NSBE - Convention 2018 - 36

MARCH 21-25, 2018 * PITTSBURGH, PA.

NATIONAL
A
SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS

IGNITE * IMAGINE * INNOVATE

Golden Torch Honorees
University and his Master of Science in engineering management at
Washington University. He has maintained an active role in the community by
serving as a mentor for the St. Louis Regional Business Council Mentoring
Program. He also coaches youth sports. He continues to inspire those he
works with and strives to leave a positive lifelong impact on them.

Mike Shinn Distinguished Member of the Year
(Male)
Derius Galvez
Master's Degree Student, Aerospace Engineering
Mississippi State University

Mike Shinn Distinguished Member of the Year
(Female)
Jeremy Waisome, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Computer &
Information Science & Engineering
University of Florida

Derius "DJ" Galvez, from Shubuta, Miss., is a
recent graduate of the aerospace engineering bachelor's degree program at
Mississippi State University. Through his studies at MSU, he has developed
diverse technical skills related to his research and development of unmanned
aerial systems. Galvez has created an orientation sensor that predicts incorrect positioning of North American youth football players and enables them
to reposition themselves to reduce the probability of head injury. He has also
studied the effects of brain damage resulting from large forces emitted from
contact between professional North American football players. Through this
research, he has designed a conceptual helmet to minimize head injury to
players.
His work in the community is also impressive. Galvez volunteers with
the Boys and Girls Club, STEM on the Move and the Project Lead the Way
initiative, working with African-American youth to increase their awareness
and understanding of STEM disciplines. He was recognized by the Louis
Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation (LSMAMP) in 2015 for
his outstanding research on head injuries and was selected as the first-place
winner at the LSMAMP Research Symposium. In 2016, LSMAMP honored
him with its Outstanding Senior award.
Galvez' most recent accomplishment was winning the three-minute thesis
competition at Mississippi State University, where he presented his work in
creating a bio-inspired unmanned aerial vehicle. Galvez expects to graduate
with his master's in aerospace engineering this May and plans to work at
Northrop Grumman Corporation in Palmdale, Calif.

Dr. Jeremy Alexis Magruder Waisome, postdoctoral associate at the
University of Florida (UF), serves as project manager of the National
Science Foundation-supported Institute for African-American Mentoring
in Computing Sciences (iAAMCS, pronounced "I Am C.S."), in UF's
Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering.
During her youth in Orlando, Fla., Dr. Waisome's parents instilled in her
the value of education. She had an early passion for math, science and the
performing arts, and they enrolled her in several summer camps to help
narrow her interests. By the seventh grade, one such camp had helped her
realize that a doctoral degree in engineering was her educational goal.
She subsequently attended Edgewater High School's STEM magnet
program, where she helped an all-girls NSBE Try-Math-A-Lon team win a
countywide competition and gain sponsorship to attend a NSBE conference.
The next year, she became president of her high school's NSBE Jr. chapter.
She also participated in UF's GatorTrax program, eventually earning a scholarship to the university upon completion of the program.
Dr. Waisome received her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees
in civil engineering from UF. During her studies, she served NSBE as the
president and advisor of the Gator Chapter and in other leadership positions.
In addition, she served as president of Epsilon Lambda Chi, the Herbert
Wertheim College of Engineering's (HWCOE's) leadership honorary; and as
vice president of Florida Blue Key, UF's most prestigious leadership honorary.
In 2010, she was acknowledged for her contributions to the university and
inducted into UF's Hall of Fame.
Through her mentoring and leadership activities with the Ronald E. McNair
Scholars Program, HWCOE and the UF Graduate School, Dr. Waisome
cultivated a passion for developing activities that broaden participation in
STEM and computing (STEM+C). As a result, she is now pursuing research
opportunities in engineering education.

36 *

NSBE MAGAZINE * CONVENTION 2018

Pioneer of the Year
Nasr A. Shuaib
Mechanical Engineer
Pratt & Whitney
Nasr Shuaib is a mechanical engineer with more
than 10 years of experience in the areas of research
and development, design and project management. He holds a bachelor's
degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Khartoum, Sudan;
a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky and
a Project Management Professional certificate and is a P&W Achieving
Competitive Excellence (ACE) practitioner specializing in design for variation.
He also holds three issued and five pending patents.
Shuaib's keen interest in science and technology, and aerospace
engineering in particular, drove him to pursue a career at Pratt & Whitney.
As a jet engine design engineer, he led multiple bearing compartment seal
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