By Garland L. Thompson
From the October/November 1997 issue of US Black Engineer and Information Technology magazine.

People of color often work in the background, driving research projects that become widely used products.

You cannot do high technology without people of color. African Americans, Latinas and other nonwhite specialists today work at the center of the American talent pool, stretching the envelope of achievement. Often, they work in the background, driving research projects that become widely used products. Their work affects everyone, even if few Americans have heard of them.

A few examples:

You may not have heard of Francine Bowden Essien, professor of biology at Rutgers University. But her study of embryonic animal cells should be of more than passing interest. Dr. Essien's research has helped modern medicine decipher the basic processes by which human muscle cells differentiate and how the spinal cord forms. Not only is that a major milestone in the crusade to prevent birth defects, it will have increasing importance in the drive to restore critically injured patients to full function.

Speaking of medical technology, major portions of the race to trace the human genetic map are being run by women of color. One such research leader is Dr. Paula K. Berry, laboratory director for Genzyme Genetics, Genetrix, Inc. Dr. Berry, an expert on the genetics of cancer and genetic susceptibility testing, has produced significant work on the assessment of damage by mutagens and carcinogens to DNA in white blood cells in humans. You may not know her, but her work may one day save your life.

Apple Computer Corp. is much in the news these days, and much of that news is bad. What's never questioned, however, is the excellence of Apple's technology, or the brilliance of the people who bring it out. One exciting development that opened an entirely new market was the Apple Newton, the first personal digital assistant. Donna M. Auguste led the software engineering team that created the first Newton products for Apple, before moving on to her own entrepreneurial venture, Freshwater Software Technologies. Hand- held computers are the rage these days, as more and more of America's business is managed by "road warriors" who do their homework on PDAs while riding on trains and planes and keep in touch with clients, sales prospects and the home office via portable phones, faxmodems and e-mail.

The work done by Alcoa's Dr. Gwendolyn Dixon eventually will save those road warriors a lot of money. Project manager for Alcoa's inquiry into the "crashworthiness" of auto parts, she is working to boost the safety, survivability and improved functioning of the motorcars which power so much of the American lifestyle.

In the cockpit, drivers may encounter the work of Gloria Lane, now manager of diversity programs at United Technologies Automotive. At Textron Automotive, she was lead design engineer for the dashboard of the 1992 Buick Skylark, one of a series of cars which won Buick laurels for quality and customer satisfaction. She worked with GM designers on the clay model, led the computer-aided design team that packaged the instrument panel, helped smooth the production process and worked on the shop floor to get the products built. "There was great satisfaction when the vehicle doors were able to close after installing the instrument panel," she says, and "much more personal satisfaction to see the vehicle driving down the highway...."

Demetris R. Henderson, senior chemist for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, has made significant contributions to printing. So significant, it affected the design and production of the new $100 dollar bill. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is....