In the upcoming issue of US Black Engineer (USBE) magazine, Dr. Darryll J. Pines, seen on the cover, shares a remarkable story of how this Black aerospace engineer researcher rose to become the first president of the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland.

We also feature other leading educators, such as Dr. Gregory Washington (photo inset), a Black mechanical engineer who officially started his new job as president of the largest public research university in Virginia on July 1.

Stay tuned for the full list in the next issue of USBE.

Washington, a three-time graduate of the College of Engineering at North Carolina (NC) State University, was appointed the eighth president of George Mason University this spring. He joined George Mason on July 1.

Most recently, he served as the dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at University of California, Irvine. He earned bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from NC State and is currently a member of the NC State Engineering Foundation’s board of directors.

“I am honored to accept this position and thrilled to lead Mason at this exciting time,” Washington said earlier this year. “What attracted me to Mason was its reputation for having real impact, providing access, and for its commitment to inclusive excellence. Those values are in direct alignment with how I operate as an academic leader. I look forward to helping continue to accelerate the trajectory of the institution.”

In People and Events, we share more recent promotions, breaking news on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and major events happening in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community.

COVID-19 lock downs forced people across the globe to adapt to a new normal. In First Steps, scholars discuss how they are managing uncertainty and disruption.

In One on One, Career Communications Group’s Ashley Turner talks about how JobMatch can help you land internships and jobs during the pandemic and in a post-COVID-19 world.

Other departments like Corporate Life, Career Voices, and Career Outlook, look at business etiquette rules, training your brain to solve problems, quantum concepts, an overview of NOAA’s use of artificial intelligence, and everything you need to know about contact tracing.