2013 US Black Engineer & Information Technology | BACK TO SCHOOL - VOL. 37, NO. 3

$6.95

Internships Offer Students Lessons Beyond the Classroom

$6.95

Darryl A. Stokes Director, Engineering & Standards Baltimore Gas and Electric Company

Darryl A. Stokes Sheds Light on

Big Data Equals Big Bucks for STEM Grads

How I Spent My Summer Blacks in Energy: Career Potential in the Energy Industry USBE&IT Back to School 2013 www.blackengineer.com

Exelon’s Internship Program $6.95

New IT & E B S U oard Job B

From network and program security administrators to systems and manufacturing engineers, General Dynamics offers exceptional career opportunities.

Josephine Gustillo Systems Integration Engineer

Visit us at www.gd.com/employment for more information.

Flor Aguilar Kim Program Manager Combat Operations Center

JOIN THE WORLD’S MOST EXCLUSIVE CLUB. scan this qr code to see the navy nUPoc video.

1. Download any QR reader application (like i-nigma) to your smartphone or mobile device. 2. Then simply scan this code.

If you want a real challenge, join the planet’s leading team of engineers, working with the most advanced nuclear equipment in the world. Oh yeah, and earn up to $168,300 while you finish school. No drills. No uniforms. Just you getting ahead further, faster than you ever dreamed possible.

For more information, visit navy.com or call 1-866-595-4017. © 2011. Paid for by the U.S. Navy. All rights reserved.

NOW THE MOST READ BLACK TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE REACHING OVER 100,000 READERS IN THE UNITED STATES, UK, AND SOUTH AFRICA

CONTEN US BLACK ENGINEER & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

BRINGING TECHNOLOGY HOME TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY

PROFILES IN INNOVATION

COVER STORY: Insight on Exelon’s Internship Program................................ 14

Darryl A. Stokes has a close connection with Exelon’s internship program, as he is a product of the program. Now, as BGE chief engineer, he plays a critical role in the recruitment and development of BGE’s engineering talent, partnering with several colleges and universities to enhance quality.

Feature: Big Data Equals Big Bucks for STEM Grads.......... 17

Black Engineer turned to two IT veterans to explain the why of Big Data and the how to get a job in it.

Feature: How I Spent My Summer..........................36

Many students spent their summer vacation interning in offices and labs and learning what their future may be like when they fully enter the workforce.

Feature: 2013 BEYA STEM Student Award Winners........40 People and Events..................6

Students Learn Benefits of Hackathons…

Video games can yield successful career rewards

One on One..............................8 The president’s goals may be clear but the path to achieving them is anything but. It has been made more arduous by an economic downturn that has crippled the finances of many families, making it harder for them to save for college.

Darryl A. Stokes, director, Engineering and Standards, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company

EDUCATION

On Campus............................ 11

Many STEM educators placing value in the emerging concept of “coding” – less intimidating programming approaches.

TS

PUBLISHER’S PAGE

C

harles Rice, a CEO of a $750 million electric and gas utility, is optimistic about students’ futures in energy. And,

he’s not the only one. Executives at the nation’s largest energy companies, looking out toward the

Vo l u m e 3 7 N u m b e r 3

end of the decade, also see a big change, writes Garland Thompson in our story on employment opportunities in the world of drilling. In USBE&IT

BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS

Feature: Help for Job-Seekers.........................20 US Black Engineer and Information Technology Reveals New Job Board

The Next Level .....................23

Whether you are just beginning college, entering the workforce or considering a career change, there are a range of options in cybersecurity.

Book Review.........................26

Meaningful work experience is key on any resume in today’s job market, and in “Scoring a Great Internship” author Ellen Rubinstein and student contributors offer tips and a step-by-step guide.

SCIENCE SPECTRUM

Titans of Science .................27

How can Blacks finally get in the game, and become creators of the games we all love? Joseph Saulter, founder and CEO of Entertainment Arts Research and chairman of the IGDA Diversity Board believes the answer is education.

Feature: An Underground Future...................................30

magazine’s Career Outlook section featuring energy executives you should know, Rice, a business administration graduate from Howard University, projects that by 2023 nearly 62 percent of energy workers may retire, providing opportunities for prepared STEM energy students.

Darryl A. Stokes, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s (BGE) chief engineer and director of engineering standards, shared with USBE&IT’s new writer Imani Carter how he got a strong start through his internship experience. He has worked with BGE for 30 years. Stokes also speaks of the role he plays in the recruitment of BGE’s engineering talent, partnering with colleges and universities to enhance the quality of Exelon’s (BGE parent company) internship program.

Exelon hires 300 interns each summer and offers a professional internship track where interns must currently be enrolled and seeking a bachelor’s or master’s degree on a full-time basis at an accredited university.

Clearly, employers take internship programs seriously, as Marvin Green notes in Book Review’s take on “Scoring a Great Internship” in this issue’s featured book.

In How I Spent My Summer, Gale Gay rolls out a number of success stories. Take Kaleb Richardson, who has scored three internships since leaving high school, working at Boeing in Washington, Exxon Mobil in Louisiana and

Experts say new technologies, government policies promise a bright future in energy

Trinity Forge in Texas. There’s also Jonathan Jones who graduated from Univer-

Feature: From Fields of Combat to Financial Field .................33

he began his job with Dow AgroSciences as a fermentation product engineer.

How one man from the combat arm of the military transitioned to Civvy Street

sity of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in biochemical engineering. On July 14, Jones, 22, advises college students to embrace internships. Find out how he and others did just that and what came of their efforts.

CAREER OUTLOOK..............43

• Blacks in Energy: Career Potential in the Energy Industry • Top Employers: Recruiting Trends in Energy • Professional Life: Top Black Energy Professionals You Should Know • The Power of the Internship

Publisher and Editorial Director

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 3

ďƒœSave the Date EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Tyrone D. Taborn | Publisher and Editorial Director

Jean Hamilton | President and CFO

Vercilla Brown-Johnson | Chief of Staff EDITORIAL

Lango Deen | Technology Editor

Rayondon Kennedy | Assistant Editor

Michael Fletcher | Contributing Editor

Gale Horton Gay | Contributing Editor

M.V. Greene | Contributing Editor Frank McCoy | Contributing Editor

Garland L. Thompson | Contributing Editor

Roger Witherspoon | Contributing Editor GRAPHIC DESIGN

Sherley Petit-Homme | Art Director

Bryan Clapper | Graphic Designer CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT

Ty Taborn | Corporate Development

Jacob Wiggins | Corporate Development

Imani R. Carter | Corporate Communications Specialist

28

SALES AND MARKETING

Richard Butler | Vice President of Government Relations/Special Projects

Gwendolyn Bethea | Senior Account Manager

Alex Venetta | Advertising Coordinator ADMINISTRATION

Ana Bertrand | Conference Coordinator CONFERENCE AND EVENTS Rutherford & Associates 17304 Preston Rd Suite 1020 Dallas, Texas 75252 ADVERTISING SALES OFFICE Career Communications Group, Inc. 729 E. Pratt Street, 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202 Phone: (410) 244-7101 / Fax: (410) 752-1834

Progress at the Speed of Trust February 6-8, 2014 Washington Marriott Wardman Park Washington, DC 4 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

US Black Engineer & Information Technology (ISSN 1088-3444) is a publication devoted to engineering, science, and technology and to promoting opportunities in those fields for Black Americans. The editors invite submissions directed toward the goals of US Black Engineer & Information Technology. In particular, we wish to present ideas and current events concerning science and technology, and personality profiles of successful Blacks in these fields and related business pursuits. Fully developed articles may be sent for consideration, but queries are encouraged. US Black Engineer & Information Technology invites letters to the editor about any topics important to our readership. Articles and letters should be sent to: US Black Engineer & Information Technology, Editorial Department, 729 E Pratt St., 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. No manuscript will be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. US Black Engineer & Information Technology cannot be responsible for unsolicited art or editorial material. This publication is bulk-mailed to 150 colleges and universities nationwide. Subscriptions are $26/year. Please write to US Black Engineer & Information Technology, Subscriptions, 729 E. Pratt St., 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. Copyright (c) 2013 by Career Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

Like us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook. com/pages/Black-Engineer-of-the-Year-STEM-AwardsConference/91782826084?fref=ts Follow us on Twitter: @BlackEngineer www.blackengineer.com

We are driven to excel.

At Exelon, we recognize the value of inclusive and diverse teams. As the nation’s leading competitive energy company, we are driven to perform and our employees bring the background and training that help drive our progress. From engineering to finance to operations and beyond, there are opportunities throughout the Exelon family of companies for you to create a brighter future.

www.exeloncorp.com/careers Š Exelon Corporation, 2013

PROFILES IN INNOVATION We celebrate the men and women who are reinventing and reenergizing STEM, business, and government.

People and Events

by Gale Horton Gay ghorton@ccgmag.com

STUDENTS LEARN BENEFITS OF HACKATHONS

L

ast year, hackathons popped up across the country at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and young people flocked to them.

Not to worry. Hackathons aren’t as ominous as they may sound. In fact, hackathons are extremely positive events, bringing together coders, designers and others to create something—software, website, etc. The kicker is, it’s all done in a super-short timeframe— from 24 hours to over a weekend.

Hadiyah Mujhid, coIn early 2013, Black Foundfounder and director ers, a San Francisco organization of education outreach, dedicated to promoting diverBlack Founders sity in the technology industry,

launched its first hackathon, HBCUHacks, in Atlanta. The event attracted students from Atlanta University Center, which includes Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. Others followed at Howard University and Morgan State University.

“These events were significant, mainly because this was the first hackathon for many of the students,” says Hadiyah Mujhid, a co-founder and director of education outreach with Black Founders. “In addition, the hackathon was promoted to other majors outside of computer science, so, for some students, this was their first time coding.”

The events are staged as competitions, and the best projects are awarded prizes such as cash, tablets and games.

And, there are other potential benefits.

“Our sponsors are also hiring for interns and full-time positions,” the site states. “Come to the event, meet the startups working with us, and possibly land a position.”

VIDEO GAMES CAN YIELD SUCCESSFUL CAREER REWARDS

V

ideo games are an endless source of entertainment. For those with the right combination of talent and passion, as well as specific skill sets, gaming can be a sky’s-thelimit career.

Pryce Jones, who heads the graduate program in the School of Game Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, says that young people would be wise to consider careers in gaming, as they offer a wide range of job options and the paths to gaining access to the industry are many.

Jones, 42, knows a thing or two about breaking into gaming on a professional level and achieving success.

The New York native graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in architecture and worked in that field for a number of years. However, he stunned family and friends when he pursued a career in gaming. However, Jones, whose college studies included sculpture and painting, says his art and architecture training made him well suited for the creative side of gaming.

For more than a decade, Jones had held positions in the gaming industry as an environment artist, concept painter and art director. He was a contributor on some of the industry’s biggest titles—Pool of Radiance, Legacy of Kain: Defiance and Tomb Raider: Legend. Jones also worked on Shrek Super Slam and the next-generation version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings.

His most exciting project was working on Lord of the Rings and watching the project go from one that got little consideration and resources to plenty of focus and an enhanced budget.

“Before the first movie came out, nobody knew it was going to be very big,” he recalls.

Jones says now is a good time for minorities to enter the 6 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

gaming industry because there’s an interest in making games more diverse and bringing a more broad talent pool into the industry.

Blacks in Gaming (BIG), an organization for which Jones is a member and leader, strives for better understanding of the video gaming industry.

“BIG strives to demystify the video gaming Pryce Jones, head, Graduate Program, industry for people School of Game Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco of color,” states BIG’s website.

“We assist individuals in evolving from consumers to producers of video games and apps…BIG provides networking, outreach, mentoring and entrepreneurship guidance to professionals and students.”

The organization’s 20 to 25 members represent a who’s who of African-Americans in the industry. Consider these BIG leaders: Lisette Titre oversees social media and outreach for BIG and has been a computer graphics artist for more than 11 years. www.blackengineer.com

As a digital modeler, she takes data from scanned images, concept art and photographs, and creates 3-D digital sculptures.

She’s managed teams of artists worldwide and has contributed to games such as Tiger Woods Golf and The Simpsons.

Verin G. Lewis is over mentorship with BIG and is professionally linked to Microcomputer Resources Inc. (MRI), an independent production company.

MRI’s first title, Josh’s World is described as a non-violent game and includes “positive African-American role models for young children.”

Kevin A. Brown, who handles corporate sponsorship for BIG, has more than 17 years in the industry. He has worked on such brands as Space Chimps.

While at Microsoft Game Studio, he worked on Mass Effect, and, at Electronic Arts, he helped to establish the Tiger Woods franchise. He also was the art development manager on God of War 3.

Jones points out that the range of jobs in the gaming industry is broad.

Programmers develop the code to make games work.

Designers focus on the fun aspects, crafting the experience.

Artists create the visuals and concepts. Animators work on characters and creatures.

Video games also involve writers, who develop story lines, and musicians and sound effects experts, who create soundtracks. There also are production teams that make sure everyone stays on task, and testers who get the bugs out.

Jones said those who want to be successful in the video game industry have to be team players, as everyone works closely together and relies on each other.

The emergence of small games for mobile devices and social media is reducing the production time of many new titles, with some being rolled out in months. However, major games for console devices can take two to three years www.blackengineer.com

or longer.

He notes that the recent Halo game took three to four years to develop, and God of War took about six years to complete.

Despite Jones’ personal love and professional involvement in gaming, he limits the time his sons—ages 8 and 10—spend playing video games. However, he has started to show them how a game “can be a creative tool.”

Jones suggests those interested in breaking into gaming on a professional level do considerable research about the industry through websites such as Gamasutra.com, an online guide to the “art and business of making games.”

“Find out as much as you can about it,” Jones says, adding that there are tutorials on the Internet about video game production, and programs that can be downloaded.

It’s important for a serious individual to start doing the thing he or she loves— drawing, animating, programming, designing, modifying existing games—so he or she can develop a body of work, he says.

Jones admits that many extremely talented and highly dedicated individuals can break into the video gaming industry without a college degree.

“You do not need a degree,” Jones says. “I don’t tell my students that. If someone is talented, they will shine through.”

However, college can help others get on the right track, develop their talents, learn discipline and focus, develop professionalism and get connected to the right people and organizations.

“School can provide that proving ground, that training ground,” Jones says. “Not everybody needs that.”

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 7

PROFILES IN INNOVATION

One on One

by Michael A. Fletcher mfletcher@ccgmag.com

President Barack Obama greets students in the Blue Room of the White House before delivering a statement on college affordability and interest rates on student loans, June 21, 2012.

REACHING THE PRESIDENT’S GOALS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

B

y almost any measure, President Obama has worked hard to fulfill the ambitious higher education goals he articulated early in his presidency.

By 2020, he said the nation should reclaim its place as the country with the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Currently, the United States comes in at No. 16. Obama also said that even if students have no plans to complete college, they should commit to one year of post-secondary training.

Those are no easy tasks. But Obama has pushed hard to make them possible, pumping unprecedented sums into colleges and community colleges. He has worked to make higher education more transparent, and to make the financial aid process easier to navigate.

8 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

The economic imperative driving Obama’s efforts are obvious. More than half of the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the country require postsecondary education. Most of those are technologyrelated. The ones that aren’t most often do not pay a living wage. So, the choice is clear: The nation’s young people, who every year become increasingly Black and Hispanic, need to become better educated if they hope to maintain or surpass the standard of living enjoyed by their parents.

