Claudia Pharis, Welcome

Welcome to the third Annual Benjamin Banneker Legacy Awards Gala! The first Gala in 2006 celebrated and acknowledged the history of Blacks in science. The second Gala examined the current condition of Blacks in science, and this year we look toward shaping the future with our theme, “Alignment, Accountability, and Leadership”.

There are over 500,000 African American science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals in the United States. Does that number surprise you? That’s 10,000 per state, 5,000 for each one of the 100 largest cities in the

US, and nearly 50 per school district. African American STEM Professionals are potentially a force to be reckoned with especially when you consider the fact thatwe are not evenly distributed over the entire country. In the communities where we reside, these densities are even more compelling. The work of the Banneker Institute going forward is to help the black science community realize that potential.

Last year we informed you that we were working on an initiative which, in collaboration with educators and science membership organizations, would position African Americans to assume responsibility for the challengeswe face as a people and as a nation in the area of STEM readiness. It is our belief that leading the nation in the development and implementation of strategies for addressing these matters will showcase Black talent, raise the profile of our people, and give our children something to aspire to that is worthy of them.

This initiative, dubbed “The Network of Networks”, was launched on June 3, 2008 at a Capitol Hill meeting convened by Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, President and CEO of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), and hosted by Congressman Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia. Congressman James

E. Clyburn, Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives, gave an inspiring keynote address, and Mr. David K. Owens, Executive Vice President of Edison Electric Institute served as moderator. The Network of Networks is one of the six programmatic elements of the Decade of Blacks in Science. The

community of interest coalesced and galvanized by the activities of the Banneker Institute is characterized by a strong collaborative spirit, and the purpose of the Network of Networks is to nurture, support and facilitate that spirit of collaboration.

Through the Network of Networks, Black science membership organizations will work with educators to increase the quality of science and math education available in educationally disadvantaged K-12 classrooms.

In addition, it will mobilize Black scientists to add their voices, their unique perspectives, and their creativity to the national conversation surrounding important science policy issues like national competitiveness, energy independence, and global warming. Black scientists will be engaged to provide expert testimony

at congressional hearings, TV and radio talk show appearances, BLOGS, articles, white papers, issue briefs, and to engage in other high profile, policy-oriented activities. We expect that these activities will enhance the stature of Black scientists while at the same time provide encouraging examples to young African Americans considering careers in science.

While it is true that many of our people are still struggling to make it, it is also true that many of us are not.

Those of us who are highly educated, highly skilled, and adequately resourced can ill afford to allow another generation of our children who still languish in those under-resourced classrooms around the country to waste away. One hour a week from those 500,000 STEM professionals is the equivalent of 12,500 additional, full time, exquisitely high level support for beleaguered science and math teachers who may have outdate skills, be in overcrowded classrooms, or be teaching out of their field.

We can do this. It is also imperative that we participate in the national conversation about education and science policy to address the longer term issue of equitable allocation of resources so that the opportunities of future generations will be secured as well. The Banneker Institute commits to acting as the catalyst for this mobilization.

Destination, the 21st Century. Engage!

Reginald Weaver, keynote speaker

Reg Weaver is the immediate past president of the National Education Association, the largest professional association and one of the most influential educator groups in the United States. A graduate of Danville High School in Illinois, he holds degrees from Illinois State University and Roosevelt University. He completed his second term as NEA president on August 31, 2008.

Reg Weaver, an outspoken advocate for public education and one of the country’s foremost African American labor leaders, was elected president of the 2.7 million-member National Education Association at NEA's 2002 Representative Assembly in Dallas, Texas. He took office as head of the nation’s largest professional employee organization on Sept. 1, 2002.

Weaver, a middle school science teacher from Harvey, Illinois, is a 30-year classroom veteran and native of Danville, Illinois. He was recently named to Danville High School's Wall of Fame. He rose through the NEA ranks, serving as a local Association president in Harvey, Illinois (1967-1971) and then president of the Illinois Education Association (1981-1987). Weaver served on the NEA Executive Committee from 1989-1995, and for six years he served as NEA vice president.

