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| Byron L. Simpson Jr. |
Engineer nets technology award
By Beth Hagenauer
Dryden Public Affairs
Dryden software engineer Byron L. Simpson Jr. was among a group of African-Americans receiving national honors Feb. 20 for outstanding achievements in technology.
Simpson was recognized as a Modern-day Technology Leader during the 18th annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference at the Baltimore, Md., Convention Center. These leaders "are men and women of color who are demonstrating outstanding performance and will shape the course of engineering, science and technology in the future," said Tyrone D. Taborn, chief executive officer of the conference.
"(Simpson) and the other technology leaders are individuals whose stories of phenomenal success merit national recognition."
Simpson began his NASA career with summer positions in 1999 and 2000 at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. He was a National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science intern at Dryden during the summers of 2001 and 2002. In January 2003, he accepted a permanent position as a computer software engineer at the Center following completion of a master of science degree in computer science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, N.C. Simpson earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science from the same institution in 2001.
During Simpson's university years, he was active in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). He served as chairman of NSBE - Region II during the 2001-02 academic year. He previously held NSBE positions as chapter president and vice president.
NASA Deputy Administrator Frederick D. Gregory and Regina B. Blue of Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, also received awards at the conference honoring their outstanding achievements in technology.
The conference is hosted by U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine, the Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Lockheed Martin Corp. and DaimlerChrysler Corp.
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