The president’s goals may be clear, but the path to achieving them is anything but. It has been made more arduous by an economic downturn that has crippled the finances of many families, making it harder for them to save for college. The downturn also has shattered the budgets

of many states and cities, which have responded by making once unthinkable cuts in education spending, undercutting the federal increases pushed by Obama.

The president’s efforts to expand access to higher education are also being undermined by the spiraling cost of college.

Under Obama, the maximum federal Pell Grant has increased to $5,635—a $905 increase since 2008. But at the same time, average tuition at a four-year public college in the country has jumped by $1,846, according to the College Board.

Large price increases are a longstanding and increasingly high-profile problem in higher education. Between 1982 and 2006, median family incomes rose by 147 percent. During that same time period, college tuition and fees skyrocketed by www.blackengineer.com

439 percent, a fact that undoubtedly has discouraged many lower-income people from seeing college a viable option.

Others are taking on more debt to pay for college, as recent graduates carry an average of $26,000 in loans. Worse, almost one-third of federal borrowers have either defaulted on their loans or is in some sort of forbearance status, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Still, the value of a college degree is unquestionable. Estimates are that the difference in lifetime earnings between someone holding a college degree and just a high school diploma ranges between $700,000 and $1 million.

The landscape gets even more complicated when considering the differences between colleges. Even as an increasing number of Black and Latino students have been going on to college, they most often end up in open admission schools where, on average, a lower percentage of students graduate and even those who do go on to earn less than their counterparts in the 468 top colleges in the country, according to a recent report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

“The American postsecondary system increasingly has become a dual system of racially separate pathways, even as overall minority access to the postsecondary system has grown dramatically,” says Jeff Strohl, the Georgetown center’s director of research, who co-authored the report “Separate and Unequal: How Higher Education Reinforces the Intergenerational Reproduction of White Racial Privilege.”

All of these things have made Obama’s laudable goals difficult to achieve. On one hand, he has pumped more money into the higher education system to open up access. On the other hand, that money, which the administration calls the biggest investment in higher education since the GI Bill, has not been enough to make college affordable for many struggling Americans. www.blackengineer.com

His administration tightened some never have enough grant money, to keep loan standards with the goal of ensuring up with costs that are going up 5, 6, and 7 that parents do not get in over their heads percent a year. We’ve got to get more out borrowing money to send their children of what we pay for,” Obama said. to school. But that effort has triggered He applauded colleges that are looking unintended consequences that have landed for ways to shorten the path to a degree, or particularly hard on Historically Black blending teaching with online learning to Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). help students earn credits in less time.He Last fall, the tougher screening stanalso said that he likes the idea of holding dards for PLUS loans resulted in 28,000 colleges more accountable for how students HBCU students, and 200,000 overall, being perform once they are on campus. denied loans last fall. For HBCUs, the colAt a White House ceremony to sign lective loss was more than $150 million. a bill to reduce interest rates for federal Members of the Congressional Black college loans, Obama talked about the Caucus called on Obama to address the competing factors involved in making problem, which has led to budget difficulcollege more accessible. Still, he said, he ties for several Black colleges.

In a speech earlier this year, the president promised to push for significant reform in higher education, in large part by doing more to control what colleges charge.

“I will lay out an aggressive strategy to shake up the system, tackle rising costs, and improve value for middle-class students President Obama tours the biotech facilities at Forsyth Technical and their families.

Community College West Campus in Winston-Salem, N.C., Dec. 6, 2010.

It is critical that we make sure that college is affordable for every single American remains committed to his goals. who’s willing to work for it,” he said in a “The cost of college remains extraordispeech at Knox College in Illinois. narily high. It’s out of reach for a lot of folks, The president pointed out that he and for those who do end up attending colhas worked to expand the availability of lege, the amount of debt that young people financial aid money and to keep the lid on are coming out of school with is a huge burfederal student loan interest rates. Still, he den on them; it’s a burden on their families,” acknowledged, that has not been enough. he said. “It makes it more difficult for them “Families and taxpayers can’t just to buy a home. It makes it more difficult for keep paying more and more and more into them if they want to start a business. It has an undisciplined system where costs just a depressive effect on the economy overall. keep on going up and up and up. We’ll And we’ve got to do something about it.” never have enough loan money; we’ll USBE&IT I FALL 2013 9

“I want to work

on spaceships.”

Applicants are subject to a security investigation for access to classified information. Equal Opportunity Employer. © 2013 The Aerospace Corporation. All rights reserved.

Aerospace Corporation is a dynamic leader in delivering space mission success. We are a team that takes pride in our readiness to answer some of the most complex technical challenges in existence. With projects and challenges spanning clandestine to commercial, you’ll have the unique opportunity to work on projects that are literally evolving our space capabilities. When you join us, you’ll join a rare collection of the most intelligent people in the field and be fully empowered to do your best work.

We are always looking to talented men and women with M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in the scientific and engineering disciplines listed below. If you’d like to join us, please apply online at www.aerospace.org/careers by creating a profile and uploading your resume. Please refer to code: Z9M. We have openings in El Segundo, CA and Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas.

Avionics System Engineering – Bearing/Mechanical Drives – Circuit Design and Simulation – Communication Systems – Component Engineering – Computer Systems Engineering – Cyber Security – Digital Image Processing – Electronic Systems Design – Failure Analysis Engineering – Flight Mechanics Engineering – Mass Properties – Product Assurance Engineering – Product Engineering – Radar Systems Engineering – Reliability Analysis Engineering – Satellite Integration and Test – Satellite Propulsion Systems – Signal Processing – Software Engineering – Spacecraft Development – Survivability/Vulnerability – System Analysis – System Safety Engineering – Technical Cost/Schedule Analysis – Upper Stage Flight Operations

www.aerospace.org/careers

R E D I S C OV E R T H E I M AG I N AT I O N O F I N N OVAT I O N

black engineer 1276450 AEROSP 7.0” x 5’” Kathe Bass v.6

https://checkout.subscriptiongenius.com/ ccgmag.com/ www.womenofcolor.net Career Communications Group, Inc. 729 E. Pratt Street, 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202

EDUCATION Information is our most powerful resource, whether we receive it via the printed page, a computer screen, or from a dedicated teacher. In this section, we look at the trends and developments that are expanding STEM education.

On Campus

by M.V. Greene mgreene@ccgmag.com

Howard University

“CODING” SEEN AS BOOSTING FORTUNES OF STEM Grizzled computer scientists will hardly give it a second But show those same students how to make tracks in thought when working in some basic programming languages SCRATCH, Alice or KidsRuby (rudimentary drag and drop prolike C++, Java or HTML. And with their training gramming languages), and they’ll perk up and and inquisitiveness, they’ll hardly flinch when the be more likely to receive the message that they programming is more involved with APL, Pascal, too can forge a career path in STEM, WashingCLEO or ColdFusion. ton explains.

But slide these exotic-sounding program“A lot of Black and brown students don’t ming titles in front of a minority middle-schooler know what computer science is. If you ask who could some day be a candidate for a STEM them, ‘What is computer science?’ they can’t college education, and bewilderment descends on tell you. They don’t understand how much the room. computer science plays a part in their daily As a hedge from inadvertently scaring young lives,” says Washington, who coordinates a students away from science, technology, engiSTEM program at Howard in association with neering and mathematics (STEM) before they Google, the Partnership for Early Engagement have a chance to get started, many STEM educain Computer Science, for middle and high tors and advocates are placing value in the emergschool students in Washington, D.C. Nicki Washington, associate ing concept of “coding”—a means for introducSCRATCH, for instance, developed at the professor, Department of Systems and Computer ing students to STEM through less intimidating Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is an Science, Howard University programming approaches. open source, drag and drop program designed Keep trying to introduce them to even low-level programfor children to help them understand programming concepts ming languages like C++ and Java and “you’re going to lose a at an early age while nurturing their creative skills through lot of kids,” says A. Nicki Washington, an associate professor devising stories, animations, music and games. Alice, another in the Department of Systems and Computer Science at Howard freeware, object-based educational programming tool, allows University. students to learn fundamental programming concepts by helping

www.blackengineer.com

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 11

EDUCATION

them understand the relationship between programming statelike computer science.” ments and the behavior of objects in animations. Both programs The key often is to teach students about STEM much in the allow students to see their work in action immediately. way a coach will teach fundamental skill development to young “Those are going to be things where students can learn the athletes, such as footwork or how to catch the ball, Stone says. basic concepts of programming, like function, groups and other “You want to introduce the basics early on and build that interest.” abstract concepts that they can apply. Once they get excited At the Bowie camp, Stone says he will initially use peerabout that, then you can go a bit deeper,” Washington says. demonstrated video clips to show his students how to use Rather than bombarding impressionable SCRATCH so they will see others their ages young students with hard-knuckle computing mastering the concepts. Then, as the program concepts like discrete structures, computer archimoves further into the course, he will start to tecture and operating systems, coding advocates, make parallels with many of the more complex who include luminaries Bill Gates and Mark computing concepts.

Zuckerberg, say developing initial programming Other STEM and technology organizations skills offer the right start up. are feeding off similar approaches. The CongresCoding programs expose students to comsional App Challenge, a project of the Internet puter science “at a level they can still see the Education Foundation authorized by Congress, real world application,” Washington says. “The is a program that promotes STEM education by basic essence of computer science in order to be tasking students through competition in app design a computer scientist is you have to know how to and programming projects. The App Challenge program.” is modeled after the Congressional Art CompetiA key touch point for educators and advotion, which has served more than 650,000 student Daryl Stone, assistant professor, Computer Science, cates with the coding movement is determining participants since 1982.

Bowie State University when and how much coding to introduce to Dianne Kirnes, who coordinates a summer young students. Some organizations, such as STEM program at Alabama A&M University code.org, which Gates and Zuckerberg have endorsed, advocate for high school students each year in conjunction with the Nagetting children involved with coding even as early as preschool. tional Science Foundation, says coding instruction falls into line By 2020, according to code.org, 1.4 million computer with what employers are seeking in the technical jobs marketjobs will be on the market in the United States with only about place.

400,000 computer science students to fill them. Further, the “Employers engaged in STEM activities are seeking job growth in programming jobs, the organization says, doubles the candidates who can undertake specialized projects,” Kirnes says. rate of other jobs being created in the United States.

“Coding would be beneficial to students if they would know Another organization based in Oakland, Calif., blackhow to write a program to do a specific task that employers want girlscode.com, takes a similar advocacy approach through done. That may be the key point in deciding whether or not to showing that “Black girls can code” by growing the “number hire somebody.” of women of color working in technology” through affording opA focus for coding proponents is to determine what to teach portunities to underprivileged girls. and at what levels. Stone at Bowie State, for instance, is directIn today’s Internet-driven and social media environment, ing the research of a doctoral candidate at the school into those technology basics often mean focusing on games and apps, says questions.

Daryl Stone, an assistant professor in computer science at Bowie “A lot of times (students) are getting introduced to STEM State University in Maryland. too late,” Stone adds.

“A coding foundation can lead students to acquiring basic Washington at Howard says the computer science education computing skills and ultimately jobs in areas like web design, community is still relatively new, thus debate is occurring about database development, cyber security and mobile app develophow coding should be taught and what the emphasis should be ment,” says Stone, who annually operates a summer CPU Camp compared to other areas of computing. for young students at Bowie State.

“People are on both sides of the pendulum in education,” “The vast majority of STEM students will not go on to earn adds Washington, who earned her doctorate in computer science master’s degrees or doctorates, so the goal has to be getting them at North Carolina State University. “The debate centers around to a point to earn undergraduate degrees in STEM disciplines how prevalent coding should be early on.”

12 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

www.blackengineer.com

Looking for past issues?

Find us on

Google Books!

s e k o t S .

A l y r r a D

Darryl A. Stokes, director, Engineering and Standards, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company

14 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

www.blackengineer.com

SHEDS LIGHT ON EXELON’S INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

D

by Imani Carter icarter@ccgmag.com

arryl A. Stokes, director, Engineering and Standards, has worked with Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) for 30 years. Stokes is part of the founding board of directors of the Bluford Drew Jemison (BDJ) STEM Academy for males. BDJ’s mission is to provide an intellectually and academically rigorous education for all of its students to help them fully prepare for secondary and post-secondary education, their career and ultimately their lives as productive citizens of the greater society. The academy provides year-round academic support to scholars, creates a positive learning environment including extended school days, and constantly exposes students to positive male role models and STEM activities.

Stokes is also the chairman for Advancing Minorities in Engineering (AMIE), an organization that strongly supports and promotes STEM in minority groups.

“One of the fundamental objectives of AMIE is to expand corporate, government and academic alliances to implement and support programs to attract, educate, graduate and place underrepresented minority students in engineering careers,” Stokes says. “Through our valuable partnerships with corporate, government and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) engineering programs, we are constantly sending the collective message on the importance of enhancing our STEM pipeline with talented and exceptional students who will address the national crisis with America falling behind in innovation, science and technology.”

Currently at BGE, Stokes spearheads an organization responsible for utility system engineering for transmission, substation, gate station, distribution and metering. As BGE chief engineer, he plays a critical role in the recruitment and development of BGE’s engineering talent, partnering with several colleges and universities to significantly enhance the quality of Exelon’s (BGE parent company) internship program and exceed engineering recruitment goals.

Stokes has a close connection with Exelon’s internship program, as he is a product of the program. “As a co-op student I was able to gain nearly 2.5 years of experience working in nine different assignments,” Stokes says. “I’ve been with this company for more than 30 years, and got a very strong start through my successful internship experience. I was able to make key career decisions right from the start, which built upon and expanded meaningful working relationships and allowed me to www.blackengineer.com

“As a co-op student I was able to gain nearly 2.5 years of experience working in nine different assignments,” Stokes says. “I’ve been with this company for more than 30 years, and got a very strong start through my successful internship experience.”

–Darryl A. Stokes work in multiple leadership assignments. I was able to create my career vision based upon my internship experience.”

Stokes deems internships as win-win situations, since they “provide employers such as Exelon with valuable opportunities to assess whether their interns will provide meaningful contributions toward the achievement of company goals.” Stokes continues, “In addition to our students gaining a competitive USBE&IT I FALL 2013 15

advantage in future hiring decisions, they gain valuable exposure to Exelon’s culture, people and job opportunities. Our students can better assess whether our organization is a cultural fit and determine what meaningful career opportunities we can provide.”

Exelon hires approximately 300 interns each summer and offers a professional internship track where interns must currently be enrolled and seeking a bachelor’s or master’s degree on a full-time basis at an accredited university. The company also offers a technical internship track where interns must be enrolled and seeking an associate’s degree in a technical field related to the power distribution or generation industry. In addition to being degree-seeking students, interns are required to have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.8 and a GPA of at least 3.0 in their major for both the professional and technical internship track.

Exelon interns are exposed to valuable career and skills development opportunities that allow them to explore their field of interest and build their decision-making, team-building and critical-thinking skills. All interns are expected to actively participate in orientation, networking events, plant/site tours, community service outings and end-ofsummer exposure to Exelon’s culture, people and job opportunities.

Many students accept internships with hopes of landing a permanent job with the company upon completion of their internship.