Reginald Weaver serves on the executive board of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and on the board of governors of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. He is also a member of the board of directors of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. He is listed in Who's Who in America, as well as in Who's Who in Black America. In August of 2008, Weaver was inducted into the ranks of The HistoryMakers.

A Illinois Governor Jim Thompson appointed Weaver to the Illinois Commission for the Improvement of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Illinois Project for School Reform Advisory Council, the Illinois Literacy Council, and the Task Force on At-Risk Youth. He also served on the Illinois State Board of Education's Blue Ribbon Committee on the Improvement of Teaching as a Profession, the Administrator's Academy, the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory Advisory Committee, and the Joint Committee on Minority Student Achievement. He has received many honors and awards, including the National Conference of Black Mayors President’s Award, the Ebony Magazine Influential Black Educators Award and the Illinois Education Association's Human Relations Award. He is an honorary life member of the National Parent Teachers Association.

Mr. Juan Williams, call to action

Carl Bernard Mack was born in Jackson, Miss., and is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. After moving to the Seattle area in 1987, Mack worked as an engineer with METRO – King County for 18 years and coordinated the county’s award-winning Minority Engineering Internship Program. In addition, he served as president of the Seattle Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 2003 to 2004.

During his first year as chief servant, the Seattle King County branch was recognized for its outstanding efforts with the 2004 Class 1-A Thalheimer Award – First Place, out of 1,800 branches in the NAACP. When presenting the Thalheimer Award to President Mack at the 91st anniversary celebration of the branch, Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP's National Board, stated that the Seattle King County Branch of the NAACP was “the best in the world.”

Mack also revitalized the branch’s Youth Chapter, which was recognized as one of the top three in the nation that year. His service led to an increase from 600 members to more than 2,000, as well as an increase in annual revenues from approximately $35,000 to more than $180,000. Although his time at the NAACP was brief, many longtime residents of the Greater Seattle area considered Mack “one of the most effective presidents in the 92-year history of the branch.”

A noted historian, author and speaker, Mack has been featured on television, on the radio and in newspapers around the country. He is also a playwright whose work won First Place for the Seattle Jack and Jill chapter at the organization's regional conference two of the three years he was involved. His dynamic and passionate lectures on Martin Luther King Jr. and Black history engage audiences of every age, gender, race and ethnicity. Mack has received numerous awards for his involvement in the community and his humanitarian efforts.

On March 1, 2005, he began a new chapter of his life as the fourth executive director of the largest student-managed organization in the world, the National Society of Black Engineers.

As executive director of NSBE, Mack is charged with growing the membership by more than 60 percent in his first year. Excited about this new challenge, he realizes that to be successful, NSBE must reverse the deterioration in achievement of African-American children in public education. It is that passion that fuels Mack’s efforts to truly leave no child behind. Mack resides in Fort Washington, Md., with his wife, Jamiyo, and son, Joshua.

Ms. Renee Poussaint, Mistress of Ceremonies

Renee Poussaint is the co-founder and chief executive officer of The National Visionary Leadership Project in Washington, DC. She is also a documentary filmmaker, awardwinning former television network journalist, and senior fellow at the University of Maryland's Academy of Leadership. In 2001, Ms. Poussaint joined forces with educator and producer, Dr. Camille Cosby, to create the National Visionary Leadership Project. The Project utilizes various educational media to record, preserve, and distribute the stories and wisdom of older generations of African Americans who have shaped American history with the goal of bringing the older and younger generations together to create a strong educational foundation for the young leaders of the future. Ms. Poussaint's extensive broadcast career included tenure as a network correspondent for both ABC and CBS News. Her work as a documentary filmmaker and broadcast journalist has appeared on the PBS, Discovery, A&E, and Lifetime networks. After leaving commercial broadcasting, Ms. Poussaint established the non-profit documentary production company, Wisdom Works, focusing primarily on social issues. The company's highly-acclaimed documentary, "Tutu and Franklin: A Journey Towards Peace," aired nationally on PBS in 2001. Ms. Poussaint is the recipient of three National Emmy Awards. In 2004, Ms. Poussaint co-edited with Dr. Cosby the popular book "A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak," consisting of excerpts from some of the videotaped elders' interviews. Ms. Poussaint has an M.A. in African studies from the University of California Los Angeles.

