January 4, 2010

Gwen Boyd of APL to receive nomination by Obama

The White House has announced that President Barack Obama intends to nominate Gwen Boyd of Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory to the board of trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

Commenting on her nomination and those of nine others to different entities, Obama said, “I am grateful that these fine individuals have chosen to serve in my administration. They will bring a depth of experience and valued perspective to their roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, established in 1986 to honor the former U.S. senator and 1964 presidential candidate, awards scholarships to high-achieving college students seeking careers in science, engineering and mathematics.

Boyd, an engineer, is executive assistant to the chief of staff at APL and chair of the Johns Hopkins Institutions’ Diversity Leadership Council. She majored in mathematics at Alabama State University, with minors in physics and music, and was the first African-American to earn a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Yale. She also received a master of divinity degree from Howard University and honorary doctorates from Bennett College for Women and Lincoln University. A prominent advocate for women’s equality and for the recruitment of African-Americans into science and engineering, she has received the 1996 Black Engineer of the Year Public Service Award, congressional citations and recognition by U.S. Black Engineer magazine as one of the nation’s “Most Distinguished Black College and University Graduates.”