Although that does not happen often with many companies’ internship programs, it does frequently for Exelon.

As a former Exelon intern, Stokes says: “The intern program functions as a costeffective ‘screening’ process for new, full-time talent by providing a mutual assessment period between the intern and the company. Ultimately, this process leads to greater job satisfaction and retention among newly hired entry-level employees who were converted from the intern program. Like other companies, we interview our ‘rising seniors’ and, when appropriate, offer full-time employment before they return for their senior year. It’s interesting to note that 42 percent of our 2012 Exelon interns were hired to full-time positions in 2013.”

Named one of the 25 best places to work for recent graduates in 2013 by Experience, a ConnectEDU company, Exelon maintains effective partnerships with several universities and colleges across the nation. These partnerships have strengthened the internship program through students who have served as “powerful word-of-mouth ambassadors” when they returned back to campus and from a corporation perspective, as the company has gained valuable insight and access to academic 16 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

leaders, and has had the opportunity to influence their programs and curriculum—another testament to Stokes’ internship win-win argument.

Stokes stresses the importance of taking on internship opportunities, as they are a great way to experience the career in which you’re most interested, and provide you with boundless experience that will be useful throughout your career.

“Exelon’s internship program has been around for years.

The program helps prepare students for future business needs by creating a pipeline of diverse candidates for full-time, entrylevel positions. A large percentage of our engineering workforce received their start, or gained a competitive hiring advantage, by being part of an internship program,” Stokes says.

www.blackengineer.com

BIG DATA Equals BIG BUCKS for STEM Grads BUT TO REALLY SUCCEED, LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE

I

f you think Big Data is jargon for the advertising, artistic, behavioral, commercial, educational, military, monetary, political and any other use you can think of exploitation of our information captured digitally by public, private and nonprofit organizations— bingo. You’ve won the prize.

For STEM students, that knowledge may lead to a Big Data job and a career. Big Data involves selling hardware, software or services that enable clients to gather, organize, process and draw conclusions about large amounts of some measured characteristic that a business cares about.

On July 17, 2013, a Wired article tried to assign a value to Big Data accumulation. The Wired quote stated: “The volume of global data produced doubles every two years. At the University of California at Berkeley, researchers found that, currently, five quintillion bytes of data are produced every two days, which is www.blackengineer.com

by Frank McCoy fmccoy@ccgmag.com

equal to all the information ever produced by every conversation that has ever taken place on the planet.”

Wired cites a commercial example of Big Data reporting that Walmart used Big Data analysis to increase completed online sales 10 to 15 percent and added $1 billion in additional revenue. That is the type of return on income that companies want.

On the federal side, a sidebar of the ongoing flap about the federal use of personal digital data, to thwart potential terror attacks, is that the National Security Administration and the 15 subsidiary organizations under the Department of Homeland Security umbrella all want to hire STEM graduates.

Job Opportunities Abound Last September, author Seth Kahan interviewed Ken Garrison, the ex-CEO of Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals, an international organization of competitive intelligence professionals. Competitive intelligence is also known as Data Science or Business Analytics.

Garrison called competitive intelligence “the action of defining, gathering, analyzing and distributing intelligence about products, customers, competitors and any aspect of the environment needed to support executives and managers in making strategic decisions.”

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 17

STEM students should seek employment in organizations that do all of the above or that buy or sell the hardware—for example servers, software or related services—that help make Big Data useful.

McKinsey & Company projected, “By 2018, the United States may face a 50 to 60 percent gap between supply and requisite demand of deep analytic talent (i.e. people with advanced training in statistics or machine learning).”

Check Out the Classifieds Reviewing www.indeed.com, an online job search site was a revelation. Inputting the words “Big Data” at the end of July 2013 returned 8,303 ads from employee-seeking organizations.

The first 10 were looking for the following hires: analytic specialist, senior data scientist, big data engineer, software engineer, enterprise architect, principal data scientist, systems engineer, project manager, developer and applications development specialist.

The groups seeking the above STEM grads comprised a spectrum that included, AgreeMedia, Sqrrl Data Inc., eHarmony, Qualcomm, Riot Games, AT&T, Walmart, Pivotal and Multivision.

Companies with use for and expertise in Big Data also include Google, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook.

What’s a Student to Do? These Men Know.

Black Engineer turned to two IT veterans to explain the “why” of Big Data and the “how” to get a job in it. Herb Kelsey is the chief scientist for Government Solutions at Opera Solutions, a New York City-based global leader in Big Data science and predictive analytic. He says multiple factors drive corporate demand for computer networking engineers. These include a massive infrastructure, increasingly cloud-based, that supports data storage and analysis. Related network implications are both internal and cloud-based concerns, and impact how cloud data reaches mobile device-using end users devices faced with low bandwidth networks and security.

To meet such issues, students must understand infrastructure, analytics and visualization, do something else and master one vital skill. Kelsey says: “Since my first visit back to my college campus to speak to my most recent talk in a high school technology class, I’ve said, ‘First, written communication skills, second, verbal communication skills.’ Without the ability to articulate your understanding of the problem, your approach to the solution and the ability to persuade others to support your ideas either intellectually or financially, you’ll not find success. So, take the writing classes, talk in front of groups of people [and] learn how to express yourself in easy-to-understand terms rather than technical jargon. Nothing happens until the customer is comfortable that you understand their problem and have a credible, demonstrable approach to solving it, on time, on budget.”

Big Data is a prime sector for computer science and engineering students—particularly those who have taken economic and/or business courses—to consider for multiple reasons.

Kelsey says they include: • The “competing interests of privacy and security [that] will start to play dominant roles in the gathering and analysis of Big Data” 18 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

• Companies’ realization that proper analysis and transformation of operational and customer data can create considerable operational efficiencies and market advantages • Knowledge that proper application can turn a customer into a market of one, allowing companies to create high-value propositions for which people will pay a premium

Kelsey, 52, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science from the State University of New York at Oswego.

From the mid- to late-1980s, Tyrone W.A. Grandison, now 37, started coding in BASIC on early IBM PCs. He was intrigued by the computers’ possibilities and the software that could be written to make them do magical things.

Fast forward three decades and Grandison is a leader in database security and privacy, and an entrepreneur. In 2012, he became CEO of Proficiency Labs International (PLI), an Ashland, Ore., consulting firm founded by Grandison and friends, that What Big Data students should read and attend • The International Journal of Big Data (http://www.hipore.com/ijibd) • The Journal of Big Data (http://www.journalofbigdata.com/) • CIO Magazine (to understand the sponsorship and allocation of money to Big Data projects) • The IEEE International Congress on Big Data (http://www.ieeebigdata.org/2013/) • The IEEE International Conference on Big Data (http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/bigdata/bigdata2013/)

pooled their expertise in computer science, healthcare and law.

The firm, he says, has the technology and expertise to prepare, analyze and create Big Data solutions in cloud forensics, Hippocratic Database technology and “building privacy-preserving big data systems.”

He urges Big Data students to: • Familiarize themselves with core concepts in their data structure classes • Understand how software engineering is performed in the real world • Deemphasize memorization and regurgitation, and focus on applying, questioning and approving core concepts • Become comfortable with processing real data sets, “which are dirty, incomplete and filled with redundancy” Grandison says that Data Science, also called business analytics or competitive intelligence, is at the forefront of innovation and its data scientists draw upon a multi-disciplinary cornucopia of skills.

These include data modeling and engineering, text and pattern recognition and learning, and statistics and machine modeling.

From 2003 to 2012, Grandison led research and product initiatives at IBM Research in radio frequency identification (RFID) data management, privacy-preserving mobile data management, text analytics and healthcare management systems.

In 2009, the IBM Master Inventor was honored as a “ModernDay Technology Leader” by Black Engineer of the Year Awards www.blackengineer.com

BIG DATA INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICE COMPANIES

G

et your resumes ready. The organizations below, and many others, need STEM students and graduates who know electrical and computer engineering, computer science majors, cyber security and a plethora other IT skills to help gather, manage and analyze the information they get every second.

ALTIBASE INC. Altibase® provides computing technology, focuses on R&D, and analyzes and distributes data. Check out the Altibase Education Center.

AMAZON WEB SERVICES (AWS) AWS provides “companies of all sizes with an infrastructure platform in the cloud,” and is looking for software developers, solution architects, operations and security engineers.

CLOUDERA Cloudera is a consultant to hundreds of commercial and non-commercial organizations, and a pioneer in Hadoop, a popular, and much-shared “open-source software for reliable, scalable, distributed computing,” created by the Apache Foundation.

Cloudera University provides training and certification.

DELL/HADOOP BIG DATA SOLUTION Dell/Hadoop Big Data Solution combines Cloudera’s Hadoop distribution with Dell proprietary hardware and company support to help clients sift through and analyze information.

COUCHBASE Couchbase provides document-oriented database products that tie together Cloud Computing, Big Data and Big Users. Clients include Cisco, LinkedIn and Zynga. Check out the Couchbase careers page.

EMC EMC is a global data storage colossus.

Check out EMC’s Academic Excellence for IT student information.

HEWLETT-PACKARD Hewlett-Packard’s Big Data Solution’s division offers a range of hardware, software and services.

IBM DB2 IBM’s DB2 Database Software provides platforms including Linux, Unix and Windows. Check out IBM University Relations.

MICROSOFT Microsoft’s HDInsight is “100 percent Apache-compatible Hadoop distribution.”

Check out Microsoft University and M.B.A. internships.

MYSQL MySQL is the most popular global opensource database software provider and customers include Facebook, Google, Adobe, Alcatel Lucent and Zappos. Check out MySQL training.

(BEYA). Also a 2012 BEYA Minorities in Research Science Trailblazer, Grandison manages strategy and direction, does feasibility analysis on projects, and is an expert witness on privacy and intellectual property at Proficiency Labs.

The most disruptive force in the Big Data sector, he says, is change. As models and new data evolve inferences, Big Data’s www.blackengineer.com

NETAPP NetApp is a $3 billion company, known for its open solution for Hadoop storage system.

Check out NetApp university recruiting: http://www.netapp.com/us/careers/university/index.aspx http://www.netapp.com/us/ careers/university/internships.aspx ORACLE Oracle’s Big Data Appliance, which includes 18 Sun servers, is engineered to acquire, organize and load unstructured data into the software firm’s database. (http://www. oracle.com/us/products/database/big-data-appliance/overview/index.html) Learn about a Big Data internship: https:// blogs.oracle.com/roller-ui/bsc/spider. jsp?entry=3804a0a5-ca73-4513-a3197f8b2bc36ba9 POSTGRESQL PostgreSQL is an open-source, objectrelational database commercial and nonbusiness systems. Users include Research In Motion, the U.S. Forestry Service and the American Chemical Society.

RACKSPACE PUBLIC CLOUD Rackspace (http://www.rackspace.com), with its Hadoop-related services, provides the cloud space and security for organizations to build whatever they want in computing or with storage and data.

volume and velocity requires conventional processing techniques and mechanisms that change.

Grandison has a Ph.D. in computer science from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, and an M.S. and B.S. degree in computer ccience from the University of the West Indies-Mona, Jamaica.

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 19

USBE&IT Reveals S

tudents are quickly graduating from college, looking to immediately start his or her dream job or internship. However, the task is not as easy as it seems, and many obstacles can stand in the way of landing that big gig. Career Communications Group, Inc. (CCG), a company that promotes career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to historically underrepresented groups in STEM fields, has come up with a method that could potentially stop the hassle and stress of finding the perfect job.

As a part of its new Staffing Solutions program, CCG has created a job board, which plans to fill the need for STEM interns, professionals, and executive workers. The company will provide workers with a safe and independent environment to explore job opportunities, as well as offer businesses a high-caliber of employees available for internships & permanent work.

This new job board isn’t a generic application that lists an irrelevant set of jobs. CCG makes it a priority to listen to individual needs and customize personnel solutions for both businesses and workers.

20 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

The CCG job board will serve effective as it is a space for prospective employees to post resumes and seek hiring employers. What’s most special about the CCG job board is that it is specifically geared to minority and STEM students. Many job boards are not aimed to one specific group; however, CCG narrows its attention to a group of students and employers who have one specific goal in mind: finding the best job or the hardest working employer.

Job Posting Here companies are able to post all job openings and internships that they have available here on our site. Hundreds of students and professionals will be able to view and apply for open positions. Also, registered members will have access to sign up for job alerts. This feature will allow all registered members to receive a notification each time a new job is posted to the site.

Featured Jobs will be placed on a scrolling application that lists the latest featured jobs on our site. Without having to use search engines, this feature will quickly provide new job openings around the nation.

Resume Posting When you sign up with the new CCG job board, one outstanding feature you will notice is the ability to post your resume. Posting your resume allows all of our partnered com-

www.blackengineer.com

New JOB BOARD

by Rayondon Kennedy and Imani Carter editors@ccgmag.com

panies to be able to view and evaluate your resume. If you are the candidate that makes the best fit for their company, they will be able to select and contact you.

Career Advice Articles Members of the site will be able to view special articles that will give them tips on how to land a dream career. Job Hunting Advice, Resume Writing, and Career Advice are a couple of sections in which you can learn some tips that can help turn you into the ideal candidate.

Research the Industry While searching for jobs you can use the Salary research tool. Members can use this tool to research how their paycheck compares to other people in the same industry. This function can compare salaries by industry, function, location and other demographics.

Career Communication Group, Inc.’s new job board is an exciting element that features a variety of helpful tips and applications that makes the search for employers and employees less

www.blackengineer.com

difficult and draining. The job board provides plenty of facts, the latest news regarding STEM careers and internships, instant job alerts and a great resume posting space that will greatly enhance your job/internship search experience.

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 21

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE

PERFECT FIT?

HIRED.

Before you even meet with a prospective employer, we’ve already matched your skills and personality with that company’s exact needs. We know you’ll impress because we know you’re the perfect fit for the job. And as a leader in the staffing industry, we have the inside track with top companies in your area. To find a job that’s your perfect fit, go to AerotekJob.com or call us at 1-888-AEROTEK. Aerotek is an equal opportunity employer. An Allegis Group Company. ©2013

BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS Some of the brightest minds in STEM, business and government offer their insights and advice about living and working to one’s best potential.

The Next Level

by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

CYBERSECURITY: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

L

t. Col. Deitra Trotter enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1990 as a signals intelligence analyst. In 1992, she completed a series of boards, ultimately resulting in her selection as Intelligence and Security “Command Soldier of the Year.” After selection to the National Security Agency (NSA) Military Fellows Program, she served as a member of the personal staff for the director of the NSA and commander of the United States Cyber Command, later assuming command of the first Cyber unit, the 781st Military Intelligence Battalion (Computer Network Operations). In October 2012, Trotter became lead for the nation’s first Cyber National Mission Team, tasked with defense of the nation in cyberspace.

“The market for trained cybersecurity professionals continues to grow for a single reason: They are needed in every facet of life,” Trotter noted at the Diversity Careers in Cyber Security Symposium last May. “As more people and businesses link virtually, our networks and systems become increasingly vulnerable. Attempts to disrupt banking and utilities are on the rise exponentially.”

The need for trained cybersecurity personnel is critical, she said.

“Why? Because our armed forces rely on cyberspace; it allows us to operate faster than hostile forces— to detect, deter, defend or neutralize attacks at network speed. We use technology and cyberspace to facilitate military, intelligence and business operations from command and control of combat operations to daily administrative functions such as authorizing leave or ensuring correct pay and allowances for the force.”