Evening Program

6:00 VIP RECEPTION, Senate Room
STUDENT SHOWCASE, Congressional Room

AWARDS CEREMONY

7:00 Ms. Claudia C. Pharis, Welcome
Vice Admiral Kevin M. McCoy, Underwriter Sponsor
Ms. Renee Poussaint, Mistress of Ceremonies

The Envelope Please . . .

Alignment, Accountability, and Leadership -- Introduction
Award presented by Vice Admiral Adam Robinson, Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, United States Navy Medical Corps

Alignment, Accountability, and Leadership – Global Warming
Award presented by Dr. Ahsha Tribble, Chief, Climate Services Division, NOAA National Weather Service

Alignment, Accountability, and Leadership – Energy Independence
Award Presented by Mr. David K. Owens, Executive Vice President, Edison Electric Institute

Alignment, Accountability, and Leadership – National Competitiveness
Award Presented by Mr. Gerald McElvy, President, ExxonMobil Foundation

8:30 Mr. Reginald Weaver, Former President, National Education Association, Keynote Address

Ms. Claudia C. Pharis, Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation

Mr. Carl Mack, Executive Director National Society of Black Engineers, Call to Action

Rev. Dr. Lewis Anthony. Senior, Pastor, Metropolitan Wesley AME Zion Church, Benediction

ADJOURN FOR DESSERT COCKTAIL JAZZ RECEPTION,
Congressional and Senate Rooms

Music by Jimmy Burrell

Invocation & Benediction Rev. Dr. Lewis Anthony

Pastor Anthony serves as the senior pastor of Washington’s his-toric Metropolitan Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Founded in 1832, the Metropolitan Wesley AME Zion Church served as a station on the famed “Underground Railroad,” and was the birthplace of the first public school for Washington’s African-American children. Pastor Anthony has a long and distinguished history of public ser-vice and advocacy, serving in the administrations of Washington, DC’s, first two elected Mayors, and as the director of the Con-gressional District Office of the District of Columbia’s first elected representative to the United States House of Representatives. On April 30, 2000, Rev. Dr. Anthony was inducted into the inaugural class of the Washington, DC, Hall of Fame, receiving the Legacy Award for Religion. He received degrees from Columbia and Harvard Universities. Pastor Anthony is a native of Washington, DC, and a graduate of Anacostia Senior High School.

Awards Presenters

Vice Admiral Adam M. Robinson

Vice Admiral Adam Robinson, a native of Louisville, Ky., is the Chief of the Navy Medical Corps. He entered the naval service in 1977 and holds a Doctor of Medicine from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, through the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program. Following completion of his surgical internship at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, he was commissioned.
Vice Adm. Robinson’s first assignment was as a General Medical Officer, Branch Medical Clinic, Fort Allen, Puerto Rico, before reporting to the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., in 1978 to complete a residency in General Surgery. His subsequent duty assignments included: Staff Surgeon, U.S. Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan, and Ship’s Surgeon, USS Midway (CV-41).

After completing a fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at Carle Foundation Hospital, University of Illinois School of Medicine (1984-85), Vice Adm. Robinson reported to the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, as the Head of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Division. While there, he was called to temporary duty in 1987 as Ship’s Surgeon in USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and in 1988 as Ship’s Surgeon in USS Coral Sea (CV-43).

