Page 31 - Florida Sentinel 2-5-16 (2)

Black History: Inventions That Changed The World
GEORGE EDWARD ALCORN
Not many inventors have re- sumes as impressive as Alcorn's. Among his credits, the African Amer- ican inventor received a B.A. in physics, a master's degree in nuclear physics and a Ph.D. in atomic and molecular physics. On top of that, Al- corn worked for the likes of Philco- Ford, Perkin-Elmer, IBM and NASA, and created over 20 different inven- tions and was granted eight patents.
Despite such impressive credentials, Alcorn is probably most famous for his innovation of the imaging x-ray spectrom- eter – a device that helps scientists better understand what materials are composed of when they cannot be broken down. Receiving a patent for his method in 1984, Alcorn's inclusion of the thermomigration of aluminum in the spectrom- eter was regarded as a major innovation by experts in the field. The invention led to Alcorn's reception of the NASA In- ventor of the Year Award.
And that wasn't the only award Alcorn received. In 2001, Alcorn was awarded special congressional recognition for his efforts in helping Virgin Islands businesses through applica- tion of NASA technology and technology programs.
Alcorn's work as an educator should not be overlooked either. He held positions at both Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia, where he taught courses in electrical engineering. He also was an organizer and mentor for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's (UMBC's) Meyerhof Program, which works to promote minor- ity Ph.Ds. in science and mathematics.
KENNETH J. DUNKLEY
Kenneth J. Dunkley is currently the president of the Holospace Laboratories Inc. in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He is best known for invent- ing Three Dimensional Viewing Glasses (3-DVG) – his patented invention that displays 3-D effects from regular 2-D photos without any type of lenses, mirrors or optical elements. In addi- tion to his 3-DVG invention, Dunkley also receives at- tention for his efforts as a vi- sual pioneer. In Harrisburg, PA, at the Museum of Scien- tific Discovery, he has con- ducted visual effects workshops for four years. Dunkley is also a leader in the field of holography.
DR. PHILIP EMEAGWALI
Dr. Philip Emeagwali, who
has been called the "Bill Gates of
Africa," was born in Nigeria in
1954. Like many African school-
children, he dropped out of
school at age 14 because his fa-
ther could not continue paying
Dr. Emeagwali's school fees.
However, his father continued
teaching him at home, and
everyday Dr. Emeagwali per-
formed mental exercises such as solving 100 math problems in one hour. His father taught him until Philip "knew more than he did."
Growing up in a country torn by civil war, Dr. Emeagwali lived in a building crumbled by rocket shells. He believed his intellect was a way out of the line of fire. So he studied hard and eventually received a scholarship to Oregon State Uni- versity when he was 17 where he obtained a BS in mathe- matics. He also earned three other degrees – a Ph.D. in Scientific computing from the University of Michigan and two Masters degrees from George Washington University.
The noted Black inventor received acclaim based, at least in part, on his study of nature, specifically bees.
In 1989, emulating the bees' honeycomb construction, Dr. Emeagwali used 65,000 processors to invent the world's fastest computer, which performs computations at 3.1 billion calculations per second.
Dr. Emeagwali's resume is loaded with many other such feats, including ways of making oil fields more productive – which has resulted in the United States saving hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
As one of the most famous African American inventors of the 20th century, Dr. Emeagwali also has won the Gordon Bell Prize – the Nobel Prize for computation. His computers are currently being used to forecast the weather and to pre- dict the likelihood and effects of future global warming.
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