As a result, the Department of Defense operates some 15,000 networks and seven million computing devices across hundreds of installations—a gigantic enterprise with opportunity in cyber/information systems/information technology fields.

“Cyber operators, analysts, software developers, plans officers, and intelligence and information technology specialists are just a few of the variety of jobs in both the uniformed and civilian service. Whether you’re just beginning college, entering the workforce or considering a career change, there are a range of options available within the Department of Defense,” Trotter said.

Land a Job in Cybersecurity Landing a job in cybersecurity is much less about finding postings as it is about matching skillset and fit, explains Devon Rollins, senior information systems engineer at The MITRE Corporation. “Cybersecurity, by its very nature, deals with the computer, the services rendered by the computer and communicawww.blackengineer.com

Lt. Col. Deitra Trotter, commander, 781st Military Intelligence Battalion (Computer Network Operations)

tion mediums that allow all of these interactions to take place.”

Also at MITRE, William Asmond, lead information systems engineer, says although he lacked hands-on experience in computer forensics, reverse engineering and cryptography, he had programming skills. In addition, he had developed client-server applications, a solid understanding of networking protocol and experience developing apps on operating systems. “These skills and others are essential for a successful career in cybersecurity.”

Terrence Head should know. He earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from South Carolina State University in 2001 and took a systems engineering entry-level position with a leading defense contractor before moving up into a certified enterprise architect program, acting as a senior lead enterprise and cyber program director at BAE Systems from 2008 to 2010.

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 23

BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS

The Next Level cont’d Over a two-year period, Head analyzed recommendations for mergers and acquisitions to eliminate cybersecurity capability gaps. He also supported cyber security programs within the company’s five-year integrated business planning process.

Head says the primary advice he would give to college students who want a career in cybersecurity on graduation is to pursue hands on security concentrations.

“These certifications can be found at organizations such as Global Information Assurance Certification, SANS Institute, EC Council and International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2),” he said in a recent interview with USBE&IT magazine.

“But these certifications have an expiration date—approximately three years— so you would want to pursue them in your junior and senior years at college. This way, you’d have a baccalaureate’s degree and certifications that demonstrate that you have hands-on keyboard security experience.

“It would help bolster your qualifications to get you in the door of an organization looking for an entry-level security specialist. Additionally, you could position yourself to make a lateral move.” Head says many companies like to hire cyber security professionals from within because internal candidates have an understanding of how various company business functions interact with each other.

You’ve Landed a Job in Cybersecurity.

Now What?

“Read everything in the news related to cybersecurity to get a sense of how big the challenge really is,” advises Rollins. “For me, the deluge of information became a source of motivation; it felt like an immersive experience to dedicate myself to learning the foundations of this craft.”

Keep pace with the rapidly changing technology and information associated with cybersecurity, Head advises.

“Identify a mentor who is willing to support you in your professional growth,” Asmond adds.

“This individual would usually have a few years 24 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

of cybersecurity (more than three) under his/ her belt, be proficient and willing to take on the burden of training a ‘Padawan’ in the fast world of new vulnerabilities, new exploits, adversaries (the bad guys), tools, tactics and procedures.

“Maintaining one’s skills doesn’t have to be costly. There are numerous sources on the Internet which offer free tutorials and other learning opportunities.”

Devon Rollins, senior information systems engineer, MITRE

William Asmond, lead information systems engineer, MITRE

Terrence R. Head, director of productization, Business Technology and Transformation, BAE Systems Inc.

Who’s Hiring?

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recently that disruptive and destructive cyberattacks are becoming a part of conflict between states, within states and among non-state actors. More than 20 nations now have military units dedicated to employing cyber defenses. Every branch of the armed forces is building a portion of the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Mission Force, which is designed to secure networks and defend the nation in cyberspace.

There are many areas available to those interested in a career in cyber. Benefits of uniformed service are tuition assistance, pay, medical benefits, etc. The Department of Defense (DOD) also offers unique technical training unavailable in the civilian sector as well as access and experience in addressing the most sophisticated threats. It recruits its civilian workforce across a spectrum ― college graduates, cybersecurity professionals from industry, and even those transitioning from active-duty service.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science, information assurance, information security, information systems engineering, electrical engineering, physics, computer and/or network security, etc., will remain in high demand for the foreseeable future.

According to MITRE’s Student Opportunities webpage for co-ops, interns and recent college graduates, there are fantastic opportunities for interns and co-ops who want to use their technical skills to strengthen the nation’s security, improve the nation’s air traffic system, help government serve the American people better and engineer advanced communications for the U.S. military and intelligence community. www.blackengineer.com

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?

T

he Georgia Institute of Technology is a leader in the cybersecurity arena. James Logan is part of the research and innovation community addressing challenges in this area. For example, a new malware intelligence system developed at Georgia Tech’s Research Institute (GTRI) is helping federal agencies and private companies share threat intelligence and work together to understand attacks.

The system allows member organizations to submit threat data and collaborate on malware analysis and classification. Members contribute data anonymously, so no one would know which specific organizations had been affected by the attack.

Analysts can correlate several threat indicators and figure out that a certain attack was hitting several universities at once. Analysts may also be able to draw parallels with similar incident reports that have happened in the past and forecast that the attack will move to target financial services firms in a few months. The project currently has about 20 members and analyzes and classifies an average of “100,000 pieces” of malicious code each day.

More Research at Georgia Tech Do you use an iPhone/iPad? Have you heard of any malicious app on iOS? Do you know or have you installed any “anti-virus” apps on your iPhone/iPad? Georgia Tech submitted a Jekyll app to Apple, and “Jekyll on iOS” successfully passed the review.

They removed the app immediately after it

Dr. James Logan, Manager, Quality Assurance, Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Information System

appeared on the App Store, ran controlled experiments on their devices with full-disclosure to Apple. Conclusion: App review and code signing “cannot” prevent malicious apps. Jekyll opened a new attack surface on iOS devices.

We all know about the security problems of the Internet. Telephony is increasingly going the way of the Internet and using many of the same protocols we use for everything else.

Pindrop is a startup company based on technology developed at Georgia Tech.

Pindrop provides a way to detect, mitigate and stop phone fraud by identifying the characteristics of any phone call based

If you’re a student with a strong technical background, whether just starting your studies or about to graduate, MITRE might have just the opportunity for you. Offering great facilities and a range of work, MITRE has major locations in the Washington, D.C., and greater Boston areas, with an additional www.blackengineer.com

on the device making it or the path the call takes. This information is useful in providing both forensic information about the call ― whether it is from a landline, cell phone or voice-over IP device—and the geography of the origin. The research project was to understand the security challenges of this new environment in which telephony, voiceover IP, cellular and wireless technologies all come together.

Damballa is a computer security company focused on advanced cyber threats such as modern malware, advanced persistent threats (APT) and targeted attacks. The research is in DNS-based monitoring for building defenses for criminal attacks.

60 sites around the world. Our more than 50 laboratories and prototyping facilities are among the best in the world. Core areas of expertise include cybersecurity, emerging technologies, enterprise systems engineering, health transformation, global networking, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 25

BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS Some of the brightest minds in STEM, business and government offer their insights and advice about living and working to one’s best potential.

Book Review

by M.V. Greene mgreene@ccgmag.com

SCORING A GREAT INTERNSHIP

M

eaningful work experience is key on any resume in to focus on presentation as well as language. In her advice on today’s job market, and in Scoring a Great Internship, interviews, Rubenstein walks readers through what to bring to primary author Ellen Rubinstein and fellow student the interview, what to wear, how to present themselves and what contributors offer tips and a step-by-step guide to help college questions to ask. Rubinstein and her contributors make it clear students clinch the internship that is invariably necessary to that the interview is just as important as the paper application. secure a job after graduation.

Another great value of this book is that it lends advice to A student herself at Columbia University at the time of the the reader about what to do after he or she gets the internship. book’s publication in 2002, Rubinstein reflects on her experience Rubinstein urges readers to take their time deciding which in clinching internships at major organizations, including Simon internship to choose. & Schuster and HBO Family Productions.

“There are so many factors that can Additional student contributors and recent play into your decision. If you’d hoped for graduates also offer their recommendations, a paid internship, you might be hesitant to providing insight. accept one that isn’t paid but seems more Although Scoring a Great Internship interesting. Or maybe you’ve never been is over a decade old, it emphasizes the comfortable working in large offices, but importance of networking, a skill that is unthe best offer comes from a huge comdoubtedly important to the internship and pany,” she writes. job-seeking process. Whether it is reaching The National Association of Colout to professors, alumni or career services leges and Employers’ survey, which offices, Rubinstein and fellow contributors received responses from 38,000 college advise the reader to talk to as many people students, including 9,215 from seniors as possible about careers and internships. earning bachelor’s degrees, highlights Rubinstein’s book, published by the overall value of internship. Clearly, Natavi Guides, is a resource for the student employers do take internship-co-op prowho wants an internship and does not grams seriously, the survey notes. For know where to begin—or the student who instance, employers report that the main may not have the same career services as focus of such programs is to recruit colsome of America’s prestigious liberal arts lege graduates for entry-level positions. colleges and universities, where most of the In the last two chapters of the book, Scoring a Great Internship graduate and student contributors hail from.

Rubinstein offers tips for making the

By Ellen Rubinstein The book provides insight into researching most of the internship experience. She Paperback: 112 pages jobs, networking, writing resumes and cover recommends that interns use their opporPublisher: Natavi Guides; 1st edition letters—all advice that not every college or tunity to build a network with their boss (November 2002) university makes available. and co-workers, and treat the internship ISBN-10: 0971939284 ISBN-13: 978-0971939288 “The more people you talk to, the more like a real job. Networking “truly never people will know that you’re looking for ends,” Rubinstein writes. an internship and the greater will be your “Have an open mind,” she writes. “Try chances of learning about one that you like and successfully apnot to be too proud to accept advice, and see where it goes. plying for it,” Rubinstein writes.

Many lucky interns keep in touch with their bosses/mentors for a But Rubinstein’s advice does not end there. In addition to long time after the internship is over.” networking, she spends several pages showing readers how to The internship, Rubenstein writes, is “a chance to get structure their resume, offering the example to demonstrate the out of the classroom and into the real world, and to start figimportance of “telling a story about you to someone who’s never uring out the direction in which you’d like to go. There are met you and knows little or nothing about what you’re like and plenty of opportunities out there, and you never know where what you’re capable of doing.” they’ll lead you.”

She writes similarly about cover letters, urging students 26 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

www.blackengineer.com

SCIENCE SPECTRUM Science spectrum champions the advancements made in all areas of scientific inquiry, whether those strides are made by individual innovators or through the resources of enterprisng organizations.

Titans of Science

by Rayondon Kennedy rkennedy@ccgmag.com

HOW CAN BLACKS FINALLY GET IN THE GAME, AND BECOME CREATORS OF THE GAMES WE ALL LOVE?

F

rom Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog to the Call of Duty series, many video games have become common household names. Since its arrival on the scene, the video game industry has become one of the fastest-growing industries in entertainment. In 2012, the gaming industry earned $67 billion, and is projected to rise to $82 billion by 2017. With such a rapid growth, the gaming industry holds many career opportunities for young people who enjoy playing these games.

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) released a report in 2005 detailing the demographics in the industry. In the report, it was stated that Blacks and Hispanics make up less than 5 percent of game developers. Yet, AfricanAmerican youth between the ages of 8 and 18 average about 30 more minutes of gameplay than Caucasians. Hispanics average about 10 minutes more.

In addition to being underrepresented in the development of video games, minorities are also underrepresented in content of the video games. Dimitri Williams, a professor at the University of Southern California, has completed numerous articles on video game content and the effects on society. In one of his studies, Williams reviewed 150 popular video games released at that time and realized that video games lacked diversity in their content. The results showed that 80 percent of the main characters were Caucasian, less than 3 percent were Hispanics, and, although Blacks made up 10 percent, they were largely athletes and thugs/gangsters.

This information implies that Blacks and Hispanics represent some of the largest consumers of these games, yet they are barely involved in the creation and development of them, which then results in the lack of representation in the games’ characters.

Joseph Saulter, founder and CEO of Entertainment Arts Research Inc. and chairman of the IGDA Diversity Board, believes the answer to this issue is education. Discussing diversity in the industry, Saulter says: “They don’t care if you are black, white, green or yellow, so long as you have the tools necessary so they can go home…there are no guard dogs or water hoses keeping us out of the industry, it’s the lack of education, the lack of knowing, that this industry is so ripe for new developers. The tools, the skills, the level [of knowledge] over the last 10 years have become more pliable than they have ever been in the past.”

The opportunities to break into this industry are there for the taking, but we have to let our children know that these opportunities exist. This is what Saulter aims to do with the Urban Video Game Academy (UVGA).

Saulter is co-founder of the UVGA, which is a prowww.blackengineer.com

Joseph Saulter, founding CEO, Entertainment Arts Research Inc. and chairman of the IGDA Diversity Board

gram used to teach high-risk youth the art of game design.

The UVGA’s goal is to give children the tools needed to enter the gaming field, because the ideas are there. The program teaches children the math and science behind game development. This helps them become more familiar with the mechanics behind the games they love to play, so one day they can tell their stories in a gaming format. “The ideas that go into designing, developing and implementing a game are ripe [in these kids]…our children have a lot of stories that have not been told, the African American community has stories that have not been told. My company is working on game designs for those stories that haven’t been told,” Saulter says.

One thing that students need to understand about choosing a career path in the gaming industry is there are USBE&IT I FALL 2013 27

SCIENCE SPECTRUM

Titans of Science cont’d many paths that come together in order to complete the final projects. You have programmers, designers, audio and visual technicians, and business administrators, all with different sets of skills, but all work toward a common goal. To break into the gaming industry, Saulter says, “You must bring something to the table…you must have some type of tool set,” meaning you have to have some background in one of the needed fields. So, programs like the Urban Video Game Academy can be a great start to get children introduced to amazing careers in the industry.

If you are a college student right now, one of the most important things you can do to better your future is to find a mentor. Saulter advises, “You have to find a mentor…people

very rarely say no if you ask them to be your mentor.” These professors or professionals can help ease your travel through school and also help you move into areas of opportunity.

“The time you do have with your mentor, you need to use effectively…Ask them questions. Ask them for advice. Make sure you are respecting their time as well as your own.”

Saulter believes there are new arenas of opportunity opening up in the gaming industry, such as, what he calls the urbanization of the industry, in which Blacks and Hispanics will need to play a major role. “They [gaming companies] are looking for new arenas, new games, new designs, something that no one has heard of. I know there are a whole lot of African-American stories that have not been heard yet.”

GAMING FACTS: DID YOU KNOW? • “The Father of Modern Gaming” was an African American, Jerry Lawson, who created the first cartridge-based gaming console, “The Channel F.” • The video game industry brought in $67 billion in 2012. By 2017, the video game industry is projected to bring in $82 billion.

• Blacks and Hispanics combined make up less that 5 percent of game developers.

• African-American youth between ages 8-18 average about 30 more minutes of gameplay than Whites.

• Hispanics average about 10 more minutes.

28 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

www.blackengineer.com

MARK YOUR

CALENDAR

FebRUARY

5–9

2014

BEYA STEM Global Competitiveness Conference Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, DC

Don’t miss this historic event! www.beya.org

For more information, call us at 410-244-7101.

