The Scientist of the Year award represents a recognition of merit, broad effect on people in many disciplines, and value to society as a whole. Career Communications Group will present Dr. Whitlow with the Scientist of the Year award at the Minorities in Research Science Conference annual "Emerald Honors Gala," to be held September 15, 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland.

A rocket scientist and CEO of one of the largest federal information technology agencies, Dr. Whitlow’s career experience cuts across a variety of NASA programs. He has served as director of critical technologies in the office of aeronautics at NASA Headquarters, deputy director of aeronautics program group, chief of the structures division at NASA’s Langley Research Center, and director of research and technology at NASA Glenn where he returned as center director in 2005.

Under his leadership from September 2003 to December 2005, his workforce at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center was the primary group responsible for preparing the Space Shuttle system for its return to flight. As NASA Glenn’s director of research and technology, the center won more awards than all the NASA centers combined.

The first African American recipient of the PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, he joined the US space program in 1979 as a research scientist at Langley Research Center. He has written nearly 40 technical papers, most in the areas of unsteady transonic flow and aero elasticity.

Whitlow has received numerous awards, including the 1989 Black Engineer of the Year in Government award, NASA Exceptional Service Honor Medal (1992), National Technical Association Technical Achiever of the Year (1996), NASA Equal Opportunity Honor Medal (1996), and the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive (2003).

The editorial staff of Career Communications Group selects the Scientist of the Year annually with the advice of an independent panel of judges who represent a cross section of respected technical expertise within the research and development community.

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On September 15, 2007 twenty-three of the nation’s finest minority researchers and executive-level decision makers in science will share the spotlight at the annual "Emerald Honors Gala," at Minorities in Research Science Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

The 2007 Emerald Honorees are:

Career Communications Group reveals winners of 2007 Emerald Honors

Career Communications Group today revealed the winners of its 2007 Emerald Honors. The 2007 Emerald Honors recognize innovators who demonstrate excellence in science, engineering, or technology, leadership in their workplaces and communities, outstanding work as role models and mentors and commitment to recruiting and retaining minorities in the nation's science and technology enterprises.

In September, twenty-two of the nation’s finest minority researchers and executive-level decision makers in science will share the spotlight at the annual Minorities in Research Science Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

The 2007 Emerald Honorees are:

Scientist of the Year
Woodrow Whitlow Jr., Ph.D.
Center Director
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John H. Glenn Research Center

Career Achievement
Richard S. Christiansen
Deputy Director
NASA John H. Glenn Research Center

Julie Zoller
Technical and Program Director
Advanced Engineering & Sciences Division
ITT Corporation

Educational Leadership
Meredith K. Lane
Research Engineer
Kraft Foods - Global Technology and Quality
Natural Cheese/Snacking Brand Value
Kraft Foods

Community Outreach
Wanda Fields, Ph.D.
Senior R&D Toxicologist
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Most Promising Scientist
Wageesha Senaratne, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Corning, Inc.

Angela Sowers, Ph.D.
Environmental Protection Specialist
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Baltimore District

President's Award
Yanxi Tan Cain, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Analytical & Quality Sciences Division, Preclinical Development
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

Professional Achievement
Doris Browne, M.D., M.P.H.
Program Director
Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research Group
Division of Cancer Prevention
National Institutes of Health

Rear Admiral Adam M. Robinson, Jr., M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.S., F.A.S.C.R.S.
Chief, Navy Medical Corps
Commander, Navy Medicine National Capital Area Region
Commander, National Naval Medical Center

Research Leadership
Carlos Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Acting Deputy Division Chief,
Physical and Chemical Properties Division
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Shi Xia Feng, Ph.D.
Associate Principal Scientist
Phillip Morris

Jesus A. Gutierrez, Ph.D.
Research Advisor, Integrative Biology
Eli Lilly & Company

Senior Investigator
Phani K. Nukala, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Evon L. Crooks
Master Scientist
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Sharon X. Ling
Senior Engineer
Electronic System Group
Space Department
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Dean Williams
Acting Deputy Division Leader Energy
Environment and Biology Computing Applications
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Senior Technology Fellow
Kwasi Agyei-Aye, Ph.D.
Master Scientist
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Special Recognition Honorees

Talapady N. Bhat, Ph.D.
Project Leader, Bioinformatics
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Victor Man, Ph.D.
Corporate Scientist
Food and Beverage R&D
Ecolab, Inc.

Samuel McKenzie
Radiation Control/Environment Safety & Health Officer
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Li Li Wang, Ph.D.
Research Chemist
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Carlos R. Morrison
Physicist and Aerospace Engineer
NASA John H. Glenn Research Center