A Mississippi State University teacher and researcher is among the nation's top African-American engineers for 1997.
Lesia Crumpton, assistant professor of industrial engineering, will receive the 1997 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Education in ceremonies Feb. 15 in Baltimore, Md. The annual competition is sponsored by Career Communications Group of Baltimore.
A Mississippi State faculty member since 1993, Crumpton's research focuses on workplace designs to accommodate the disabled.
She is among 30 African Americans in industry, government, education, and small businesses being recognized as leaders in science and technology. Among those receiving awards are executives with Lockheed Martin, General Motors, IBM, NASA, Motorola, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Hughes Space and Communication.
Crumpton has developed an undergraduate and graduate academic program in the area of ergonomics/human factors engineering.
"She has made a significant contribution in her field, and this award recognizes the stature of her research and teaching efforts," said Larry Brown, head of Mississippi State's industrial engineering department.
Funded by major grants from the National Science Foundation, Crumpton's research involves the development of engineering criteria that can be used to design work environments and task requirements allowing persons with disabilities to successfully compete in today's workplace.
In 1995, she earned a $200,000 NSF Early Career Development Award for her research.
She holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University.
Fewer than 4 percent of all American engineers are African American, according to the competition sponsors.