February 15 – 17, 2007 marks the 21st anniversary of the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference. Joining this year’s list of accomplished engineering and technology inductees is 2007’s top honoree, IBM’s Vice President, Development, Rodney Adkins, named the Black Engineer of the Year for 2007.

Other award categories recognize individuals who have achieved exceptional career gains in government and industry, in lifetime achievement, and in pioneering feats. Outstanding Black Engineer of the Year Awards Alumni and the most promising students will also receive recognition, to name just a few.

During his time as IBM Vice President Development, he has produced technologies and products including processors for Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox, IBM BlueGene and IBM pSeries - the world's fastest super computers, high performance UNIX systems, industry leading Blade Center systems, and brought to operation one of the first state-of-the-art 300mm silicon processing facilities.

His peers credit him with having the biggest development job in industry, and for being a blend of leader, tech guru, and caring people manager. In 2005, Rod Adkins made nearly 50 site visits, meeting with employees individually, as well as in larger group settings. He is an official mentor to 44 employees, and unofficially mentors hundreds of others.

The Black Engineer of the Year Award rewards excellence in development and delivery of technology. USBE & IT magazine applauds the efforts of Rod Adkins and is proud to recognize his achievements

A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, former naval commander Joyce Dawkins receives special recognition for her community service and her decorated tenure in government service. Co-workers and colleagues who know her speak not only of her volunteerism at a juvenile detention center, and contribution as a Washington National Youth Leadership Form panel member, but also of her unsung, everyday acts of service to co-workers and colleagues. Recently, she took up appointment as manager and planning consultant for Electronic Data Systems Corporation’s (EDS) Defense Logistics Agency.  

Special recognition winner Robert K. Auten has spent 29 years with Northrop Grumman Corporation. He currently serves as deputy manager in avionics and guidance, navigation and control.  In this capacity, he manages a battery of engineers that contribute to projects such as NASA spacecraft development.  Known within Northrop for adept management, he is recognized for his ability to manage high-dollar, cutting-edge projects that involve synthesizing a diverse pool of interests.  He also extends his talents to California State University at Long Beach, where he teaches fundamental skills to aspiring engineers. 

Recognition of Jarrell T. Hutton’s potential for leadership and professional success contributed to his receipt of a special recognition award.  Freshly minted with a B.S. in computer engineering, and concurrently participating in a M.S. program in information assurance, he has made tremendous gains in his fledgling career. In his capacity as a computer engineer at Lockheed Martin, he has already been honored with awards within the company for his stellar work on critical projects. He also gained admission to Lockheed’s selective Engineering Leadership Development Program.  Further, his consistent participation in extracurricular activities that focus on improving his work and greater community environments, such as recruiting and donation drives, indicates that his broad talents and interests will secure a bright future.

Approximately three years ago, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) propulsion and power engineer Lashun Booth commenced his professional career armed with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and more than a decade in the U.S. Navy.  While in the Navy, he acquired extensive knowledge of nuclear power, and became vested with performing critical functions involving the efficacy and safety of nuclear -power harvesting activities.  His knowledge also prepared him for a series of responsibilities within the Navy, which included both classroom instruction, and procedure writing and documentation.  He used these opportunities to galvanize innovation within his field, and has come to be regarded as an expert within his industry.  Consistent with his background in shaping minds, he also serves as a college recruiter, a youth guidance counselor, and a minister at a local rescue mission.  

U.S. Naval Commander Richard R. Bryant holds ultimate responsibility for a nuclear-powered warship.  Bryant’s vessel is one of the most advanced submarines in the world, and, as such, demands a commander with a unique matrix of engineering knowledge to ensure successful navigation and safety.  Bryant gained the expertise to manage such a ship from the U.S. Naval Academy, and further training in several naval nuclear training programs.  In addition, he has acted as a United States diplomat, a role he assumes when required to work with foreign governments and representatives.  The Commander has earned two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Achievement Medals, and six Navy commendations.  Further, he had also received recognition for his mentoring and role modeling efforts. 

General Motors Corporation (GM) Lead Engineer Renee Arrington-Johnson manages engineers working on indirect labor tracking in quality and manufacturing support.  In her 25 years with GM, she has also pursued a number of commitments aimed at ensuring the integrity of GM’s products, the well being of GM’s employees, and a vibrant and diverse future work force for the company.  She co-chairs GM’s People with Disabilities Affinity Group, which endeavors to educate company members and the public about people with disabilities.  The group’s efforts result in GM products that are more accommodating to the disabled.  Her attempts at embracing diversity are also evident in her work in GM’s Affinity Group for Women, GM’s African Ancestry Network, and GM’s mentor program. 

At the tender age of 32, Paul Engola became one of Lockheed Martin Corporation’s youngest directors of business development for civil space.  This position put hundreds of millions of dollars and sensitive national-security projects under his auspices.  An aeronautics and astronautics B.S. from MIT, crowned with a Georgia Tech aerospace engineering M.S. and a Stanford M.B.A. make him an intellectual powerhouse.  His love for education is also evident in his efforts to share it with others.  As well as in-house mentoring, he also participates in Junior Achievement, and serves as a coach and seminar leader for Girls Exploring Science, a group dedicated to exposing adolescent girls to engineering and technology.   

