National Society of Black Engineers Blog

The name Michael Lee-Chin may sound familiar to you, especially if have read the Forbes Billionaire list anytime between 2001 and today, where he has been featured every year. Yes, Mr. Lee-Chin is a billionaire.

Coming from humble beginnings and starting his career with a degree in engineering, Lee-Chin has made himself one of the most successful people in the world. He is the Chairman of AIC mutual funds and made much of his fortune through mutual funds.

Lee-Chin was born and raised in Jamaica, and earned his Bachelor's Degree in civil engineering at McMaster University in Canada in 1974. After a brief period working as an engineer in Jamaica, Lee-Chin returned to Canada where he would find his first job in the financial industry. Like many, his first opportunity did not just fall into his lap but he had to work hard and preserve to find his first opportunity. When he got that opportunity though, he took it and never looked back. Lee-Chin became very successful in the financial industry and in 1987 he purchased AIC Limited, a mutual fund company. Strategy has been key for his success in the financial industry. He operates with the same strategy as Warren Buffet: buy and hold. Strategic business ventures have also added to his success. Throughout his career he has founded or purchased many businesses throughout the world, especially in the Caribbean and Canada.

Never forgetting where he came from, Lee-Chin has been generous in his donations back to his home country of Jamaica. In 2008, he received the Order of Jamaica for his exemplary service in business and philanthropy. One example of his philanthropy is the $3.7 million dollar nursing school he built in Jamaica, which he named after his mother. There are many awards Lee-Chin has received for his philanthropy, but he has also received many awards for his success and leadership.

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The mission of NSBE is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

At 31 years old Shaundra Bryant Daily has already made an impact on the lives of young girls around the world. Born in Nashville, TN, Daily received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Florida State University (2001), a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Florida A&M (2003), S.M. in Media Arts & Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005), and Doctoral Degree from MIT working in the Affective Computing Group at MIT's Media Laboratory.

Daily research interests include Computational tools for creative and reflective learning, Engineering Education, Learning Sciences and Technology, Affective Computing.

Daily has received multiple honors including awards from NSBE such as NSBE Torchbearer and Chapter Member of the Year. She also served as National Achiever's Plus Chair in 2005-2006.

Shaundra B. Daily was born in 1979 in Nashville, Tennessee. but only lived there briefly before moving to Memphis. As a high school student in Birmingham she developed an interest in being an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation led her to major in electrical engineering at Florida State University. After graduating with honors, she received a master's in electrical engineering and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She is now a doctoral candidate at the MIT Media Laboratory working in the Affective Computing Group. This group seeks to give machines skills of emotional intelligence and to develop technologies to assist in the development of human emotional intelligence. Intergroup understanding spans groups comprising human diversity ranging from people of different gender, race, culture, ethnicity, age, economic class, and disability status. Drawing from ideas in social neuroscience, intergroup relations, and computer science, Shaundra's specific research endeavors focuses on the design and implementation of computational technologies that support in human beings the development of empathic capacities. Further, because empathy is rooted in emotional self-awareness, much of her research is in the development of technologies to foster internal reflection on feelings.

Her main interests include interfaces that support affective (that is, emotional) development and technologically supported reflective practice. Shaundra enjoys working with kids using technology, tutoring, and dance; however, she's most proud of being mother to Layla.

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The mission of NSBE is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

Before I go into the history of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), I would like to highlight an upcoming historic event for NSBE. NSBE is hosting its first convention outside of the United States. The 36th Annual Convention of NSBE is taking place March 31 - April 4, 2010 in Toronto, Canada. This will be the largest Black professional convention ever held in Canada, and in 2012 the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) will follow suit and hold their annual convention in Canada. "Engineering a Global Impact," the theme of this year's NSBE convention will surely do that. Leading the Technical Professional Conference, 2-Day Career Fair, an expo of technical research, technology, and businesses, a series of workshop tracks, and a list of dynamic speakers with powerful names in the STEM, business, and education communities, will be a unforgettable opening session that will include a performance from dancers who reflect the culture of African descendants from all over the world. For more information on NSBE's Annual Convention please visit http://convention.nsbe.org, http://twitter.com/nsbe2010, or http://facebook.com/nsbe2010.

