Freeman A. Hrabowski, III named the 2013 Black Engineer of the Year

Freeman A. Hrabowski III. PHOTO/IUPUI

Freeman A. Hrabowski, III has been named the 2013 Black Engineer of the Year.

Dr. Hrabowski, has served as president of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County) since 1992. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. He chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced the recent report, Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. He also was recently named by President Obama to chair the newly created President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. In 2008, he was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report, which ranked UMBC the nation’s #1 “Up and Coming” university the past four years (2009-12).

The award will be presented at the 27th annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA), which comes at the climax of the BEYA Conference at the Marriott Wardman Hotel in Washington, DC from February 7-9.

The Black Engineer of the Year Awards showcase African-American talent in science, technology, engineering and math – one of the main goals of the conference and by extension, the award is to encourage more African-American youth and children of all races to consider math, science, engineering, and technology as career choices.

More information on the 27th annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards is available at the Black Engineer publication.