For his business success, Melvin Fulton receives this year’s Professional Achievement Award.  As a Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton, he applied his talents to under-girding a 100 percent increase in the Federal IT market. He also helps provide the infrastructure for mentoring junior staff and future engineers. He views his professional success as carrying an incumbent duty to reinvest those gains in the community.  Recently, a Virginia based church presented him with an award for his unremitting involvement with guiding young, black men.   

Author Aldous Huxley once wrote, “One must care about a world one will not see.”  Honoring future leaders like Jeremy Harrison with special recognition awards is one way USBE&IT shows care for the future.  A magna cum laude North Carolina A&T State University mechanical engineering graduate, he currently works as an architecture integration engineer at Lockheed Martin Corporation.  His position has brought him face-to-face with contemporary issues such as terrorism, as he works to maintain the integrity of aircraft components and military vehicles.  His personal philosophy is that “the most valuable natural resource is children,” and accordingly he participates in several science-based programs targeting K-12 children. He also returns to his alma mater as part of the Lockheed Martin Diversity Relations Recruiting Team regularly to encourage students.   

Dorothy R. Williams of The Boeing Company synthesizes math and computer science with the business world.  In her capacity as a software engineering tools manager, she has employed her M.B.A. to enhance the resonance of the technology her company produces. She has also extended this expertise to her personal life by founding her own doll and accessory company.  Her personal mission is to scuttle negative perceptions about the value and accessibility of math-and-science-based careers.  Through her participation in the Delta Academy, Junior Achievement, and Women of Tomorrow, she hopes to ensure that African-American females will have a strong presence in industry’s future, and for these accomplishments Ms. Williams deserves special recognition.

Booz Allen Hamilton associate Pauline C.E. Bennett is deserving of special recognition for her personal and professional achievements, which continue to proliferate every year. Her fleet of publications and wideband satellite technology patent make her a rising expert in her field. She invests extensively in every community in which she is.  At work, she provides leadership and service for her company’s activities, such as toy drives and middle school mentoring.  In her broader community, she teaches Sunday school, has founded a local chorale group, and acts as a district commissioner for a local Boy Scouts of America troupe.  
 
 
Johnny A. Martin, a retired United States Air Force officer, assumed his position as Booz Allen Hamilton program manager for a systems engineering contract after decades of technical leadership in national security projects.  His primary function is working with international clients to develop communication satellites efficiently and effectively.  He maintains an active role in his church, and in the lives of youths attending local schools. 
 
 

 
Valerian Mayega receives special recognition this year based on the encouragement of many, including those working with him at Texas Instruments Inc.  There, he puts his Columbia University degrees, a Bachelor of Science degree inn electrical engineering, and a microelectronics M.S.E.E., to good use as a senior design engineer responsible for designing components in printers, digital cameras, and battery chargers.  Steadily rising up his career ladder, he has accrued a multitude of publications and several patents during his tenure at the company. 
 
 

Aeronautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC) senior principal engineer W. Earl Nicks receives special recognition this year for his dedication to enriching research and development engineering in government, industry, and his community.  Having overcome the educational challenges in a segregated Alabama, he went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering.  He lent his technical skill and knowledge to the U.S. Air Force for 23 years before retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel.  During his government service, his crowning achievement was his participation as a lead engineer in the Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) radar development, which became the first target detection system of its kind and maintains vital importance in today’s defense maneuvers.  He also contributed to projects involving nuclear weapons, helicopter and aircraft management, and accident investigation. Nicks is credited with introducing some of the first uses of artificial intelligence in these areas.  In ARINC's Industry Activities Division, he works on problems facing commercial airlines, from navigation equipment to in-flight entertainment equipment. His innovations in the airline industry—which often result in millions of saved dollars—have already earned him the Airline Avionics Institute’s prestigious Volare Award.  In addition to his intellectual pursuits, he has dedicated himself to the administrative board of his church, as a chairman; the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., as an officer; and several scholarship funds, as a selection committee member or administrator.

Colonel L. Wendell Taylor has received many awards in his 24-year career in the military, so the special recognition award he receives this year will join several meritorious service awards, joint service commendations, and national defense service medals—just to name a handful. Colonel Taylor currently serves as the army assistant to the director/program manager at the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Economic Adjustment.  There, the colonel puts his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and his master’s degree in general administration to work in base redevelopment and work force adjustment strategies.  In other words, the colonel’s craft is problem solving, and he has oversight of the community impact associated with his department’s base realignment and closure (BRAC) initiative.  In this role and those he previously held, the colonel had to successfully negotiate with the tangle that often results when military matters intersect with neighborhood dynamics, human resources, disaster relief, real estate, economics, public works, land use, and law.  As a testament to his talents and skill, the colonel’s own Virginia homeowners’ association has recruited him to their own government and business relations committee in hopes that he will have the same level of success there as he has had with state governors and the U.S. Congress.

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