Melvin R. Ramey
Named One of '50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science' for 2004

The editors of Science Spectrum magazine and US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine (www.blackengineer.com) have selected Melvin R. Ramey, P.E., Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis as one of the "50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science" for 2004. Honorees are chosen based on their work in making science part of global society.

Honorees are presented to young people as role models, and their accomplishments are upheld as examples of the important contributions made on a daily basis by the small but growing cadre of African Americans in the field.

These accomplishments are newsworthy and valuable for minorities. National Science Foundation (NSF) studies show that the U.S. is falling behind other nations in the production of scientists and engineers. Women and minorities, whose burgeoning college enrollments could stem the gap, are still far behind other Americans. Of 708,200 scientists found in an NSF survey, women make up less than one-third. Blacks and Hispanics, America’s largest minority groups, together provide only 43,000 of these professionals. Native Americans add only 2,200. Asian scientists' 74,000-strong presence may seem unusually large, until compared with the total of 12 million Asians in the U.S.

This year, "50 Most Important" exemplars are being invited to attend a colloquium and awards luncheon, where increasing Black participation in science is to be discussed. The event will be held on Friday, September 17, in Nashville, Tenn., as a high point of the Emerald Honors Conference for Research Science.