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Celebrate Black History Month
Welcome to our 2026 history and heritage months, celebrating the people that make our community unique, and the individual and collective accomplishments that benefit us all. We begin with Black History Month.
Black engineers—from pioneering civil engineer Archie Alexander to NASA’s first black woman engineer Mary W. Jackson—have contributed to our discipline in ways that continue to inspire progress and service to the public good.
Here at UMD, the late John Slaughter, a groundbreaking engineer and our university’s first Black leader, opened the door for generations of Terp engineers to come, including the late Kevin C. Greenaugh Ph.D. ’98, UMD’s first Black doctoral graduate in nuclear engineering.
Jamaica-born Clark Opportunity Transfer Scholar Joshua Budram says being a Black man has meant he’s had to overcome barriers. “But rather than let that determine my opportunities, it gives me the motivation to push forward,” he said. The junior aerospace engineering major, who has interned at NASA, credits CMSE, the Black Engineers Society, and Coordinator for Retention for Clark Foundation Scholarship Programs Guerda Mervilus for helping him tackle challenges and “really feel like an engineer.”
CMSE was established at the Clark School in 1981 and remains a beacon for pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate students in engineering and other STEM fields. UMD’s Black Engineer’s Society, housed under CMSE, celebrated 50 years of impact in 2025. One of the first chapters in the U.S., it has been recognized by the National Society of Black Engineers with awards and appointments to the national executive board. Taken together, CMSE’s work has fostered generations of successful Black Maryland engineers and encouraged them to provide the same opportunities to others.
For example, Terp engineer Garrett Childs M.S. ’91 (materials science engineering) and his wife Dr. Marcella Childs, along with their daughter Elizabeth Childs ’21 (mechanical engineering), were inspired by Elizabeth’s interactions with CMSE and established the new Pay It Forward Scholarships for CMSE Bridge students entering Maryland Engineering.
This year marks 100 years since the founding of national Black History Month. In observance, the Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy (MICA) Office established the theme, “A Century of Black Commemoration.” Let us all reflect, engage with, and build on this history. I encourage you to visit MICA’s calendar of campuswide events, open to all.
Sincerely,
Akua A. Asa-Awuku
Associate Dean, Community Success and Workforce Development
she/her/hers
Related Articles:
Engineering is a Family Affair
Celebrating APIDA and SWANA Maryland Engineers
The Clark School Celebrates the Legacy and Impact of Black Engineers
Brick by Brick: The Clark School Celebrates LGBTQ+ Engineers
Celebrating Native and Indigenous Voices in Engineering
February 5, 2026
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