An UNDERGROUND Future

EXPERTS SAY NEW TECHNOLOGIES, GOVERNMENT POLICIES PROMISE A BRIGHT FUTURE IN ENERGY

by Garland L. Thompson gthompson@ccgmag.com

Y

oung engineers looking to get into the energy industry, take heart: The industry is looking for you. Especially out in the production fields, where technology has opened up vast new resources.

So says a June 2012 report prepared for the American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s main lobbying arm. “Employment Outlook for African Americans and Latinos in the Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Industry,” prepared by IHS Global, the Washington-based research organization, lays it all out.

Executives at the nation’s largest energy companies, looking out toward the end of the decade, see a “Big Crew Change” coming. The work force populated by the post-World War II “Baby Boom” generation is fast closing in on retirement, opening up opportunities for a new generation of engineers, technical workers, and semi-skilled “roughnecks” just as a revolution in technology is breaking in unlocking “tight oil” and “tight gas” from deep reservoirs under the sea and under mountainous areas on land.

Tight oil & gas from shale The Bakken Shale, part of the Williston Basin underneath North Dakota, Montana, and parts of Canada is producing rapidly increasing flows of low-sulfur “light” crude oil. The Eagle Ford shale formation, spread over South Texas and Northern Mexico, continues to blow out analysts’ expectations with its own rapidly increasing flows of petroleum, natural gas liquids, and gas. The Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale, underneath Eastern Ohio, West Virginia, across Appalachia from Southwest to Northeast Pennsylvania and into New York State—the world’s

30 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

second-biggest natural gas find—continues to upend world energy markets. Still other “tight oil” and “tight gas” reservoirs add to a flow so mighty the International Energy Agency confidently predicts that within the next two decades, North America will be the “New Middle East.”

The API’s “Employment Outlook for African Americans and Latinos” projected job growth up to the year 2030 along three development lines: • New jobs projected to be created under a baseline forecast of the industry’s expected growth; • Jobs that will likely be created due to the need to replace workers who retire or otherwise leave the industry over this period; and • Jobs that are projected to be created under a scenario to more accelerated development of U.S. oil and natural gas resources.

Opportunities opening up Charting “Potential Job Creation in the Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Industry,” the API report looked first at baseline growth and replacement requirements, finding nearly 80,000 new jobs likely to open up for minorities, out of 227,000 total industry jobs. If the federal government supports a “pro-development policy,” API said, the totals go up; another 86,000-plus jobs for minorities among nearly 300,000 total industry jobs.

Looking forward to 2030, the API report found that 172,000 jobs would open for minorities because of baseline growth and replacement requirements, out of nearly 480,000 total jobs.

Under pro-development policies, add another 114,000 minority

www.blackengineer.com

The Bakken Formation (Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota), Eagle Ford Shale (Texas) and Marcellus and Utica formations (New England) are just a few of the largest oil and gas opportunities in the United States.

jobs, for a total of 285,000 potential minority jobs.

That is, API estimates that, under policies promoting accelerated oil and natural gas development, of nearly 300,000 jobs projected to be created by 2020 according to research by the Wood Mackenzie research firm, 29 percent, or 86,000 would be taken by African American and Hispanic workers.

By 2030, the estimate is that more than 113,000 of the new jobs created by pro-development energy policies would go to African American and Hispanic workers, 34 percent of the 331,000 total new jobs.

Breaking it Down Of those projected new jobs, nearly 50,000 are to be in management, business and financial occupations; nearly 100,000 in professional and related occupations; less than 10,000 in service occupations; just under 10,000 in sales and related occupations; 35,000-40,000 in office and administrative support positions; nearly 190,000 in skilled blue-collar occupations; another 120,000 in semi-skilled blue-collar occupations; and nearly 25,000 in unskilled blue-collar work. That is, the API cautioned, if high-school completion rates improve for Hispanics and if better focus on STEM education comes about in the K-12 schools producing African American and Hispanic graduates.

That’s the 30,000-foot view. Here’s how it looks on the ground, where a ferocious technology competition is heating up the production fields. CNN Money.com reporter Alanna Petroff put it this way in a story headlined “Engineers get rich as Talent War heats up:” www.blackengineer.com

“Experienced engineers are being offered sky-high salaries and are taking regular calls from headhunters as the booming shale gas industry fights for scarce talent, snapping up engineers from other sectors….It’s a simple case of supply and demand: there aren’t enough experienced engineers to go around, and global demand for engineers is growing, especially as the U.S. shale gas industry balloons.”

Beginners Wanted, too Even young graduates just leaving their campuses are being eagerly sought, Petroff reported. “Seven of the top-paid college degrees are in engineering, according to a recent report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.”

What happened is that until recently, energy producers looked offshore, to Africa, the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, and South America for recoverable reserves, believing that all American reserves were just about played out.

Then that technology revolution changed the game. In a recent report by the Breakthrough Institute, “Where the Shale Gas Revolution Came From,” researchers traced the causes to three main factors: • The development of hydraulic fracturing of porous shale formations, long known to geoscientists but thought by producers to be impossible to open up; • Directional drilling techniques, pioneered in Pennsylvania and West Virginia but first applied commercially in Texas; and • Three-dimensional seismic imaging, developed for the coalUSBE&IT I FALL 2013 31

mining industry but adapted by federally funded research to help gas drillers limn the contours of deep-earth shale formations, which are geologically very different from the reservoirs the energy industry used to tap.

A Public-Private Partnership Drive Consistent government policy and financial support, beginning after the Energy Crisis of the 1970s, catalyzed the development of techniques and technologies to make it possible to tap those deep shales, first in Texas’ Barnett Shale, then the Haynesville formation farther north and, in 2007, the Marcellus Shale.

Today, engineers not only use ThreeD seismology, they are adapting computer tools to use optical fiber laid down to transmit data from “downhole” devices as a new kind of sensor, providing more exacting reports of seismic information to trace out the rock types, fracture zones and porosity and extent of the geologic formations through which the drilling head passes.

Today, engineers use gamma-ray sensing to steer directional drilling, and two different kinds of hydraulically powered “mud motors” to make the directional turns.

Today, engineers use fluidic data-transmission techniques to relay back up the well bore graphic pictures of the strata through which the drilling head passes.

Many Disciplines can Play That means not only petroleum engineers are in high demand, but other disciplines as well. It means electrical engineers, computer and control systems engineers, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, structural engineers, architects and architectural technicians, surveyors and many other disciplines are in high demand.

Look at this sample of the jobs on offer at the Texas Oil Patch site, http://thetxtoilpatch.jobamatic.com: Mechanical Design Engineer Coker Specialist; Image Processing Engineer; Senior Process Engineer - Gas Processing & Liquefaction; Engineering - Process/Chemical; Job Title: equipment solutions to Oil & gas, gas processing and the downstream process; Piping Engineer - Oil & Gas; Business Title Piping Engineer - Oil/Gas; Control Systems Engineer/ Specialist; Reliability Engineer/Specialist for a refinery; Aspen Basic Engineering Process Engineering Specialist Job; Human Factors Engineering Job; R&D Engineering Specialist - Metallic Materials; Image Processing Engineer; Engineering Specialist in Energy Simulation

32 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

Lessons learned, progress pursued Oil drillers watched the success of the late George Mitchell in opening up the Barnett Shale to commercial production, after decades of searching for the right technology, and applied similar techniques in the Bakken formation in North Dakota. Others applied those lessons learned to begin producing record quantities of crude oil and natural gas liquids from the Eagle Ford Shale in Tex-

as. Still others put the new seismic imaging, drilling and hydraulic fracturing skills to work in Texas’ Permian Basin, producing yet another boom, and still another in Colorado’s Niobrara Shale.

Colorado School of Mines drilling professor Bill Eustes, a former energy production worker who lost his industry job during the mid-1980s when oil prices crashed, said in a story by KUNC news reporter Kirk Siegler that today’s high prices of oil, coupled with the technology revolution, is driving the demand for new engineers.

“We’ve got the technology improving, we’ve got these new reserves opening up, and we’ve got this crew change coming up.

All these things have conspired to require people.”

Jessica Lambdin, Rocky Mountain area college recruiter for Encana Corporation, added that, “We find that this generation tends to have a greater ability to adapt and change and move in different directions.” That works for her company, which is shifting its focus from natural gas to so-called unconventional oil because the price of gas is artificially low, but oil prices are high.

That API study found the greatest growth is expected in the Northeast, because of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations’ bountiful output, and in the Gulf Coast region, because of the Eagle Ford. That’s good news for HBCU graduates, whose institutions fall in an arc from the Mid-Atlantic States to the Gulf Coast. From oil and gas recovery to hydrocarbon processing to the design and construction of transportation facilities—rail as well as pipelines, river barge as well as ocean-gong vessels—to environmental remediation, many skill sets are in demand. Now’s the time to chart that course.

www.blackengineer.com

From Fields of Combat to Financial Field FORMER MARINE SHARES KEY LEADERSHIP LESSONS

A

by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

fter Jerome Clark graduated from the United States Naval Academy, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and spent three years as a mathematics instructor at the storied academy in Annapolis, Md., before leaving the corps as a captain.

Clark went on to earn a master’s degree in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Developing and applying mathematical models, stats, analysis, simulations, analytical reasoning and common sense to the understanding and improvement of real-world operations segue neatly into a Master of Business Administration at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Clark also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and joined T. Rowe Price in 1992.

“I love the saying, ‘Luck is where preparation meets opportunity,’” Clark says. “By differentiating yourself through advanced degrees and certifications, as well as honing certain skills such as public speaking, you are preparing for opportunity.

By taking the initiative, being proactive and taking a chance, you can create more opportunities for success.”

Currently, Clark is vice president of T. Rowe Price Group Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., and portfolio manager in the Asset Allocation Group. He manages T. Rowe Price Retirement Funds and oversees the College Savings Plan portfolios.

He also is vice president of Personal Strategy Funds and an Investment Advisory Committee member of Spectrum Funds, as well as a member of the firm’s Asset Allocation Committee.

His proudest career accomplishment, he says, is developing asset allocation products based upon careful “Monte Carlo” modeling and working with a host of colleagues at T. Rowe Price to make them successful. “The modeling led us to design a different approach within the industry that has resulted in top-tier performance for our clients and various awards and recognition.”

Operations research (OR) originated during World War II as a response to tactical problems relating to efficient operation of weapon systems, and operational problems relating to the deployment and employment of military forces. Since then, OR has evolved to a full-scale scientific discipline that is practiced widely by analysts in industry, business, government and the military. OR is the science of helping people and organizations make better decisions.

Improvement can be measured by the minimization of cost, maximization of efficiency or optimization of other relevant measures of effectiveness.

–Source: Naval Postgraduate School www.blackengineer.com

Jerome Clark, vice president, T. Rowe Price Group Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., portfolio manager, the Asset Allocation Group

So, how did a man from the combat arm of the military transition to Civvy Street? How have the legendary 14 leadership traits of a U.S. Marine (J.J. Did Tie Buckle) helped him become a good leader and a good follower in industry?

“I’m naturally inclined to quickly charge ahead versus taking my time once I believe I have the necessary information to make a decision, Clark admits. “As a Marine, I was constantly taught the maxim, ‘No decision (inaction) is worse than a wrong USBE&IT I FALL 2013 33

decision (action).’ But the immediacy of war rarely exists in a business environment. At T. Rowe Price, I’ve learned the necessity and value of working collaboratively with my colleagues, rather than around them, to achieve the best possible results for our clients.”

Working collaboratively around the world means total reliance on high-quality business communications. To borrow a phrase from Frank Barbetta, “high finance has always done high tech.” So, what’s next for the financial community that has a reputation for being at the cutting edge of technology?

“It will increasingly become more technical,” Clark projects.

“When I started at my company more than 20 years ago, there were a handful of investment professionals with math or engineering degrees. Today, we have a significant number of investment professionals with technical backgrounds involved in most aspects of our investment business.

“By definition, you should have the technical skills required for your role,” he notes. “That’s a given. But, it’s not enough just to be a worker bee and efficiently complete assigned tasks. At our firm, the people who really have an influence are those who can go above and beyond just technical aspects of a certain job. They are those who can innovate both to seize upon business opportunities and to solve problems. And, they are the ones who can collaborate very effectively with their colleagues so that learning and knowledge is transferred across the organization to the benefit of all ― particularly our clients.”

Clark advises students and young professionals to make improving communications skills a priority.

“As a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, I sometimes have the opportunity to mentor or give advice to students there,” he says. “My consistent advice for those young engineering/math degree majors is to take English, public speaking and history

“J.J. Did Tie Buckle” The acronym J.J. Did Tie Buckle encapsulates the leadership training of the U.S. Marine Corps. It’s used by Marines to help remember these 14 leadership traits: Justice, Judgement, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, Endurance.

34 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

“At our firm, the people who really have an influence are those who can go above and beyond just technical aspects of a job. They are those who can innovate both to seize upon business opportunities and solve problems.”

—Jerome A. Clark

classes as electives as much as possible.”

Although he avoided such classes like the plague in his youth, because math was where he naturally tended to excel, “out in the real world, written and oral communications skills are as important―if not more so―than technical proficiency.”

Clark is one of 5,400 T. Rowe Price associates. He works with others in a dozen countries around the globe to helps clients achieve their long-term investment goals. As of June 30, 2013, the firm, which serves individuals, financial intermediaries and institutions, manages $614 billion in assets across a wide range of investment strategies.

“The beauty of the investment world is that there are so many different ways to approach investing and serve investors well,” Clark says. “My area of expertise—asset allocation—is growing quickly within the investment industry. In the last seven years, we’ve gone from one dedicated research and development investment professional with a technical background to a dedicated group of nine technically oriented professionals. There has been similar growth within other investment areas of the company.”

Other developments within the firm are corporate-sponsored women’s and ethnic-diversity roundtables to promote the placement and advancement of women and minorities, he says.

“One particular session many women felt was valuable at one of the women’s roundtable events was a speaker who provided insight into the differences between how men and women communicate and how understanding those differences could help their careers. “And, who knows, that could make a positive difference on the home front for some.”

His insight and perspective, he says, comes from his parents and kids. “As with most, my values and approach in life are based upon the teachings of my parents. Now that my kids are young adults, they provide me perspective and valuable insight that I can’t get from either my parents or people my own age.”

www.blackengineer.com

WORK FORYOURCOMPANY

About 12% of the U.S. population is African American, yet just over 5% of engineering professionals are African American.

How will you achieve diversity in this critical profession?

ASK ABOUT AMIE.

PLANT THE SEEDS OF GREATNESS. GROW AN AMIE PARTNERSHIP. 443-885-3077 e-mail: amie@eng.morgan.edu www.amie.ws

Jonathan Jones, fermentation product engineer, Dow AgroSciences LLC

36 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

www.blackengineer.com

How I SPENT MY SUMMER INTERNSHIPS OFFER STUDENTS LESSONS BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

A

by Gale Horton Gay ghorton@ccgmag.com

summer job might be a good way to earn some cash, but a summer internship is a great way to gain invaluable experience and insight.