Vice Adm. Robinson reported to Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va., in 1990 as the Head of the General Surgery Department and Director of General Surgery Residency Program. He was appointed Acting Medical Director for the facility in 1994. While at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Vice Adm. Robinson earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of South Florida. In 1995, Vice Adm. Robinson reported to the Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, as the Force Medical Officer serving in that capacity for two years. Following that assignment, he reported to Naval Hospital Jacksonville in 1997 as the Executive Officer. In January 1999, as Fleet Hospital Jacksonville Commanding Officer, Vice Adm. Robinson commanded a detachment of the fleet hospital as a medical contingent to Joint Task Force Haiti (Operation New Horizon/Uphold Democracy).

Dr. Ahsha Tribble

Dr. Tribble is the Chief of the Climate Services Division which is the lead organizational unit overseeing National Weather Service (NWS) climate services and prediction operations plans, policies, and procedures. It is the primary link to the public and the climate user community to identify and validate climate service needs, mitigate climate related disasters, and establish operational requirements for climate observations. She is also responsible for ensuring the 122 NWS field offices have the climate tools and information they need to serve the public on a regional and local basis.

Dr. Tribble was selected for the first Executive Officer position established at the NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida. The duties in this position ranged from strategic and scientific planning and budgeting to handling Congressional correspondence and liaising with NOAA and NWS Headquarters on matters regarding the NOAA hurricane program. She was also served as Co-Lead for the NOAA Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project.

Mr. David Owens

David K. Owens is Executive Vice President, Business Operations, at the Edison Electric Institute. Mr. Owens has responsibility over the strategic areas of energy supply and the environment, energy delivery, energy services, and international affairs. The group focuses on a broad range of issues that affect the future structure of the industry and new rules in evolving competitive markets. Previously, Mr. Owens served as EEI's Senior Vice President of Finance, Regulation, and Power Supply Policy, focusing on enhancement of industry representation on such issues as the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA), the Federal Power Act, cogeneration and independent power production, transmission access, and bulk power and transmission pricing, which affect the national interest. He also has responsibility for representing the industry in the areas of finance, ratemaking, regulation, accounting, and taxes. Mr. Owens holds a BS and Masters Degree from Howard University and a Masters in Engineering Administration from George Washington University.

Mr. Gerald McElvy

Gerald McElvy serves as both the Deputy Manager for Public Affairs for the ExxonMobil Corporation and as President of the ExxonMobil Foundation, the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation. The Corporation recently announced its support for the National Math and Science Initiative with a commitment of $125 million. The initiative is a non-profit entity, overseen by a board of eminent persons in the field of math and science education, created to raise funds to facilitate the national scale-up of programs that have demonstrated improvement in math and science education in the United States.

Lifetime Achievement Award Finalist

Dr. John B. Slaughter

A former director of the National Science Foundation, president of Occidental College in Los Angeles and chancellor at the University of Maryland, College Park, Dr. Slaughter has a long and distinguished background as a leader in the education, engineering and the scientific communities. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), where he has served on the Committee on Minorities in Engineering, chaired its Action Forum on Engineering Workforce Diversity, and is a current member of the NAE Council. Dr. Slaughter is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society. In 1993, he was named to the American Society for Engineering Education Hall of Fame, and in 2001 was named an Eminent Member of the Eta Kappa Nu Society, the honorary society of electrical engineering.

Dr. Slaughter began his professional career as an electronics engineer at General Dynamics prior to spending 15 years at the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory in San Diego where he rose to the position of department head for Information Technology. He has been director of the Applied Physics Laboratory and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington; academic vice president and provost at Washington State University; and most recently The Irving R. Melbo Professor of Leadership in Education at the University of Southern California. He has served as president and CEO of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering since August 2000.

He serves on the board of directors at Solutia, Inc. In February 2006, he was appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Dr. Slaughter earned a Ph.D. in engineering science from the University of California, San Diego; an M.S. in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Kansas State University. He holds honorary degrees from more than 25 institutions. Winner of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Award in 1997 and UCLA's Medal of Excellence in 1989, Dr. Slaughter was also honored with the first "U.S. Black Engineer of the Year" award in 1987 and the Arthur M. Bueche Award from the NAE in 2004.

