1. Minority Engineers and Inventors

2. Juan De la Cierva (Sept. 21, 1895 – Dec. 9, 1936)
Spanish Civil Engineer
Known for his invention of the Autogyro
His invention was later utilized in the development of the helicopter

3. Mario Molina (March 9, 1943 – Present)
Holds a doctoral degree in Chemistry
Awarded the Nobel Price in 1995 for Chemistry
Awarded for his earlier work his work on explaining the role of CFC’s and the depletion of the ozone layer
First and only Mexican to receive the Nobel Prize for Chemistry

4. Ellen Ochoa (May 10, 1959 – Present)
Doctorate in Electrical Engineering
First U.S. Hispanic women in space
Spent 40d 19h 37m in space
Co-inventor on three patents
Optical inspection system
Optical object recognition method
Method for removing noise from images

5. Luis Walter Alvarez (June 13, 1911 – Sept. 1, 1988)
Doctorate of Physics
Worked on the Manhattan Project
Received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1968
Invented the synchrotron
Invented a system to help planes land safely in low visibility conditions
With his son, proposed the asteroid-impact theory which explains the extinction of the dinosaurs
Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1978

6. Severo Ochoa (Sept. 24, 1905 – Nov. 1, 1993)
Spanish-American Biologist
New York University School of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Professor of Pharmacology
Professor of Biochemistry
Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry
Received the 1959 Nobel Prize in Psychology or Medicine for work on synthesis of RNA
Recipient of the U.S. Medal of Science in 1959

7. Mae Jemison MD (Oct. 17, 1956 – Present)
Chemical engineer, scientist, physician, teacher and astronaut
B.S. in Chemical Engineering and doctorate in Medicine
First African American female to go into space
Spent 190 h 30 min 23 s in space
Founded The Jemison Group, Inc. which develops technologies to benefit the developing world

8. Sarah Goode ( ?)
First African American women to be granted a patent
Invented the cabinet bed which is also the first “hide-away” bed
A bed that folded up and could be used as a cabinet or a desk
Started a furniture store in New York City

9. Madame C. J. Walker (Dec. 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919)
Founded the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company
The Company sells hair care and cosmetics
It became the largest business owned by an African American in the United States
She also became America’s first self-made women millionaire
Prominent women’s and African American’s rights activist

10. Shirley Ann Jackson (Aug. 5, 1946 – Present)
Holds a doctorate in Physics
First African-American woman to earn a doctorate degree from MIT
Appointed Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (first African American Women to be appointed this position)
Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998
Jackson became and is currently the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

11. Katherine G. Johnson (Aug. 26, 1918 – Present)
Holds degrees in French and Mathematics
Began working for NASA and was transferred to the flight research program
Helped plot the navigational paths for both manned and unmanned missions
John Glenn’s first flight into space
Neil Armstrong’s landing and moon walk
Earth Resources Satellite
Recipient of the Group Achievement Award, NASA's Lunar Spacecraft and Operations
Honorary Doctor of Laws from the State University of New York

12. Archibald Alexander (1888 - 1958)
Degree in Civil Engineering
Formed a general contracting firm responsible for….
The heating plant and power station for the University of Iowa
A sewage treatment plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan
An airfield in Tuskegee, Alabama
Tidal Basin Bridge in Washington, D.C
K Street Freeway
Appointed first Republican Territorial Governor of the Virgin Islands by President Eisenhower

13. David Crosthwait, Jr. (May 27, 1989 – 1976)
Holds a Masters of Engineering
Considered an authority on heat transfer, ventilation and air conditioning
Received 39 patents relating to heating, ventilation, refrigeration, and air conditioning systems
Responsible for designing the heating system for Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller center in New York City
Granted an honorary doctoral degree from Purdue University

14. Meredith C. Gourdine (Sept. 26, 1929 – Nov. 20, 1998)
Doctorate in Engineering Science
Pioneered the research of electrogasdynamics
Established Gourdine Laboratories, a multi-million dollar research laboratory
Responsible for term “Incineraid:” aiding in the removal of smoke from buildings
successfully converted natural gas to electricity for everyday use
Holds More than 70 patents for his various inventions

15. Luis Howard Latimer (Sept. 4, 1848 – 1928)
Served in the Civil War
Three patented inventions
Better light filament manufactures
New support for arc lights
Better way to attach the bulb filament to the wires
Unpatented inventions include improved designs for almost all equipment and steps involved in the lampmaking process
Better oven to bake the filaments
Glassblowing equipment
Better light socket and switch
Founding member of the Edison Pioneers

16. Frederick McDonald Massiah (December 12, 1886 - July 7, 1975)
Degree in Civil Engineering
Established a construction business
Among the first successful Black contracting engineers in the country
Accomplishments
Elliptical dome of the Ascension of Our Lord Church
William Donner X-Ray Laboratory
Sewage disposal plant in Trenton, New Jersey
Ahead of his time in his use of reinforcing for concrete
Awarded the Harmon Foundation Medal for Engineering

17. Caldwell McCoy (June 27, 1933 – Nov. 19, 1990)
June 27, 1933 – November 19, 1990
Doctor of Science degree in Telecommunications
Awarded the Laboratory's Thomas Edison Fellowship in 1968
Director of the Information Systems Program at NASA
As program manager for the National Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Network
Elected to become a member of the Senior Executive Service, the highest rank to be achieved by a civil service employee

18. Elijah McCoy (May 2, 1843 – October 10, 1929)
Studied Engineering in Scotland
Invented an automatic lubricator for oiling the steam engines of locomotives, boats, ect.
Held 57 patents mostly related to lubrication, but also including a folding ironing board and a lawn sprinkler
Formed the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company

