Honors for Black Engineers

A 2011 NAVAIR award winner, Kerry Nichols, receives his award at last year's Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference.

Eighteen NAVAIR employees will be recognized at the 26th National Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference, also known as the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference, in Philadelphia Feb. 16-18, 2012.

NAVAIR’s two BEYA Special Recognition Award winners for 2012 are Kami Carter (Jacksonville, Fla.) for most promising engineer and Ben Thompson (Cherry Point, N.C.) for outstanding technical contribution. Carter and Thompson will receive their awards at the historically black college and university engineering deans’ breakfast Feb. 18.

In addition, NAVAIR has 16 Modern Day Technology Leadership winners: Gabriel Ngounou, Brittany Spellers, Clifford Laguerre Jr., LaTonya Bowles, Lawrence Ames, Mike Cohn and Bryant Craig (all from Patuxent River, Md.); Gernai Bledsoe and Petra Robinson from Orlando; Wadson Felix from Jacksonville; Tommy Sadler, James Carter and NaShaune Simmons from Cherry Point; and Jackie Powell, Xavier Rose and Marla Singleton from Lakehurst, N.J. These winners will be recognized at the Modern Day Technology Leaders luncheon Feb. 17, featuring remarks by NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. David Architzel.

The three-day conference, which includes more than 20,000 STEM attendees from both the private and federal sectors, features opportunities for training, recruiting, interfacing and building partnerships with historically black colleges, other federal agencies and private industry.

For more information, visit www.blackengineeroftheyear.org.

Source: NAVAIR Headquarters