Married to Dr. Ida Bernice Slaughter, an educational consultant and former school administrator, Dr. Slaughter has two children, a son, Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, Jr., DVM, and a daughter, Ms. Jacqueline Michelle Slaughter.

Dr. Demetrius D. Venable

Demetrius D. Venable is Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Howard University. He has been at Howard since 1995 and served as Chairman of Department from July 1, 1995 to June 30, 2007. He is the Director and Principal Investigator of the “Center for the Study of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Atmospheres” funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). From December1999 through June 2000 he also served as the Interim Associate Provost for Research at Howard University. Recently he has served or continues to serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on a wide variety of both scientific and educational sponsored research projects Dr. Venable is a native of Powhatan, VA. He attended undergraduate school at Virginia State University where he received the Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics (1970). He received both the Master of Science Degree (1972) and Doctor of Philosophy Degree (1974) in Physics from the American University in Washington, DC. Prior to coming to Howard, Dr. Venable held positions at IBM as a senior associate engineer, at Saint Paul’s College as an assistant professor of physics and director of the cooperative physics program and at Hampton University where he was professor of physics and held various administrative positions including department chairman, Dean of the Graduate College, Vice President for Research, and Executive Vice President and Provost.

Among Dr. Venable’s awards are the American Association of Physics Teacher’s Distinguished Service Citation for contributions to teaching in physics and NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal for contributions to research infrastructure building. This latter award is the highest award that NASA can make to a non-government employee.

Dr. Venable’s research specialty is in optical physics. He has been awarded funding for more than 40 projects and has numerous professional publications and presentations at professional meetings. His research has involved radiative transfer modeling and remote sensing techniques. His works have included effects of multiple scattering in marine environments, insolation and turbidity measurements, and remote sensing of the atmosphere. Most recently he has assisted in the development of the Howard University Beltsville Research Campus (BRC) with focus on predictability of weather and climate; hands-on experiences for students with instrumentation including operations, methodology, easurement capabilities, data handling/reduction, and error analysis; and weather and air quality monitoring. He is providing leadership in the development of the Raman Lidar Program at the BRC which involves collecting data to supplement radiation measurement instrumentation co-located at the laboratory as required by BRC Modeling Team and NOAA and NASA sponsors; and investing atmospheric dynamics with emphasis on water vapor mixing ratios in lower troposphere.

Dr. Sekazi Kauze Mtingwa

Sekazi Kauze Mtingwa graduated Phi Beta Kappa with B.S. degrees in physics and mathematics from MIT in 1971 and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in theoretical high energy physics from Princeton University in 1976. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Rochester, University of Maryland - College Park, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, where he was a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. Subsequently, he served in staff physicist positions at both Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory. At Fermilab, besides playing an important role in the discovery of the top quark, Mtingwa and James Bjorken developed the theory of intrabeam scattering, which sets the performance limitations on essentially all modern accelerators, including Europe’s Large Hadron Collider. Mtingwa has produced more than one hundred theoretical and experimental publications in many areas, including science and technology policy and accelerator, nuclear, elementary particle, and plasma physics.

During 1991-2004, Mtingwa was Professor of Physics at North Carolina A&T, where he served as Department Chair during 1991-1994 and founded its graduate program in physics. During 2001-2003, he was Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor of Physics at MIT and then served two years as Visiting Professor of Physics at Harvard University. Currently at MIT, he has redirected his career by becoming Faculty Director of Academic Programs in the Office of Minority Education. In this role, he serves more than two hundred students per year.

