colette Kelly always knew she wanted to be an
engineer. “I had good math and science skills and always took things
apart to see how they worked. I was very quiet, very studious and didn’t
want to talk to anybody. As an engineer, I felt I could hide behind a
desk, nobody would bother me and I’d work on scientific things,” she
said.
Today, Kelly laughs at that childhood memory. As a
manufacturing manager for Texas Instruments in Dallas, communicating is
75 percent of the job. More than 400 employees at East Building Test,
TI’s largest probe facility, report to her.
Kelly’s unit is the first line of testing for most
TI products — from cell phones to camera chips to MP3 players to
mainframe computer systems. “Every device we manufacture has a wafer
that can contain from 100 to 2,000 chips,” she said. “We have to test
each individual chip to make sure it operates properly.” As a new
manager, Kelly reduced turnovers from 18 percent to 8 percent within a
year after creating a staffing model to improve employee morale. “Once
our employees knew they had a forum to be heard, 90 percent of the
issues were eliminated within the first six months,” she said. ”
Kelly grew up in St. Louis, and attended the
University of Missouri-Rolla on a basketball scholarship. She received a
bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1992 and completed an MBA
in engineering and technology management at the University of Dallas in
Irving. Her background as an athlete contributed to her success, honing
her skills and instincts she employs to this day. “When you are a
college athlete, you have to manage your time,” Kelly said. “And you
develop this sense of competitiveness. You’re constantly in a mindset
where you want to win.”
She was nominated for the National Society of Black
Engineers’ Engineer of the Year award in 2003. This year, she won the
Women of Color in Technology Managerial Leadership Award and she is
director of TI’s Black Employee Initiative, which participates in
diversity fairs and conferences as well as mentoring programs.
Being a strong mentor is becoming increasingly
important to Kelly. “I tell students there are good opportunities for
women and minorities in the semiconductor industry if they are
technically competent, bold, outspoken and creative. I tell them the sky
is the limit but that they can’t worry about what others are doing. If
they don’t bring their game 100 percent of the time, the chances of
making it to the top get slimmer.”
WIL MYRICK
SAIC
Wilbur Myrick of SAIC, a world expert in
measurement and signatures intelligence adaptive signal processing, is a
detective of sorts. He looks for signals that could impact our nation’s
security.
Myrick, senior signal processing analyst at Science
Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in Northern Virginia,
extracts information from signals, including wireless communication.
Many of the technologies he developed are being used in the intelligence
community.
He spent his childhood picking apart his brother’s
toys, going to science fairs and devouring electronic magazines in his
hometown of Courtland, Va. He did undergraduate work at Norfolk State
and received a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2000.
Myrick’s keys to success can open doors beyond the
classroom. “You’ve got to have courage and conviction, he said. “I don’t
give up on things easily. If you have a problem, try to figure it out.”
Passion is another requirement. “A lot of people find a career, but
they’re not passionate. They don’t get energy from trying to solve a
problem,” he said.
If you want to be a scientist, “Get involved in a
summer program. It allows you to get an idea early if it’s what you want
to do,” Myrick said. Once in college “take your freshman year very
seriously,” he adds. “Keep things in perspective. You can always have
fun later on.”
Myrick, who has won numerous research and incentive
awards from SAIC, won the 2006 Black Engineer of the Year Award for
Career Achievement in Industry at the BEYA Conference in Baltimore.
“It’s a nice highlight,” said Myrick, who mentors junior engineers in
his company and recruits for SAIC at the University of Maryland. “I’m at
a point where I want to do more than help junior staff reach their
potential. I’m hoping to mentor the next generation of students and
encourage more minorities to pursue engineering and advanced degrees.”
PATRICIA NEWBY
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
Patricia Newby came up through the ranks. She
parlayed her work-study job into a 32-year career with Northrop Grumman
Corp., the aerospace and defense conglomerate. She recently left her
high-profile job as site director at Xetron, a wholly owned Northrop
Grumman facility in Cincinnati, to return to her hometown of Baltimore
as director of the company’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)
unit.
As AWACS director, “I’m responsible for making sure
we meet all our customers’ technical, cost and schedule requirements,”
said Newby. “This new job will allow me to broaden my experience and
bring the skills I gained running Xetron back to the aerospace
businesses.”
After enrolling in a program designed to increase
the number of minorities in engineering, Newby received a bachelor’s
degree in Computer Science and an MBA in management from Loyola
University in Maryland. She’s always looking for opportunities to
enhance her management skills and completed the Northrop Grumman
Financial Management Program at Wharton Business School, the General
Manager Program at Harvard Business School and the African-American
Leadership Institute program at UCLA. Newby received the President’s
Award at the Women of Color Technology Awards Conference in 2004 and was
recognized as one of the top African Americans in Technology by U.S.
Black Engineer magazine in 2005.
Newby says her commitment, problem-solving and
communication skills have helped her reach the top echelon of Northrop
Grumman management. “Being able to work and communicate with people must
go hand-in-hand with every ounce of book learning you get,” she says.
The key to getting more African Americans in science and technology?
“We’ve got to stop making what we do seem so abstract and complex and
instead show how these degrees can be used in everyday life.”
She goes out of her way to encourage students to
enter and stay in tech-related disciplines. Newby volunteers with a
Northrop Grumman program that brings in high school students to spend
time with her at her worksite. “The road hasn’t always been easy for me.
I try to stay in what I call ‘give-back’ mode, using my experience to
help others.”
DAVID STEWARD
WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY
As an entrepreneur, David Steward started World
Wide Technology Inc. of St. Louis in 1990 with a shoestring budget and
seven employees in a 4,000 square foot office. In the beginning, the
outlook was not good for the distributor of computer hardware, software
and IT services to the federal government. Start-ups were failing at an
alarming rate and Steward had to personally sign to borrow the capital
he needed. He always made payroll, but there were some times when he
wasn’t able to pay himself.
Fast forward 16 years. Today, Steward is recognized
nationwide as one the country’s most powerful and influential
businessmen. In 2006, World Wide Technology posted annual sales of $2.1
billion, almost 2,500 times its first-year revenue. The company now
occupies 1.6 million square feet of state-of-the-art operating space in
30 locations nationwide. For four years running, Black Enterprise
magazine has named Steward’s company the top-grossing
African-American-owned business in the United States. It is also the
first minority-owned company to surpass the $2 billion sales mark since
Reginald Lewis’ TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc. did so in 1996.
Steward, World Wide Technology’s chairman, has a
bachelor’s degree in business management from Central Missouri State and
more than 20 years experience in the technology business. As one of
eight children growing up in a close-knit family in racially torn
Clinton, Mo., he attended segregated schools until age 10. The thought
of owning his own business “was a burning desire inside of me,” he said.
Although business is thriving, the deeply religious
Steward cites his faith and ability to follow the prosperity principles
outlined in the Bible as his blueprints for success. In one interview,
Steward said when he went into business solely to make money, nothing
went right. When he focused on service, he started to become financially
successful. Today, Steward shares his spiritual and prosperity beliefs
in his 2004 book. Doing Business by the Good Book: Fifty-two Lessons on
Success Straight from the Bible, co-written with Robert L. Shook. It
includes a forward by former President George H.W. Bush.
Steward, married 31 years and the father of two
adult children, contributes generously to various community and civic
programs and serves on numerous boards and committees in St. Louis and
nationwide. The St. Louis Variety Club’s 2006 “Man of the Year” is also
the first African American to be a member of Civic Progress of St. Louis
and the first black to serve as general campaign chairman of a St. Louis
United Way campaign.
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