Many students spent their summer vacation interning in offices and labs and learning what their future may be like when they fully enter the workforce.

www.blackengineer.com

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 37

Officials who run these programs say students are challenged in ways they often haven’t been in the classroom and walk away with experience, knowledge and refined skills that can give them a leg up when they compete for jobs or move on to graduate school.

employee in May 2013 after completing SMART and her studies in electrical engineering at New Mexico Tech.

“It’s a great deal,” said Jones, adding that she didn’t have to worry about looking for a job during her final year of college.

SMART requires that students agree to give the governStony Brook University has an internship program that ment one year of service for each year of tuition that was paid brought 13 students to their New York campus this year. through the program.

“Our program brings a lot of added value through outside Jones, who signed a contract to work at Holloman for speakers and seminars (including on the broader impact three years, said it’s a worthwhile investment. of nanotechnology in our lives and the ethFinancial reward was not a factor in ics and societal view of nanotech), as well Jonathan Jones’s decision to put off starting as through our professional development and his full-time salaried career in favor of an research skills classes, grad school prep, and unpaid summer internship. great activities (including a tour of Brookhaven Jones, who graduated from the UniNational Lab and their center for functional versity of Georgia (UGA) with a bachelor nanomaterials. The fellows loved it!),” Gary degree in biochemical engineering, had been P. Halada, associate professor at Stony Brook, hired by a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical said in an email.

Company and they wanted him to come on The University of Georgia (UGA) sends board shortly after his graduation in May. one to three students each year to Puntarenas, However, Jones put off starting work until Costa Rica for eight to 12 weeks as interns mid-July so that he could go to Costa Rica as to conduct sustainability audits at its campus an unpaid intern. there.

And he convinced UGA’s program orKenneth Davis, electrical This summer, Jonathan Jones and Fred ganizers that it would be beneficial to add anengineering senior, Morgan Perrin, both recent graduates from the UGA other intern to the project—an environmental State University College of Engineering, built an extensive engineer. At the Monteverde Cloud Forest carbon calculator spreadsheet tool for UGA Costa Rica and this summer, the two interns conducted carbon footprint then calculated a baseline estimate for UGA Costa Rica’s net analysis and developed a carbon calculator spreadsheet tool. carbon emissions.

“Experience is something you can’t put a dollar amount “Our sustainability interns gain hands-on experience in on,” said Jones. “What better way to give back to the uniresearch design, data collection and analysis, and must employ versity that I went to for the last four years. The knowledge critical writing skills to convey findings in a format that is gained was invaluable.” appealing to both a scientific and a lay audience,” said Quint He said interning in Costa Rica was “an opportunity of Newcomer, Director of the University of Georgia a lifetime” and that he desired to “dig into (UGA) Costa Rica.” Their fieldwork is largely something that I didn’t have any experience independent from daily direct supervision, and is with. I knew nothing about carbon emissions. carried out in teams; thus, they gain experience On July 14, Jones began his job with and skill in terms of time management and teamDow AgroSciences LLC in Harbor Beach, work on a project-driven assignment.”

Mich., as a fermentation product engineer.

Newcomer said the interns were forced Jones, 22, advises college students to to “draw deep” on knowledge they learned in embrace internship. other courses outside engineering and were “Go after any opportunity…no matter challenged to carry out the work in a multiculhow big or small,” said Jones. “You never tural environment in which English was not the know what might come out of it.” primary language.

In fact, he points to the intern he worked The Department of Defense’s Science with this summer as an example. That intern Math and Research Transformation (SMART) was offered an opportunity to interview for a ValaRae M. Partee, senior, program provides students with tuition, stiposition with a Costa Rican company.

University of Georgia pends, internships and guaranteed employment This is Jones’ second internship. In 2012 after graduation. he went to El Salvador to help build water Jerry Sanchez, supervisory electrical engineer at Holsystems with Engineers Without Borders. loman Air Force Base in New Mexico, said the program For Kenneth Davis, 20, interning this summer may be an provides him and his colleagues the opportunity to have a experience that changes his career path. steady stream of engineers ready for employment who have The 20-year-old senior at Morgan State University is been field tested. now thinking of heading in a different direction in his career.

One of the program’s success stories is Kalyn Jones, 22, Working as an intern with the Exelon Generation Corpowho now works with Sanchez. She was hired as a full-time ration, Davis has spent the summer researching relay failures 38 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

www.blackengineer.com

at nuclear power plants. He has studied reports and identified ences. Her first internship at Rutgers University in New Brunswhen mechanical relays have quit functioning so that maintewick, N.J., involved trying to get bacteria to grow in the air. nance strategies can be addressed in a more efficient manner, In her second internship at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta Davis said. she conducted research in the composition of aerosols.

Exelon is one of the country’s largest power generators Partee has been fortunate. All her internships have come and delivers electricity and natural gas to 6.6 million customwith a salary or stipend. However, she advises students to ers in Maryland, Illinois and Pennsylvania. intern whether or not a salary comes with it.

He said he enjoyed the work so much that he didn’t mind the “Get experience,” said Partee. “That’s really what matters.” hour drive from his home in Baltimore to Kennett Square, Pa. As for the future, after graduation next year Partee has “It’s been great,” said Davis, noting that he’s enjoyed the designs on getting a doctorate in environmental engineering work environment and his co-workers. from Duke University.

“They want you to ask questions. They’re very supportKaleb Richardson might be described as an over-achievive, very friendly. I like coming to work.” er—at least in relation to internships. Richardson has scored The Morgan State University senior is pursuing an electri- three internships since leaving high school, working at Boeing cal engineering degree and was previously interested in the in Washington, Exxon Mobil in Louisiana and Trinity Forge in power tract. Now he’s thinking of heading into the nuclear Texas. energy field. And he is also interested in working for Exelon However, the internship Richardson, a mechanical enafter he graduates in fall 2014. Davis said Exelon offers ingineering senior at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, terns interviews for full-time employment. completed this summer was a five-star experience.

One of the highlights of his summer was beWorking at Chevron in Bakersfield, ing sent by Exelon to the Peach Bottom Atomic Calif., Richardson was tasked with analyzPower Plant in Pennsylvania. He saw the room ing data on wells to determine ways to make where spent fuel bundles are kept and said he them more efficient. appreciated “actually seeing…how a nuclear “This internship so far has been very power plant runs and how different equipment fulfilling for me,” said Richardson in his 10th comes together” to power homes in the area. week of the 14-week internship. “It’s real-life ValaRae Partee truly believes in the benefits projects. I am adding value to Chevron and of interning. She spent this summer working at they are adding value to me.” her third internship since going to college.

Richardson said he hopes to gain fullThis year she conducted research at time employment with Chevron after he Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y., graduates next year. focusing on nanotechnology. Specifically, she “I really hope to get hired on at Chevron investigated how to clean heavy metals and as a drilling engineer,” he said. “I love drillAshley S. Kelsey, senior, contaminants from the environment and how to ing. Drilling is my heart and soul.”

Prairie View A&M University do it efficiently.

Asked why he pursued multiple internPartee, 21, a senior at the University of ships, Richardson said, “I want different Georgia, said interning has been extremely beneficial to her in types of experiences behind my belt.” a number of ways.

Ashley S. Kelsey, a senior at Prairie View A&M University “It’s made me narrow what I do and don’t want to do,” in Prairie View, Texas, took on her second internship this summer said Partee. “Also I’ve learned how to work with people betat Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. She’s been shadowter.” ing instrumentation and test engineers at the base and working She also said she has enjoyed doing research projects. on a project collecting GPS coordinate data. Another project she “Research forces you to learn things you might not have,” was involved in is related to LED lights and creating a program said Partee. “You learn at a fast pace. It expands your mind.” to determine the resolution of input voltage when connected to an Partee, who is pursuing a bachelor degree in environmeninterface card. tal engineering, describes her internship at Stony Brook as her Kelsey said she’s been “very impressed with everymost difficult internship. thing.” She said she is the type of person who “loves to “I had to learn a lot that was not related to what I am dolearn—any opportunity to take in more knowledge is amazing in my major,” she said. ing to me.”

While most of Partee’s research has been fulfilling, she “Every day I am learning something new,” said Kelsey, had one devastating event occur this summer which taught her who admitted she knew nothing about GPS prior to her work a valuable lesson. The samples she had been meticulously colat the base. “Everyone I have worked with has been very suplecting for several weeks were destroyed when another student portive, even if they were busy.” accidentally dropped them on the floor. She had to start over.

This is Kelsey’s second internship. In 2011 she was an inThe incident taught her patience. tern at Rice University in Houston working in bio-engineering.

“Things can change in an instant,” said Partee.

There she assisted a chemical engineering graduate student All of Partee’s internships have been learning experiwho was investigating leukemia in patients. www.blackengineer.com

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 39

28 Student Award Winners Military Leadership Award Camille Ross U.S. Naval Academy’13

Military Leadership Award Terrell Jackson Fayetteville State University’13 Academic Award Kaleb Richardson Prairie View A&M University’14 Academic Award ValaRae Partee University of Georgia’14

Military Leadership Award Brandon Van Dyke Bowie State University’15

40 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

Academic Award Jonae Felton Tuskegee University’13

www.blackengineer.com

Research Award Darius Smith Morgan State University’12

Academic Award Kamal McMillan Prairie View A&M University’15 Community Award Kendall Blackston, Jr. Morgan State University’14

Student Athlete Award Ashley Kelsey Prairie View A&M University’14

Community Award Jalil Abdul Morgan State University ’15

Leadership Award Jonathan Jones University of Georgia’13 Leadership Award Shaquille Graham Florida A&M University’12

Leadership Award Bermanley Augustin University of South Florida’13

Research Award Kenneth Davis Morgan State University’14

www.blackengineer.com

Student Athlete Award Moriah Young University of Maryland’13

Community Award Terae Kearney Morgan State University ’13

Student Athlete Award Cassandra Clayborne Bowie State University’15 Student Athlete Award Mason Robinson Rutgers University’12

Student Athlete Award Akinola Vaughan Bowie State University’14 Student Athlete Award Travis Jatzlau Prairie View A&M University’15

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 41

COMING NEXT

ISSUE U SBE&IT magazine’s Homeland Security, Government and Defense Edition 2013 Celebrating Commitment to Honor, Duty and Country

 Top Blacks in the Military  Leading African Americans in Civilian Defense  Career Outlook: Why You Should Work for Uncle Sam  The Diverse Faces of Science

https://checkout.subscriptiongenius.com/ccgmag.com www.beya.org

CAREER OUTLOOK An in-depth look at a cutting-edge industry within STEM. We tell you where the jobs are, why you want them, and, most importantly, how you get them.

Spotlight on Energy

INSIDE:

 Blacks in Energy: Career Potential

in the Energy Industry  Job Horizon and Recruiting Trends

www.blackengineer.com



Notable Blacks in Energy



The Power of the Internship

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 43

CAREER OUTLOOK

Blacks in Energy:

by Frank McCoy fmccoy@ccgmag.com

Career Potential in the Energy Industry

C

lean power is the future, for the world, USA and job seekers. This is the opinion of nonprofit business organization Advanced Energy Economy Institute. The institute contracted Pike Research, Navigant Consulting’s Global Energy Practice, to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the advanced energy—or alternative energy—market’s potential.

In January 2013, Pike reported that, two years ago, the global advanced energy market was worth $1.1 trillion, with the U.S. share worth $132 billion, and a projected growth rate of 19 percent in 2012. This is wonderful news for STEM job seekers in the energy sector.

But, there’s more. In February 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Treasury unveiled a $150 million Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit Program that will aid DOE-vetted companies engaged, or propos-

44 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

ing to engage, in domestic clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing projects.

The previously unused credits were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu says, “These new investments will continue that momentum, supporting the president’s commitment to American-made energy, increasing energy security and creating jobs.”

A DOE fact sheet reports that the manufacturers eligible for the tax credits will potentially produce clean energy that will create jobs, reduce pollution, lower energy costs and spur innovation. The following areas that should cheer energy-interested STEM students and professionals: • Solar, wind, geothermal or other renewable energy equipment • Electric grids and storage for renewables

www.blackengineer.com

• • • • •

Fuel cells and microturbines Energy storage systems for electric or hybrid vehicles Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration equipment Equipment for refining or blending renewable fuels Equipment for energy conservation, including lighting and smart grid technologies • Advanced energy property designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Does the greater education of STEM students equal higher salaries? The Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI), a CareerBuilder company that specializes in employment data and economic analysis, says yes.

In an article about the best-paying jobs in 2013, Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America says, “Nearly one in five employers (18 percent) reported that their educational requirements for jobs in their organizations have increased over the last five years.”

There was one exception: when EMSI listed the best-paying jobs requiring an associate’s degree. A nuclear technician with the right two-year degree could earn $68,037 annually for assisting in nuclear research and production.

Salaries escalate dramatically for individuals with three specific types of bachelor’s degrees in engineering. The potentially best-remunerated graduate in 2013 could be a man or woman with an undergraduate degree in petroleum engineering, who may receive $122,242 for designing how to extract oil and natural gas, particularly that which is fracked, from underground.

Students who decide to go nuclear can do equally well. An engineer with knowledge of radiation and nuclear energy could get $99,715 a year, whereas a chemical engineer might earn $92,934 for being able to use skill in biology, chemistry and physics to produce fuel and related chemicals.

Coal, wind, water, oil, solar, thermal, natural gas and other emerging forms of alternative energy sectors will also require skilled personnel with degrees that will mesh with a multiplicity of disciplines.

These disciplines include software development, accounting, market research, computer system analysis, network and computer system administration, information security analysis, web development, computer network architecture, financial analysis, computer programming, mechanical and industrial enwww.blackengineer.com

gineering, database administration, cost estimation and logistics.

Sequestration Blues The tricky part in this post-sequestration era is predicting how various sectors will be affected as the spending cuts begin.

The Scientific American website reports that the federal government is the main funder of basic scientific research.

The Congressional Research Service prepared a study called “Sequestration: A Review of Estimates of Potential Job Losses.”

A salient paragraph in the document states: “The industries estimated to experience the greatest direct and indirect job losses also differed considerably. Federal government employees could face much larger direct and indirect job losses as a result of cuts to nondefense budgets (268,000 jobs) than to the defense budget (56,000 jobs).

In the private sector, employees at professional and business services firms could face the largest direct and indirect job losses (180,000) due to nondefense budget cuts and manufacturing employees might incur the largest job losses (223,000) due to DOD budget cuts.”

The report doesn’t go granular in describing the sequestration’s impact. The battle will occur at research universities. Wealthy universities have a cushion with various sources of funding. The middle-sized and small universities, virtually all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), have small rainy-day funds.

In a Scientific American guest blog, MIT Professor of Science Writing Tom Levenson says: “Sequester cuts will strike bluntly across the scientific community. The illustrious can move a bit of money around, but, even in large labs, a predictable result will be a reduction in the number of graduate student and postdoc slots available—and as those junior and early-stage researchers do a whole lot of the at-the-bench level research, such cuts will have an immediate effect on research productivity.

“The longer term risk is obvious too: Fewer students and post-docs mean on an ongoing drop from baseline in the amount of work to be done year after year, and given that industry has reduced its demand for research-trained Ph.Ds., a plausible consequence is that some—many, perhaps—of those with the capacity to do leading-edge science will simply never enter the pipeline, shifting instead to some other career that does not demand six years or more of poorly paid training to find that there are no jobs.”

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 45

CAREER OUTLOOK

President Barack Obama speaks at the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois about his energy policies and new opportunities for engineers in the industry.