Mtingwa was one of the founders and principal author of the Strategy and Business Plan of the African Laser Centre (ALC), which is a South African-based nonprofit network of more than thirty laboratories throughout Africa that are engaged in laser-related research and training. He currently serves as the ALC Representative to the Americas. Mtingwa served from its inception in 1998 until 2008 on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee, where he played a crucial role in guiding the nation’s path forward on nuclear energy R&D. As a member of the American Physical Society’s Panel on Public Affairs, Mtingwa co-chaired a 2007 study on electricity storage technologies, which are crucial for enabling wind and solar energy. In 2008, he concluded chairing another study on U.S. nuclear workforce readiness to meet future nuclear challenges in such diverse areas as nuclear power, nuclear medicine, and homeland security. This study has been widely reported in the news media.

In 2007, Mtingwa received the Science Education Award and was the keynote speaker at the National Council of Ghanaian Associations’ March 10 Benefit Gala in New York City that celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence. The award was for outstanding contributions to science education in Ghana and among African peoples in general.

Youth Membership Organization Finalist

Maryland MESA was established in 1976 with just two schools in Baltimore City. Today, there are more than 100 participating schools from 11 regions throughout the state.

Maryland MESA is a structured, K-12, precollege program designed to prepare students for academic and professional careers in mathematics, engineering, science, and technology.The program's goals are to 1) increase the number of engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and related professionals at technical and management levels, and 2) serve as a driving force in encouraging and assisting minorities and females in achieving success in these fields. MESA continues to strive towards its vision of providing a superior education process that enables all Maryland students to achieve and contribute to their full potential. MESA accomplishes these goals by partnering with school systems, colleges and universities, industry and business, government, community organizations, families, and alumni. These partnerships provide enriching activities and programs for students inthe fields of mathematics, engineering, science, and technology.

Maryland MESA provides services and programs to over 2100 students and 180 teachers from the following geographical areas: Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Calvert County, Charles County, Harford County, Howard County, Prince George's County, Montgomery County, St. Mary's County, Talbot County, and Worcester County. More than 24,000 Maryland students have been served since the

National Association of Black Geologist and Geophysicists

The National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists (NABGG) is a nonprofit organization established in June of 1981 by a group of black geoscientists in the Houston/Dallas area. The NABGG was organized to: Inform students of career opportunities that exist in the field of Geosciences; Encourage them to take advantage of scholarship programs, grant, loans, and other forms of support that are established for minority students; Give financial support to students pursuing degrees in Geology and Geophysics; Follow the educational careers of the scholarship recipients; Aid minority students in the search for summer employment and aid corporate members interested in obtaining summer employees for positions that will enhance the students' background and marketability; Allow minority geologists and geophysicists to establish professional and inter-company relationships; Assist in the development of professional standard s and practices of members within their geoscience careers and entrepreneurial pursuits.

National Association of Mathematicians

The National Association of Mathematicians (NAM), a non-profit professional organization, has always had as its main objectives, the promotion of excellence in the mathematical sciences and the promotion of the mathematical development of underrepresented American minorities. It also aims to address the issue of the serious under-representation of minorities in the workforce of mathematical scientists. The organization achieves its goals by focusing on five areas:

Mathematics Education
Professional/Career Development
Scholarly Productivity
Student Development
Databases

Although the majority of NAM members consist of members of under-represented groups of American minorities, a significant number of members represent a cross-section of the mathematical sciences community. Membership is open to all.

National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers

An Ad Hoc Committee for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers was organized in April 1972. A formal organization dedicated to the professional advancement of Black chemists and chemical engineers was incorporated in 1975. Since 1974 the organization has held national meetings which provide a rare opportunity for Black chemists and chemical engineers to discuss issues of significance to their careers, to present technical papers, to formulate priorities and topics for future meetings. Practical and theoretical goals began to coalesce, and a national program was developed.

NOBCChE is committed to the discovery, transmittal, and application of knowledge in the fields of science and engineering. The mission of NOBCChE is to build an eminent community of scientists and engineers by increasing the number of minorities in these fields. NOBCChE achieves its mission through diverse programs designed to foster professional development and encourage students to pursue careers in science and technical fields. To this end, NOBCChE has established educational partnerships with school districts, municipalities, businesses, industries, other institutions and organizations in the public and private sectors.

