June 20, 2003

Grant Receives GEM Award for Contributions as a Mentor

Dr. Christine Grant (center) received GEM’s 2003 Outstanding Alumni in Academia Award for leadership and contributions to academia. With her are Dr. Sarah Rajala, associate dean of research and graduate programs, and Paa-Joe Akotu-Ampaw (MSChE ’01), a former student of Dr. Grant’s. (Photo: Dr. Tony L. Mitchell)

Dr. Christine S. Grant, associate professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University, received GEM’s 2003 Outstanding Alumni in Academia Award at an awards ceremony on May 30 in Houston during the joint conference of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM). GEM is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to increase the number of underrepresented minorities obtaining advanced engineering and science degrees.

Grant received the award because of her accomplishments in academia and her dedication to mentoring underrepresented students. As one of only five African-American women faculty members in chemical engineering in the United States, Grant has devoted much effort to increasing the number of underrepresented students in engineering research and education.

Her academic and research mentoring activities have a broad scope. In addition to her role as a research advisor for GEM graduate students, she has also provided research opportunities for over 30 minority and women students in her laboratories. She has offered career development workshops for new undergraduates, high school and middle school students and has given motivational talks to student organizations. She has served as an advisor to the NC State University chapter of the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. Her participation in national committees and study groups has provided a unique perspective to both women and minorities in science, mathematics and engineering technology. Examples of this include her participation in the NSF Women in Science and Engineering Project (at Duke University), and she is currently the chair of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Minority Affairs Committee. In 2000 she obtained a National Science Foundation grant to fund a workshop entitled “Minority CHE Faculty 2001+: A Workshop to Develop Minority Leaders in the CHE Academy.” The University of Science and Technology (UST) in Ghana, West Africa, named a library in her honor, to celebrate her mentoring of UST engineering students and educational resources provided via her Ghana project.

Dr. Tony L. Mitchell (left), director of minority engineering programs, and Dr. Christine S. Grant greet Paa-Joe Akoto-Ampaw, who came to NC State for graduate studies through Grant’s interaction with the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. (Photo: Dr. Sarah A. Rajala)

Grant has received the Minority Affairs Committee Distinguished Service Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the National Technical Association’s Top Women in Science and Engineering Award, an Exxon Engineering Foundation Research Award and the Dow Chemical Company Young Faculty Award.

Grant’s research focuses on surface and environmental science, interfacial phenomena, mass transfer and tribology. She received her Sc.B. in chemical engineering from Brown University in 1984 and her M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986 and 1989, respectively.

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