NSBE's History

In 1971, two Purdue undergraduate students, Edward Barnette (now deceased) and Fred Cooper approached the dean of engineering at Purdue University with the concept of starting the Black Society of Engineers (BSE). They wanted to establish a student organization to help improve the recruitment and retention of black engineering students. In the late 1960's, a devastating 80 percent of the black freshmen entering the engineering program dropped out. The dean agreed to the idea and assigned the only black faculty member on staff, Arthur J. Bond, as advisor.

Barnett served as the first president of the BSE. The fledging group gained momentum in 1974, with the direction and encouragement of Bond and the active participation of the young men whose destiny was to become the founders of NSBE. Now known as the "Chicago Six", these men are Anthony Harris, Brian Harris, Stanley L. Kirtley, John W. Logan, Jr., Edward A. Coleman, and George A. Smith.

Encouraged by their on-campus success, Anthony Harris, president of the Purdue chapter, wrote a letter to the presidents and deans of every accredited engineering program in the country (288), explained the Society of Black Engineers (SBE) concept and asked them to identify black student leaders, organizations and faculty members who might support their efforts on a national basis. Approximately 80 schools responded. Many had similar Black student organizations with similar objectives. A date was set for the first national meeting and 48 students representing 32 schools attended the event, held April 10-12, 1975. Harris also changed the organizations' nomenclature from the BSE to the Society of Black Engineers (SBE).

It was at that historic meeting through majority vote, that SBE became the National Society of Black Engineers. The familiar NSBE symbol "N" with lightning bolts was chosen and it remains a distinctively recognizable symbol representing the premier technical organization for African American engineering students and professionals. NSBE was eventually incorporated in Texas, in 1976 as 501©3 non-profit organization. John Cason, also of Purdue, served as the first elected president of NSBE. As the organization grew, Virginia Booth became the first female National Chairperson and the first to serve two terms 1978-1980.

The torch symbolizes members' everlasting, burning desire to achieve success in a competitive society and positively affect the quality of life for all people. The lightening bolt represents the striking impact that will be felt by the society and industry due to the contributions and accomplishments made by the dedicated members of the National Society of Black Engineers.

NSBE has since grown from six to over 33,000 members and the annual meeting has blossomed into the Annual National Convention, hosting over 8,000 attendees. NSBE has 99 active NSBE Jr. pre-college, 450 student and 68 alumni/technical professional chapters. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., NSBE offers academic excellence programs, scholarships, leadership training, professional development and access to career opportunities for thousands of members annually. With over 2000 elected leadership positions, 18 regional conferences and an annual convention, NSBE provides opportunities for success that remain unmatched by any other organization.

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The mission of NSBE is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

Currently serving as the Administrator of NASA, Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., also known as General Bolden, is a model example of how high one can climb with determination and dedication to their work and being a good leader. A graduate of the prestigious United States Naval Academy (USNA) with a degree in electrical science, Bolden understood early in his career that anything worth having in life is not easy.

Upon his graduation from USNA, Bolden started his military career in the United States Marine Corps as a second lieutenant. In the Marines, his career took to the sky, literally. Bolden successfully became a naval aviator and completed several flight missions over Southeast Asia.

Though he already received quite an education at USNA and during his time of service in the military, Bolden returned to school in 1977, attending the University of Southern California for a Masters of Science in systems engineering.

In 1981, his career would go to new heights when he became a NASA astronaut after being selected as an astronaut candidate the year before. Since then he has spent about 680 hours in space and has tackled many assignments such as Assistant Deputy Administrator of NASA Headquarters, Reliability and Quality Assurance Directorates of the Marshall Space Flight Center and the Kennedy Space Center, and Lead Astronaut for Vehicle Test and Checkout at the Kennedy Space Center to name a fraction. Understanding the importance of giving back, in 1994 Bolden left NASA to be the Deputy Commandment of Midshipmen at USNA, resuming active duty in the Marines to help train some of the United States' brightest leaders.

