NSBE - Convention 2018 - 69

NSBE PROFESSIONALS
ON THE MOVE
RISING IN THE ACADEMY

UT ALUMNI SHINE

NSBE Lifetime Member Gary S. May, Ph.D.,
chancellor of the University of California, Davis, has
been elected to the National Academy of
Engineering. The Academy, whose peer-elected
members are among the world's most accomplished
engineers, seeks to advance the well-being of the
nation by promoting the profession and providing
independent advice to the federal government on
matters involving engineering and technology. Dr. May took the top office at
UC Davis in August 2017 after serving for six years as dean of the College of
Engineering at Georgia Tech, where he had also joined NSBE as an undergraduate in electrical engineering. Dr. May was elected national chair of
NSBE in 1987 and served two consecutive terms, while earning his Ph.D. in
electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley. He later was a
longtime member of NSBE's National Advisory Board.

Mieah Turner, president
of the NSBE Nashville
Professionals since 2015,
has been selected as one
of Building Design &
Construction magazine's
"40 Under 40" for 2017.
Turner is a senior project
manager for Messer Construction Company in
Nashville, Tenn., working with a team that
manages a wide range of multimillion-dollar
construction projects. She earned her bachelor's
and master's degrees in civil engineering at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, her home
town, where she also joined NSBE as an undergraduate in 2004. Turner has broad leadership
experience, both at NSBE, where she has served
as an officer or committee chair on the national,
regional and chapter levels, and in the workplace,
where she has served as Nashville lead for the
Messer Construction Young Professionals Group
for the past three years.

DIRECTING THE ACTION
Michele Lezama, who served as NSBE's executive
director from 2000 to 2005, is the new president
and CEO of the National Action Council for
Minorities in Engineering (NACME). NACME is the
largest provider of college scholarships for underrepresented minorities pursuing degrees at schools of
engineering. Lezama comes to NACME from Purdue
University, where she worked as a strategist on
graduate recruitment and retention programming for the Minority
Engineering Program. Before that, she was CEO and executive director of
The National GEM Consortium (GEM) for 11 years. During her tenure at
NSBE, Lezama built strong relationships between the Society's stakeholders,
World Headquarters and student leadership, while creating a strong,
diversified financial foundation for the organization. She is a lifetime member
of NSBE.

STEM ACHIEVER ROCKS!
Njema J. Frazier, Ph.D., a theoretical nuclear
physicist at the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) since 2001, and a member
of NSBE's National Advisory Board, was honored for
her achievements in STEM last year by the nonprofit
organization Black Girls Rock! The awards ceremony
was broadcast on BET. Dr. Frazier's tireless work to
improve STEM education for African-American
children fits well with Black Girls Rock!'s mission, which is "to change the
world by empowering black girls to lead, innovate and serve." Now acting
director of the NNSA's Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion, she is also chair
of the Algebra by 7th Grade (Ab7G) Initiative and founder and CEO of
Diversity Science, LLC. Dr. Frazier earned her Bachelor of Science in physics
from Carnegie Mellon University and her Ph.D. in nuclear physics from
Michigan State University. She is a lifetime member of NSBE.
www.nsbe.org

And congrats to another
University of Tennessee
(UT) civil engineering
alumnus, Jessica
Beasley of the NSBE
Memphis Professionals,
who was selected for the
Memphis Flyer's "20
Under 30" Class of 2018. Beasley is a structural
engineer and designer for Varco Pruden
Buildings, responsible for providing estimates for
projects valued at up to $1 million. Beasley is a
NSBE Jr. chapter advisor in Memphis and Region
III secretary of NSBE Professionals, continuing
her 10-year advocacy for increased college access
and educational opportunity for low-income and
minority youth. She earned her Bachelor of
Science and Master of Science degrees in civil
engineering at UT. ■

* CAREER ENGINEER * CONVENTION 2018 * 69

http://www.nsbe.org

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