National Society of Black Engineers

The National Society of Black Engineers, with its more than 30,000 members, is one of the largest student-managed organization in the country. NSBE's mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.

The National Society of Black Engineers, with its more than 30,000 members, is one of the largest student-managed organization in the country. NSBE's mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.

The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is dedicated to the academic and professional success of African-American engineering students and professionals. NSBE offers its members leadership training, professional development, mentoring opportunities, career placement services and more! NSBE is comprised of more than 300 collegiate, 75 professional and 75 pre-college chapters nationwide and overseas.

NSBE is governed by an executive board of college students and engineering professionals and is operated by a professional staff in our World Headquarters located in Alexandria, VA.

NSBE with its unique characteristics, has accomplished more for Black engineering students than any other organization in the world. The same light that NSBE spreads to students and professionals in the United States is also relevant in African, European, South American, Asian, Caribbean, Canadian, Australian and Pacific Islander countries for people of color. It is the NSBE leadership's vision that the organization will replicate itself in countries around the world, creating a world network of Black engineers, scientists and technologists through its international operations.

National Society of Black Physicists

Founded in 1977 at Morgan State University, the mission of the National Society of Black Physicists is to promote the professional well-being of African American physicists and physics students within society at large, and withinthe international scientific community.

The organization seeks to develop and support efforts to increase opportunities for African Americans in physics, and to increase their numbers and the visibility of their scientific work. It also seeks to develop activities and programs that highlight and enhance the benefits of the scientific contributions that African American physicists provide for the international community. The society seeks to raise the general knowledge and appreciation of physics in the African American community.

American Association of Blacks in Energy

The American Association of Blacks in Energy is a nationally recognized force in energy policymaking. Founded by a small group of black leaders in the energy industry that were not invited to participate in the 1977 White House energy policy session, AABE has since developed a national network of skilled energy professionals.  Today, the organization and its members stand together as an exceptional resource.  AABE members pursue active careers in the energy industry.  Members speak forcefully on urgent energy issues, and temper technical and managerial understanding of energy as a business with an equally practical grasp of the effects of government and industry decisions on the lives of blacks and other minorities.  Inportantly, AABE works to secure opportunities for technically talented young people by offering collegiate scholarships for the study of science, engineering, mathematics, and energy management at major universities.

The Decade of Blacks in Science

The Decade of Blacks in Science is a campaign to mobilize, co-ordinate and coalesce the human and material resource needed to solve the problem of the low level of participation by African Americans in STEM fields. It grew out of the Year of Blacks in Science declared by Catalyst in 2006, and is embarked upon in recognition of the amount of work required to bridge the gap between where we areand where we need to go the response of the Black Science Community ti this initiative has convinced us that we can move the needle on this important issue of national concern.

The Decade of Blacks in Science has six programmatic components:

• Opening *NSBE Jr. Chapters in the following ten targeted cities:

• Negotiating with school districts and science memberships organizations to implement the Science Classroom Enrichment initiation which incorporates teaching by real working scientists in K-12 curricula to enrich the quality of science resources available.
• Sponsoring biennial regional workshops to mobilize local campaigns and assist in the development of local outreach programs designed to draw local youth into math and science related activities.
• Holding annual strategy sessions with science membership organizations to keep the campaign on track and take advantage of emerging opportunities for greater progress.
• Promoting media campaigns designed to project to young African Americans the image of themselves in scientists.
• Hosting annual Awards Gala to recognize those making significant contributions to the Banneker Institute goal of increasing the number of African Americans involve in STEM fields.

To monitor progress, the Banneker Institute has constructed and populated a baseline of data on the status of African American in STEM fields. This database will be updated annually. Please visit the Banneker website at: www.thebannekerinstitute.org to viwe the database as of 2007 and also to learn how you can become a partner in pursuit of this important mission.

Corporate Sponsors

The Benjamin Banneker Institute for Science and Technology Advisory Committee