19. Garret A. Morgan (March 4, 1877 – July 27, 1963)
Invented a hair straightening liquid while trying to improve sewing machines
Invented the “breathing device” which was later known as the gas mask
Patented the automatic traffic light
Started a newspaper called the Cleveland Call

20. Percy A. Pierre (January 3, 1939 – Present)
Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering
Dean of the School of Engineering at Howard University (1971 to 1977)
Assistant Secretary for Research, Development, and Regulation for the U.S. Department of the Army ( )
President of Prairie View A&M University ( )
Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, MSU ( )
Currently a full-time Professor of Electrical Engineering at MSU

21. John B. Slaughter (1934 - Present)
Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences
Director of the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington (1975)
Appointed Assistant Director for Astronomics, Atmospherics, Earth and Ocean Sciences at the NSF (1977)
Chancellor of the University of Maryland ( )
President of Occidental College in Los Angeles ( )
President and CEO of The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc

22. Virgil Trice (February 3, 1926 – Oct. 31, 1997)
Master of Science in Industrial Engineering
Chemical engineer at the Argonne National Laboratory ( )
Nuclear waste management engineer for the Energy Research and Development Administration ( )
Senior program analyst for the U.S. Department of Energy (1977 – 1981)
Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy ( )
Until his death he focused his work on Nuclear Waste Management

23. O. S. (Ozzie) Williams (Sept. 2, 1921 – Oct. 31, 1997)
M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering
First African American hired by Republic Aviation
Group project engineer for Greer Hydraulics, Inc. ( )
Worked for Grumman International,
Helped develop and produce the guidance systems for NASA’s Apollo Space Program
Became vice president in charge of trade and industrial relations with emerging African nations
Traveled to West African in 1973 to establish Grumman’s African headquarters

24. George Washington Carver (July 12, 1864 – Jan. 5, 1943)
Masters of Science in Agricultural Science
Directed the department of agriculture at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (1896)
As a result of exhaustion of Southern Farms
Developed 300 derivative products from peanuts
Developed 118 from sweet potatoes
This improved demand so farmers could get nitrogen back into the soil and sell the crop because of increased demand
Donated his life savings to the establishment of the Carver Research Foundation
Produced dyes of 500 different shades during WW2 to replace textile dyes formerly purchased from Europe

25. Santiago Ramón y Cajal (May 1, 1852 – Oct. 17, 1934)
Spanish histologist, physician and Nobel laureate
Obtained the degree of Doctor of Medicine
Director of the Zaragoza Museum (1879)
University Professor at Valencia (1881)
Director of the National Institute of Hygiene (1899)
Put forth many theories on neurons and electrical synapses
Shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906
Founder of the Laboratorio de Investigaciones Biológicas (1922)
Later named Instituto Cajal
Published more than 100 articles in French and Spanish scientific periodicals

26. Carlos Finlay (Dec. 3, 1833 – Aug. 20, 1915)
Degree in Medicine
Opened a medical practice in Havana, Cuba
Developed theories on weather conditions and yellow fever
Was the first to theorize that the mosquito was a carrier of yellow fever
This discovery helped in the construction of the Panama Canal
Chief health officer of Cuba ( )
A monument called El Obelisco was built in Havana in the shape of a syringe to honor Dr. Finlay

27. Baruj Benacerraf (Oct. 29, 1920 – Present)
Venezuelan-American Immunologist
Doctor of Medecine
Researcher at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1948–50)
Research in Paris (1950–1956)
New York University (1956–68)
National Institutes of Health (1968–70)
Harvard University (1970–91)
Shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Discovery of the immune response genes that are responsible for transplant rejection
Received the National Medal of Science (1990)

28. Granville T. Woods (April 23, 1856 – Jan. 30, 1910)
1887, he patented devices for wireless induction telegraphy
1889, he filed his first patent for an improved steam-boiler furnace
Patented an apparatus which was a combination of a telephone and a telegrap called a “telegraphony” (1850)
Developed the concept of a third raid for trains which is used today in the subway
Developed a safe and inexpensive dimmer switch for theaters

29. Dr. Patricia E. Bath (Nov. 4, 1942 – Present)
Medical Doctorate
First African-American woman surgeon at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center.
First woman faculty member of the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute
First African-American woman to receive a patent for a medical invention
She developed a laser device to remove cataracts - “Laserphaco Probe” (1988)
First woman program director of a postgraduate training program in the United States
Also the first woman chair of an ophthalmology department (1983 to 1986)
founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness and serves as the organization's president

30. Otis Boykin (Aug. 20, 1920 – 1982)
Attended Fisk University and Illinois Institute of Technology ( )
Developed a type of resistor used in computers, radios, television sets, and a variety of electronic devices
Responsible for inventing the electrical device used in
Guided missiles,
IBM computers,
Also 26 other electronic devices
His resistor designs reduced the cost of producing electronic controls for radio and television, for both military and commercial applications

31. Jan Ernst Matzeliger (Sept. 15, 1852 – Aug. 24, 1889)
Invented a shoe-lasting machine and patented his invention in 1883
Before the invention, shoes were produced in a factory at a rate of pairs a day
Using the invention, shoe production increased to between 150 to 700 pairs of shoes a day
In addition to production, As a result of this invention shoe prices were cut in half across the nation
This invention laid the foundation of the shoe industry in the United States and made Lynn, Massachusetts the shoe capital of the world

32. References www.nobelprize.org www.aaregistry.com www.sce.com