Top Employers:

Recruiting Trends in Energy

O

n March 15, 2013, President Barack Obama visited the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to unveil a $2 billion plan to bolster battery and transportation research and development.

At the event, he spoke about the many ways his administration and U.S. organizations are exploring to lessen fossil fuel dependence and create jobs for STEM specialists like you.

The president says, “We can support scientists who are designing new engines that are more energy efficient; support scientists who are developing cheaper batteries that can go farther on a single charge; support scientists and engineers who are devising new ways to fuel our cars and trucks with new sources of clean energy—like advanced biofuels and natural gas—so drivers can one day go coast to coast without using a drop of oil.”

46 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

by Frank McCoy fmccoy@ccgmag.com

In concert with President Obama’s declaration, 2,013 public, nonprofit and private organizations have made predictions about their industries that bode well for STEM students in energy and energy-related majors and graduate programs.

Electric Vehicles: The Future is Now reported that GE Capital Americas, which makes commercial loans, reports the automotive and supplier industries will benefit from more corporations purchasing “a mix of traditional, alternative fuel and electric cars and trucks.” Experts will be required to design, create new technologies, build and test those vehicles and all their energy-saving component parts, and to measure and lower their impact on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption.

The oil and gas industry underpins many businesses that produce plastics—overwhelmingly refined from petroleum— www.blackengineer.com

coatings and chemicals.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) says in its Shale Gas and New Petrochemicals Investment: Benefits for the Economy, Jobs and U.S. Manufacturing report that the 100-year natural gas supply from shale deposits “would generate $132 billion in U.S. economic output and $4.4 billion in new annual tax revenues.”

Another ACC finding projects the job bounty that could result as the natural gas industry expands. Hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs may be created in the following industries: chemicals – 619,000; plastics/rubber products – 346,000; fabricated metal – 74,000; iron/steel – 59,000; paper – 46,000; glass – 9,000; and foundries – 9,000.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2013 spotlights factors that may affect U.S. energy markets through 2040.

The Manufacturing Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) sees nation’s economic activity glass half full in 2013 and slightly more so next year. All economic activity relies upon energy in some way.

“MAPI forecasts that manufacturing production will increase 2.2 percent in 2013 and 3.6 percent in 2014. High-tech production is forecast to increase 4.3 percent in 2013 and 9.0 percent in 2014. Non-high-tech or traditional manufacturing, which accounts for 90 percent of value-added in manufacturing, will grow 1.8 percent in 2013 and 3.8 percent in 2014. Manufacturing will grow at a faster speed than the general economy, but not by much. The key growth themes are a housing rebound, strong growth in transportation equipment and the expansion of medical care (robust medical equipment demand). MAPI forecasts that manufacturing production will increase 2.2 percent in 2013 and 3.6 percent in 2014.”

www.blackengineer.com

Does that ring true? To find out, let’s visit the home page of the Association of Energy Engineers and see what employment opportunities may be in store for STEM energy-interested majors and graduates. In a box labeled “Energy Vortex Top Jobs,” a variety of energy-related jobs were listed.

To show their value, look below to see where the jobs are located, the prospective employer and the average salaries found at simplyhired.com for each job description, but not for a specific organization.

The jobs: • Power Resource Manager-City of Port Angeles, Washington, ($53,000) • Energy Manager, Los Angeles, CBRE Group Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm, ($62,000) • Senior Energy Engineer, Opinion Dynamics Corporation, Massachusetts or California, a market research firm covering energy/utility, ($75,000) • Maintenance Coordinator, Alcoa Global Primary Metals, North America’s largest integrated producer of primary aluminum, ($42,000) • Building System Automation Engineer, Fairfax County (Virginia) Facilities Management Department, ($62,000) • Senior Facilities Coordinator, Energy and LEED-EBOM/ Engineering Bill of Materials, Roche, a global healthcare company, (No salary data) • Program Manager, Commercial Demand Side Management, ICF Marbek, a Canadian fully integrated energy, climate, and environmental consultancy ($52,000) • Project Energy Engineer, Iconergy, a performance contracting and energy engineering firm, ($69,000)

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 47

CAREER OUTLOOK

Professional Life:

Top Black Energy Professionals That You Should Know

T

his article recognizes the expansion and elevation of African-Americans—the majority of whom earned STEM degrees—whom you need to know.

The following list features a variety of presidents, vice presidents and managers of some of the top utility companies in the nation, including Con Edison, Duke Energy and American Electric Power.

The list also includes the manager of commercial gas services of Dominion, a utility company whose foundation, The Dominion Foundation, recently announced it will give away nearly $1.4 million in education grants. This funding will support various projects in energy, environment and workforce development.

Con Edison Aubrey Braz Vice President, Substation Operations Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. On April 2, Aubrey Braz assisted New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott on plans to instruct new generations of energy specialists. Braz spoke at the announcement of Energy Tech, a career and technical education school developed in partnership with Con Edison and National Grid that is slated to open in Queens next fall.

“The energy and infrastructure challenges society will face in the coming years will be substantial. We require an innovative, informed, educated workforce to successfully meet those challenges,” says Braz, who joined the Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. in 1982 as a management intern.

Previously, he was responsible for the electric operations that serve 174,000 Staten Island customers, and all electric operations in that borough.

Braz received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University and his master’s degree in electrical engineering from Polytechnic University. He oversaw Con Edison’s transformer shop, electric meter operations, 3G system and its smart grid implementation program. Prior to that post, Braz was a Con Ed vice president in charge of smart grid technology.

48 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

CPS Energy Doyle N. Beneby President and Chief Executive Officer CPS Energy is the nation’s largest municipally owned energy utility. It provides both natural gas and electric service to San Antonio, Texas, with 728,000 electric customers and 328,000 natural gas customers in the country’s seventh-largest city and adjacent metropolitan area. Doyle Beneby was no newbie when he joined CPS in 2010. The recipient of a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Montana Technical College and a master’s in business administration from the University of Miami spent seven years at Exelon, where he rose to senior vice president and acting president.

In August 2012, the San Antonio Express-News reported that while Beneby received a bonus for keeping utility rates “lower than other large Texas cities, meeting safety goals and achieving high consumer survey results,” he is actually underpaid compared to CEOs at for-profit utilities.

CPS Energy, under Beneby, reports that the company has also helped the city attract new jobs by its emphasis on clean energy technology. These include using a mix of solar, wind, cleaner coal, natural gas and nuclear for energy production. Last year, research firm J.D. Power and Associates ranked CPS Energy as the leader when it comes to business customer satisfaction among midsize electric utilities in the South region.

Duke Energy Hilda Pinnix-Ragland Vice President, Corporate Public Affairs Unlike many of her peers, Hilda PinnixRagland says science and math came naturally to her, and that she excelled in both fields as a child.

Such proficiency led “to quantitative approaches to problem solving, statistical analysis and even taxes,” and North Carolina A&T University.

This is where PinnixRagland received a B.S. in accounting, which was www.blackengineer.com

later complimented by an M.B.A. from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

Over the past three decades, she’s worked in 14 different departments in the energy patch and recommends strongly that young people seek opportunities in the energy sector nationally and internationally.

“This exciting industry is multi-faceted, ranging from oil drilling, natural gas, renewable, coal, hydro, distributive resources, energy efficiency, nuclear, transmission and distribution, as well as all of the supportive fields (legal, finance, IT, human resources),” she says. The blend of retiring employees and the need for talent also eases competition over positions, and “there is an unfortunately a small number of African-Americans entering the STEM fields.” To succeed, Pinnix-Ragland says students must strive to communicate well, understand financial management basics, gain political savvy, network, set goals and understand the utility sector and how it operates.

Entergy New Orleans, Inc. Charles Rice President and Chief Executive Officer In June 2010, Charles Rice became president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans Inc., a $750 million electric and gas utility. The company is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation and provides electricity to more than 160,000 customers and natural gas to more than 100,000 customers in Orleans Parish.

His post-undergraduate path veered from that of many of his peers. After Rice received his degree in business administration from Howard University, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Later, he earned a juris doctorate from Loyola University’s School of Law and an M.B.A. from Tulane University.

He joined Entergy in 2000 as senior counsel and then served as manager of labor relations litigation support. In 2009, Rice became Entergy’s utility strategy director, then Entergy New Orleans’ regulatory affairs director. He is optimistic about energy students’ futures.

By 2023, he cites that nearly 62 percent of energy workers may retire or leave for other reasons. Critical positions such as skilled utility technicians and engineering positions outside the nuclear business may see a similar turnover event sooner, all of which provide opportunities for STEM energy students that are prepared. www.blackengineer.com

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Paul White Principal Attorney, Intellectual Property Paul White, board member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, is a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) engineer, as well as a patent attorney. The NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC. White is also a member of the Colorado Association of Black Professional Engineers and Scientists. At the eighth World Renewable Energy Congress, he delineated AABE’s objective.

He says it’is “to influence energy policies, provide scholarships to minority students to help create more minority engineers and scientists and serve the educational needs of our members and the public.”

Dominion Mack D. Smith Jr. Manager, Commercial Gas Services Mack D. Smith Jr. holds the position of manager, Commercial Gas Services, for Dominion East, Ohio.

In this role, Smith is involved in the fastpaced Utica Shale business, focusing on communication and maintaining interfaces between external business activities and stakeholders.

Mack and his team also have responsibility for revenue growth and developUSBE&IT I FALL 2013 49

CAREER OUTLOOK

ment, working with natural gas producers and with new commercial opportunities.

In his 30 years with the company, Mack has held various leadership positions in engineering, distribution planning, Six Sigma, customer service, large volume sales and business development. During his career, he’s worked in corporate and company organizations. Smith is a member of the Ohio Oil & Gas Association, and a member of the Southeastern Ohio Oil & Gas Association.

Smith maintains a strong involvement in community service. He is currently on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Stark and Carroll counties. He is past chair of Greater Stark County Urban League, and a former board member of Massillon Urban League. He served on local United Way councils and is a graduate of Leadership Stark County. He is a past recipient of Dominion’s Volunteer of the Year award, and currently serves on Dominion East Ohio’s Community Investment Board.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Engineering in industrial engineering from Youngstown State University, and a Master of Science in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

He lives in Jackson Township, Ohio, with his wife, Jacqueline.

He has one son, Jason, a graduate of The Ohio State University.

PEPCO Holdings H. Russell Frisby, Jr. Director, Finance Committee H. Russell Frisby Jr. is a director at Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI), where he serves on the finance committee. PHI is one of the largest energy delivery companies in the MidAtlantic region. Frisby is also a partner in the Energy and Telecommunications Group at Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP. His law practice focuses on regulatory and corporate matters affecting entities in the energy, communications and technology areas.

Frisby is the former chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission and past president of the Competitive Telecommunications Association. He has written extensively on various topics in the energy and telecommunications areas, and is a graduate of Yale Law School and Swarthmore College.

50 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

American Electric Power Charles R. Patton President and COO Appalachian Power Charles Patton is president and chief operating officer for Appalachian Power, serving approximately 1 million customers in West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. Patton has approximately 26 years in the electric utility business and has served in numerous capacities throughout AEP. Previously, Patton served in Columbus in the parent company’s headquarters of American Electric Power as executive vice president—AEP Utilities West and senior vice president—Regulatory and Public Policy. Prior to joining AEP, Patton spent nearly 11 years in the energy and telecommunications business with Houston Industries/Houston Lighting & Power. While there, he worked in regulatory affairs assisting in the litigation and management of regulatory proceedings.

Patton received a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas in Austin.

He completed, with honors, undergraduate programs at Boston University, Harvard and American University.

PPL Corporation Peter Ageng’o Network Engineer Peter Ageng’o started his career with PPL Corporation as an intern from June 2009 to May 2010. While interning with PPL, Ageng’o gained proficiency in data networks, IP-based voice networks and network security. Ageng’o implemented monitoring software for network monitoring and statistic gathering while also assisting in the successful implementation of central authentication servers for all network devices.

Now, as a full-time employee for PPL, Ageng’o is involved in the planning, development and operation of PPL’s network infrastructure. He has assisted in the implementation of guest wireless connectivity in the company’s metro areas, service centers and plants. The Penn State University graduate, has had progressive responsibility experience with North American Electric Reliability, and has achieved Cisco and other vendor platform skills, improving network operation proficiency. www.blackengineer.com

CAREER OUTLOOK

The Power of the Internship

Internship Opportunities Offered at Top Energy Companies

I

n this day and age, internship experiences count just as much as a high GPA. Companies love to see students who have had real-life experiences with their disciplines, and who have been educated on subjects outside the classroom.

Internship experience not only benefits the companies that you choose to work for, but they benefit you as a student. Obtaining an internship allows you to figure out if this is the career track you really want to follow or if there is another area in the company in which you would like to work instead. In this story, you’ll find out all you need to know about internship programs offered at top energy companies.

American Electric Power offers college students/recent grads the opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals in respective career fields such as engineering. As a participant in AEP’s College co-op or internship program, you’ll be able to earn a competitive salary, get paid holidays and balance your life and work schedules with flex time. In some cases, AEP also offers a monthly housing allowance and will contribute to a 401(k) plan.

Con Edison’s Summer Intern Program offers college students work experience that connects textbook knowledge with real-world settings and gives students an understanding of the ins and outs of Con Edison. Con Edison identifies students who demonstrate high energy, intellect and a genuine thirst for learning and who, upon graduation from college, may qualify as candidates for the company’s Growth Opportunities for Leadership Development (GOLD) Program.

All internship applicants must be full-time students in a four-year college program who completed their freshman year with a minimum of 30 credits and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater. Applicants must major in the study of engineering, environmental science, computer science and business-related disciplines such as accounting or financing.

Exelon’s internship program gives students the chance to develop professional skill sets, so that they will be better positioned as possible candidates for employment with the company following graduation. Exelon actively recruits M.B.A. students for leadership positions throughout the company. The company looks for energetic professionals who will maintain its momentum and help chart paths to new opportunities.

If you seek a challenging opportunity within a dynamic and evolving industry, Exelon internships provide a great place to start.

As a Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) intern, you’ll have the opportunity to surround yourself with professionals who are committed to helping you learn. Internships www.blackengineer.com

typically last 10 to 12 weeks and include a competitive salary and paid company holidays. Participants are often considered for full-time positions upon graduation. PG&E seeks interns who have a strong work ethic and initiative, strong written and verbal communication skills, active involvement in extracurricular activities and are enrolled in an accredited university within six months prior to anticipated internship date.

PG&E also offers an Engineer Rotation Development Program, an eighteen-month rotational training program geared to recently graduated engineers. The program includes classroom training courses, mentoring, field trips, networking events and job shadowing. PG&E offers tracks in its Electric Operations Transmission and Distribution organizations and Gas Operations Transmission and Distribution organizations. Upon completion of the training program, new engineers will have acquired the background and experience needed to perform their job upon USBE&IT I FALL 2013 51

CAREER OUTLOOK

completion of the development program.

A standard internship with Pepco Holdings lasts for 6 to 12 weeks. Pepco Holdings offers internships in civil and electrical engineering, information technology, finance, accounting and more. Applicant’s internship choice must be aligned with his or her field of study. Interns must be enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate program with a minimum GPA of 2.5 or above. To express interest in a Pepco Holdings internship, students must submit an online application at phicareers.com.

Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) seeks bright and qualified engineers to propel its business into the next century. SoCalGas’ engineering intern supports the region associate engineer with reviews, analysis and recommendations for engineering requests from the field, planning office and headquarters. This position provides research support (data gathering utilizing company records stored in hard copy or computer form), engineering and cost benefit analysis for pipeline replacement projects.

Students applying for this internship must be a sophomore, junior or senior with at least two semesters before graduation.

Students must also be enrolled full time in a university engineering program, preferably in the mechanical, chemical or civil disciplines. SoCalGas requests that students have at least a 3.0 GPA with solid understanding of fluid flow, piping systems and computer applications.

Southern Co.’s internship program is designed to give hands-on experience to talented undergraduates in the area of engineering, finance, business and computer science. Southern Co. strives to provide students with exposure to its company and challenge them with exciting work assignments. The company prefers for students with a minimum of 3.0 to work for multiple semesters.

PowerGrid Engineering LLC (PGE) internships aim to build a solid foundation by linking educational theories to realworld settings. All PGE interns are assigned a mentor to provide individual focus and attention to each student. During the internship, students will be exposed to several areas of service within the electrical engineering industry.

PGE internships require a minimum commitment of one semester, which may be extended to consecutive semesters depending on both intern performance and need. PGE internships are flexible to allow students to participate in the program while being enrolled in a full-time academic program.

Internships at ConocoPhillips immerse students in a challenging environment. The internship gives real-world responsibilities and opportunities to leverage knowledge. ConocoPhillips offers internships in oil/gas, information technology, engineering and business. To be considered for an internship, students must register for an interview through their university’s career center and apply online at ConocoPhillips’ website.

52 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation offers three-month summer internship programs in fields such as accounting, engineering and information technology. Anadarko prefers for applicants to have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

The Accounting Summer Internship Program teaches students to understand how the overall energy industry can impact accounting practices. Workshops are offered in geology and geophysics, petroleum engineering and drilling, marketing, field operations and finance.

The Engineering Summer Internship Program enables engineering students to launch their careers while still in college.

Whether you’re an undergraduate or working on your master’s, Anadarko provides diverse, exciting and rewarding intern opportunities each summer.

Anadarko’s Information Technology Summer Internship Program allows to students to network with directors and managers who can provide career advice. Interns will also meet regularly with a formal mentor for project guidance and development of technical skills.

Chevron has a variety of corporate internships in earth science, engineering, finance, global gas and several more. Students are able to gain a hands-on experience in field support to detailed technology support. Interns will work directly with professionals in a team environment and see how Chevron team members work together to deliver success. With an internship at Chevron, students will be able to develop skills under the supervision and guidance of experienced professionals. This internship program serves as a gateway to explore job opportunities with Chevron.

Dominion’s internship program can be an incredible opportunity for college or college-bound students. The program engages students for paid work sessions that involve projects or assignments that are closely related to the student’s area of study.

Students must maintain a GPA of 2.50/4.00 or above and must be currently enrolled as a full-time student for the current academic year at an accredited four-year or two-year college or university.

Several factors and/or activities may be used to identify the best candidates: • Business needs of the company • Student academic performance • Relevant experience • Area of study • Interview results • Contacts with students during recruiting trips to colleges or conferences If you’re in good academic standing and have a strong work ethic, you can gain hands-on experience by participating in one of Duke Energy’s paid internships or co-op programs. Benefits of these programs include challenging projects, networking with others

www.blackengineer.com

and learning from some of the brightest minds in business.

Intel Corporation’s internship program provides realworld experiences with leading-edge technologies. The program offers students networking opportunities with Intel managers and executives, as well as consideration for full-time employment upon graduation.

For its internship program, Intel is looking for fast learners enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs in engineering, science and business-related fields with a 3.0 or higher GPA on a 4.0 scale. The company seeks students with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, former internship and work experience, versatility and the flexibility to adapt to new situations.

Apache Corporation offers internship opportunities in a variety of technical and professional disciplines that provide an up-close introduction to Apache and the oil and gas industry. You will spend your internship working with some of the best in the business and working on real projects in the office and field. Your mentor will provide an overview of your assignments and will work with you to ensure a successful and rewarding experience. Apache provides internships in disciplines such as engineering, drilling, geosciences, geologic engineering, land and business.

Devon Energy seeks the best and brightest students to join its winning team of professionals. The company tends to look at its previous students first when selecting individuals for new graduate full-time positions. Devon offers internships and recruits in disciplines such as energy/land management, engineering (petroleum, mechanical and chemical), engineering construction management, general business, geology, information technology and accounting/finance.

Marathon Oil Corporation’s internships and co-ops are paid positions that provide opportunities for career development, networking with dedicated mentors, technical field trips, community volunteer programs and many other activities.

Engineer interns at Marathon contribute to meaningful projects that are designed, and implemented to deliver significant opportunities and results for both the intern and the company.

Work projects include: • Reviewing existing reservoirs for additional development potential, preparing economics and presenting to management. Working closely with geoscientists to develop and bring forward new exploration ideas; • Evaluation of artificial lift systems and recommending changes to improve the efficiency and runtime of the systems and assisting field personnel with day to day operation of wells in order to maximize production; • Overseeing onsite drilling operations of onshore deep gas drilling and deep water offshore environments; • Modeling current production facilities, providing recommendations for improvements in operational efficiencies

www.blackengineer.com

and cost reductions; providing facility recommendations for offshore production facilities for new development.

Entergy’s co-op/internship program is called “Jumpstart.”

This opportunity with Entergy is not only a pathway to possible full-time employment with the company, but it will give you valuable experience that will help you get a “Jump Start” on your career.

As an Entergy co-op/intern, you will be assigned meaningful projects closely related to your field of study. The company assures that through a series of progressive learning experiences, you will be given the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.

CPS Energy’s Corporate College Intern Program is looking for qualified students interested in gaining hands-on experience in their field of study. As an intern, you’ll gain practical work experience in areas such as engineering, general business, information systems, accounting, finance, marketing and other fields. CPS Energy pairs you with a mentor in your career field and provides you with: • Challenging work assignments • Helpful guidance and feedback • A clear understanding of work goals and expectations • Real-work experiences to improve your marketability As an intern for CPS Energy, you’ll also enjoy: • Networking opportunities • An opportunity to enhance your interpersonal and professional skills • An opportunity to “test drive” CPS Energy!

• A competitive compensation PPL Corporation’s intern/co-op program continues to have further reach. Through the work ofacademic relations and new sourcing strategies, which contributed to national recognition with the NACE 2013 Employers Choice Award, PPL’s program had more than 2,700 qualified applicants for 115 summer internship/co-op positions. This summer, PPL had students from 45 different college and technical school campuses. There also were 56 different majors and dual major combinations represented. PPL has students from as far as Pomona, Montana, Florida, Minnesota, Louisiana and Puerto Rico. PPL’s intern/ co-op program continues to be one of the company’s strongest sources for diversity. This summer, 40 percent of PPL’s interns came from diverse backgrounds. Internship/co-op opportunities, as well as full-time opportunities with PPL are posted at www. pplweb.com/careers.

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 53

Soar to greater heights

F

or more than a century,

tuskegee unIversIty

has Impacted socIety

In nearly every Industry beneFIcIal to mankInd.

t. washIngton’s

vIsIon In

1881

From booker

to today’s evIdent realIzatIon oF

academIc excellence In a contemporary settIng,

tuskegee

contInues

to soar to greater heIghts, makIng Its mark on a global communIty.

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

For InFormatIon,

vIsIt www.tuskegee.edu or call

(800) 622-6531

Tuskegee University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award doctoral, professional, master’s and bachelor’s degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Tuskegee University.

tu_CEAPS_ad.indd 1

9/22/10 12:50 PM

imagine the possibilities . . .

is the second oldest public institution of higher education in Texas. Offering baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 41 master’s degrees and four doctoral programs, the University has an established reputation for producing thousands of engineers, nurses, educators and corporate leaders. Since 1876, PVAMU has been dedicated to fulfilling its land-grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and service.

The Roy G. Perry College of Engineering (COE) has distinguished itself as a premier program at Prairie View A&M University, maintaining a reputation for integrating theoretical knowledge with advanced hands-on industry experience.

Many of its graduates are employed throughout the business and technological communities through Fortune 500 companies and as successful entrepreneurs. Overall, the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering produces graduates who are equipped to exercise a competitive advantage in today’s critical engineering disciplines.

COE Degree Programs

Chemical Engineering........BSCHE*, MSENGR Civil and Environmental Engineering ........................BSCE*, MSENGR Computer Science..............BS*, MSCS Computer Information Systems...............................MSCIS Computer Engineering.......BSCPEG* Electrical Engineering........BSEE*, MSEE, PhD Mechanical Engineering....BSME*, MSENGR Computer Engineering Technology..........................BSCET* Electrical Engineering Technology..........................BSEET*

*All Undergraduate Programs Are Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Certified

Roy G. Perry College of Engineering

P.O. Box 519, MS 2500, Prairie View, TX 77446 - (936) 261-9890 Office - (936) 261-9868 FAX

www.pvamu.edu

Excellence in Diversity Through Engineering

For more information Contact: Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering

The Office of the Dean (443) 885-3231

Pioneering Spirits Wanted:

LOWE’S SEEKS INNOVATORS

H

ave you ever thought about revolutionizing home improvement? Well, Lowe’s has. The company is looking for “Pioneering Spirits” to lead the way along its journey to provide customers with a truly differentiated experience. While having a pioneering spirit is not generally associated with today’s retail business, Lowe’s is moving to change all that.

Lowe’s, with more than 1,700 home improvement stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico has launched a campaign to attract and retain talent that display a strong sense of vision and drive.

The company is actively searching for innovative and creative people eager to take on new challenges and ready to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Lowe’s outreach represents a real growth opportunity for people who can offer big ideas and bold solutions as part of a highly motivated team.

The pioneering spirit and innovation Individuals most likely to find a home with Lowe’s are people with strong interpersonal and leadership skills who want 58 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

WE’S SEEKS INNOVATORS

by Rachel Hawksworth Director of talent acquisition, Lowe’s

big responsibilities. Lowe’s offers a career path for self-starters determined to make a difference but who also recognize the importance of collaboration and teamwork. That’s why there’s a high priority on openness and adaptability.

The concept of the pioneering spirit comes from the ability to develop entrepreneurial ideas that can be brought to fruition within an established structure. Pioneering spirits are motivated and driven and, at the same time, appreciate an environment in which their contributions are valued and encouraged. Lowe’s welcomes those who view themselves as potential leaders, willing to offer innovative ideas and new directions that help the company and employees grow.

Candidates will discover a number of opportunities by visiting Lowes.com/Careers. At the college level, there are internships to give students a hands-on understanding of the multi-faceted world of retail. Prospective graduates can also check out opportunities at corporate headquarters, Lowe’s stores and distribution centers.

A welcoming culture Underlying the inclusive environment at Lowe’s are four principles behind its dynamic work environment: Connect: The essence of the team environment—inspiring, www.blackengineer.com

assisting and cheering each other on.

Contribute: Seeking out, listening and valuing other viewpoints.

Thrive: A key component to employee fulfillment—having the freedom and support to explore and realize each person’s greatest potential.

Celebrate: Taking time to appreciate large and small victories and accomplishments.

Lowe’s embraces the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. The company is a leader in recruiting and developing talent in the Latino and African-American communities. One example comes from Patricia Cuero Nielsen, who holds a degree in nuclear science engineering from the University of Florida and an M.B.A. in information technology from the University of Phoenix. She said Lowe’s offers a realm of possibilities.

“A career at Lowe’s is not limited to one’s area of expertise (and) people with technical skills don’t have to limit themselves to IT,” Patricia said. “For those of us who seek to become general managers or lead teams, Lowe’s presents those opportunities (and) there is room for those who make the effort to excel with the company.”

Lowe’s leaders emphasize that their outreach represents a major change to traditional retail—a change top talent will find very attractive. It’s a career lifecycle in which new talent wanting to be more than “a cog in a wheel” can grow and contribute in an encouraging and welcoming environment that is enthusiastic about innovation and collaboration. “Never stop improving” is not just an advertising slogan at Lowe’s. It’s a lifestyle for customers and our employees.

DECK OUT YOUR DORM ROOM WITH LOWE’S

Y

by Imani Carter icarter@ccgmag.com

our dorm room might be your first room you will live in away from home. The best way to decorate your dorm room on a budget is to give it some familiarity to your home atmosphere. Bring along pictures of family members and pets. These can help decorate your dorm room and also remind you of home, where your heart is.

Lowe’s offers a variety of beautiful picture frames that will accent your walls and make your room unique and homey.

Remember you will also be sharing your room with another person, so you will want to compromise once getting there to keep your room in keeping with your roommate’s wishes also. You should begin cooperating with your roommate to create a pleasant and peaceful atmosphere.

Dorm rooms are many times not the largest spaces; however, Lowe’s provides merchandise such as wall and door hooks, bed risers and shelves that assist in maximizing your space.

Having to share a small space with another person can be a challenge, especially since your room at home is currently full of knick knacks and other personal belongings. If your closet is a disaster and the thought of fitting all your stuff into a dorm concerns you, consider investing in Lowe’s closet organizers which provide you with storage for shoes, towels, wash cloths etc.

While sharing your room, it is important to keep your side tidy. It’s very easy for papers to overtake your desk space when you start bringing back homework from class, notes and syllabuses. Try getting folders for each class and store them in a drawer or file.

Lowe’s office organizers and desk lamps (comes equipped with built in organizers) will make your information

www.blackengineer.com

Trunk: CONTICO 23-Gallon Storage Locker $29.98

much easier to find, which comes in handy when you need to study a certain subject or complete an assignment.

Intended for those who have no idea where to start, and even for the students who have planned how they’ll design their dorm room the entire summer, Lowe’s is the perfect place to buy all of the essential tools you’ll need to deck out your new dorm room.

USBE&IT I FALL 2013 59

DECK OUT YOUR DORM ROOM WITH LOWE’S Closet organizer set: Style Selections Set of 5 13-1/2-in W x 14-in H x 5-in D Black Organizers, $15.18

Trash can : 1.5-Gallon Indoor Garbage Can, $4.48

Desk lamp: Style Selections 15-in Adjustable Blue Swivel Desk Lamp, $10.97

Floor lamp: Style Selections 68-in 3-Way 5-Light Silver Floor Lamp, $19.97

Mini fridge: Haier 1.7 cu ft Compact Refrigerator (Black), $89.99

Door mat: Mohawk Home 27-in x 18-in Multicolor Rectangular Door Mat, $4.98

Ottoman: Linon Pink Square Ottoman, $12.90

Mirror: MCS Industries 15.5-in x 51.5in Bronze Rectangular Framed Mirror, $19.98

60 USBE&IT I FALL 2013

Pull out chair: Mac at Home Steel Folding Chair, $44.98

www.blackengineer.com

WE LIKE THE WAY

YOU THINK.

If “thinking outside the box” comes natural to you, you’re what we call a “Pioneering Spirit.” At Lowe’s, we know the value of diversity of thought. If you’re a trailblazer of innovation, looking for your next challenge, visit Lowes.com/Careers.

©2013 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Lowe’s, the gable design and Never Stop Improving are trademarks of LF, LLC.