Following his time at USNA as Deputy Commandment of Midshipmen, he served as Commanding General in multiple military operations. These operations combined with his previous achievements and successes, he was promoted to the rank of Major General in July 1998; a rank well earned.

Leaving a legacy of achievements and leadership behind him for future generations in the military, Bolden retired from the military in 2004. On July 15, 2009, the United States Senate confirmed Charles F. Bolden, Jr. as NASA Administrator; position in which Bolden is the first African American to hold on a permanent basis.

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The mission of NSBE is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

Dr. Aprille Ericsson was the first female (and the first African-American female) to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University and the first African-American female to receive a Ph.D. in Engineering at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She is originally from Bedford Styvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. She was he oldest of four daughters. Dr Ericsson found her aptitude in math and science when she started attending Marine Park JHS. She also graduated from Cambridge School of Weston with honors, and she was always active in sports and other extra-curricular activities. Her interest in Aerospace was stroke when she had the opportunity to visit an Air force base in New Hampshire through the MITE (formally known as UNITE) program. She later earned a bachelors' in Aeronautical / Astronautical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At Howard University, Dr. Ericsson's study was funded by NASA GSFC COOP, HU Terminal Dissertation Year, and NASA Center for Studies of Terrestrial & Extra Terrestrial Atmospheres, Wright Patterson Air Force Laboratories and Dorothy Danford Compton Dissertation, NASA DC Space Grant Consortium, Patricia Roberts Harris, and Pacific Telesis Foundation. Dr. Ericsson's job at NASA as an engineer has given her opportunity to work on many projects, including the Microwave Anisotropy Probe, the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission, the James Webb Space Telescope, and in the Integrated Mission Design Center. Currently she is the instrument manager for a proposed mission to bring dust from the Martian lower atmosphere back to Earth.

Dr. Ericsson has won many awards, including the 1997 "Women in Science and Engineering" award for the best female engineer in the federal government, and has been profiled by NBC Nightly News, Essence Magazine, and other media outlets During her research at Howard University, she got the chance to travel and compete. She won in almost all of them including the "6th International Space Conference for Pacific-Basin Societies" were she won first place for the Ph.D. student competition. She was acknowledged by the National Technical Association, for being amongst the Top 50 minority women in Science and Engineering, received a Special Recognition Award at the Black Engineers Award Conference. She has also received four NASA awards, they are: 1998-NASA Goddard Honor Award for Excellence in Outreach, 1998- Center of Excellence Award for the TRMM Project, 1999-Customer Service Excellence Award for MAP Flight Software, and 2002- NASA Exceptional Achievement Award for Her Outreach efforts.

Dr. Ericson received the "1999 Federal Career Award" from The Federal Executive Board of Excellence of Maryland, a "Topp's Africa-Centered Award" from Bowie State University, and a "Centurion of Technology Award" at the Women's of Color Technology Awards Conference. In February of 2000, she received a "Giant in Science Award" from The Quality Education for Minorities Network: Mathematics, Science and Engineering and a NASA Customer Service Excellence Award for MAP Flight Software. April 1, 2001, she got an award from the Marketing, Opportunities in Business & Entertainment Conference for being an Innovator in Internet Technology. In December of 2001, she was warded an honorary Doctor of Science from Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY. In 2002, she got the Howard University College of Engineering, Architecture, & Computer Science Alumni Excellence Award and several NASA Awards; one was for Exceptional Achievement in Outreach.

Her interests of minorities and females in the math, science and engineering disciplines encouraged her to join the NASA GSFC Speakers Bureau and the Women of NASA Group. She currently teaches at Howard University at the collegiate and middle school level and is a member of their Board of Trustees. According to Dr. Ericsson, "without diversity in all fields the United States will not remain technically competitive."

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The mission of NSBE is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.