John Brooks Slaughter
John Brooks Slaughter | |
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11th President of Occidental College | |
In office 1989–1999 | |
Preceded by | Richard C. Gilman |
Succeeded by | Ted Mitchell |
5th (and last) Chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park | |
In office 1982–1988 | |
Preceded by | Robert Gluckstern |
Succeeded by | William English Kirwan (as president) |
6th Director of the National Science Foundation | |
In office 1980–1982 | |
President | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan |
Preceded by | Richard C. Atkinson |
Succeeded by | Edward A. Knapp |
Personal details | |
Born | (1934-03-16)March 16, 1934 Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
Died | December 6, 2023(2023-12-06) (aged 89) Pasadena, California, U.S. |
Alma mater |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Electrical engineering |
Institutions | Navy Electronics Laboratory |
Thesis | The solution of a class of optimal control problems by linear and piecewise-linear programming techniques (1971) |
John Brooks Slaughter (March 16, 1934 – December 6, 2023) was an American electrical engineer and college president who served as the first African-American director of the National Science Foundation (NSF).[1] His work focused on the development of computer algorithms for system optimization and discrete signal processing.
Early life and education
Slaughter was born in and grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and attended Topeka High School. After two years at Washburn University, Slaughter transferred and earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Kansas State University in 1956, an M.S. in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1961, and a Ph.D. in engineering sciences from the University of California, San Diego in 1971.[2][3]
Academic career
Slaughter took a civilian position at the United States Navy Electronics Laboratory in San Diego in 1960. He was appointed Director of the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington in 1975. He joined the NSF in 1977 as assistant director for Astronomics, Atmospherics, Earth and Ocean Sciences. From 1980 to 1982 he was Director of the NSF.[4]
Slaughter was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1982. From 1982 to 1988 Slaughter served as Chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park, then served as President of Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1988 to 1999. In 1999 he was appointed Melbo Professor of Leadership in Education at the University of Southern California.
Death
Slaughter died on December 6, 2023, while receiving treatment at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California. He was 89.[5]
Awards and honors
- Awarded the IEEE Founders Medal for 2022.[6]
- Mount Slaughter, one of the peaks of the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica
- In 2023, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering renamed their Center for Engineering Diversity to the John Brooks Slaughter Center for Engineering Diversity.[7]
References
- ^ "About - NSF History - John B. Slaughter Biography | NSF - National Science Foundation". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "John Slaughter". The History Makers. Nov 28, 2012.
- ^ Slaughter, John Brooks (1971). The solution of a class of optimal control problems by linear and piecewise-linear programming techniques (Ph.D.). University of California, San Diego. OCLC 17797905 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Staff report (June 12, 1982). National Science Chief To Leave Federal Post. New York Times
- ^ "Occidental College President Emeritus John B. Slaughter Dies at 89". Occidental College. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ "IEEE Founders Medal Recipients" (PDF). IEEE. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ "A Tribute to Excellence and Equity: the John Brooks Slaughter Center for Engineering Diversity". USC Viterbi | School of Engineering. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
Further reading
- Kessler, J., Kidd, J. Kidd R. & Morin, K. (1996). Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. pp. 292–296.
External links
- John Brooks Slaughter profile via The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences.
- John Brooks Slaughter at IMDb
Government offices | ||
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Preceded by | Director of the National Science Foundation December 1980 – October 1982 | Succeeded by |
Academic offices | ||
Preceded by Robert Gluckstern | Chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park 1982–1988 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by Richard C. Gilman | President of Occidental College 1989–1999 | Succeeded by Theodore R. Mitchell |
- v
- t
- e
- Benjamin Hallowell (1859)
- Charles Benedict Calvert # (1859–1860)
- John Work Scott † (1860)
- John M. Colby (1860–1861)
- Henry Onderdonk (1861–1864)
- Nicholas Worthington (1864–1867)
- George Washington Custis Lee † (1866)
- Charles Minor (1867–1868)
- Franklin Buchanan (1868–1869)
- Samuel Register (1869–1873)
- Samuel Jones (1873–1875)
- William Parker (1875–1882)
- Augustine Smith (1883–1887)
- Allen Dodge # (1887–1888)
- Henry Elijah Alvord (1888–1892)
- Richard Silvester (1892–1912)
- Thomas Spence # (1912–1913)
- Harry J. Patterson (1913–1917)
- Albert F. Woods (1917–1926)
- Raymond A. Pearson (1926–1935)
- Byrd (1935–1954)
- Thomas B. Symons # (1954)
- Wilson Homer Elkins (1954–1970)
- Charles E. Bishop (1970–1974)
- John W. Dorsey # (1974–1975)
- Robert Gluckstern (1975–1982)
- William Kirwan # (1982)
- John Brooks Slaughter (1982–1988)
- William Kirwan (1989–1998)
- Gregory L. Geoffroy # (1998)
- C. Daniel Mote Jr. (1998–2010)
- Nariman Farvardin # (2010)
- Wallace Loh (2010–2020)
- Darryll Pines (2020– )
Note: from 1920 to 1970, the president of College Park campus was also the leader of each of the other campuses in the University of Maryland system