Robert Louis Shepard
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikitia's general notability guideline. |
Robert Louis Shepard | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 25, 1947 Garner, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.S. in Chemistry, Saint Augustine’s College (1969) |
| Known for | Advocacy for broadening participation of HBCUs in the federal research enterprise |
| Spouse(s) | Alzonia Wiggins (m. 1969) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
Robert Louis Shepard (born December 25, 1947) is an American chemist, science advocate, and author, known for his pioneering work in advocating for broadening participation in the federal research enterprise to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Personal life
Robert Louis Shepard was born in Garner, North Carolina on December 25, 1947, to Louis Lee and Verna Mae Shepard. His mother graduated from high school in 1944, but his father had to drop out in the third grade to help his family who were sharecroppers. His mother motivated him and his siblings to attend college, while his father stressed the importance of work, and demonstrated by example, "That Work is Your Friend."[1] [2]
Education
Shepard graduated in 1965 from the segregated Garner Consolidated High School in Garner, as salutatorian of his class. After graduating, he received a four-year academic scholarship from Saint Augustine's College (now University) to pursue his undergraduate education. When he entered college at age 17, changes were underway initiated by the Civil Rights Movement and the lessening of the stranglehold that the Jim Crow laws had on Blacks in the South. He received his B.S. in Chemistry in 1969, and married his college sweetheart Alzonia Wiggins that same year.[3][4]
After receiving his undergraduate degree, Shepard was awarded a National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) fellowship from Howard University to pursue graduate studies toward a Doctorate degree. He started with the intent of obtaining the Ph.D. degree without getting the M.S. degree first. He changed his strategy when he and his major research advisor, Professor Jesse M. Nicholson met with researchers in the Mass Spectroscopy division at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) who saw great educational benefit in developing a thesis at the M.S.-level through a collaboration with NRL before continuing for the Ph.D. In addition to his advisor Dr. Nicholson, Dr. Fred E. Salfeld, head of the mass spectroscopy research division at NRL, proved to be a factor in Shepard developing and following his research path, so much so that Dr. Salfeld was the external member on his dissertation committee.[5] [6][7]
He conducted his research in the facilities at NRL, receiving his M.S. and his Ph.D. degrees from Howard University in 1971 and 1973, respectively in Physical Organic Chemistry with a focus in Mass Spectroscopy in collaboration with NRL.[8]
Career
Graduating from Howard in 1973, Shepard started his career with the Celanese Corporation in Charlotte, North Carolina. Two weeks into his position as Head of the X-ray Diffraction and Atomic Absorption laboratory, his laboratory was inspected by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS)'s Radiation Protection Section. Due to severe scattered radiation that he was not aware of but his technicians were being exposed to, his laboratory was deemed out of compliance with the state radiation requirements and federal mandates governed by the Occupation Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). He was given 60 days to bring his laboratory into compliance with both the state and federal radiation protection requirements. With no time to waste, he moved expeditiously to resolve the issue in a cost-effective manner before the 60-day deadline.[9] [10]
The newly formed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was established in 1974. In 1975, Shepard was invited to take an interview, was hired in the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety & Safeguards (NMSS), promoted to the Office of Research in 1977, and continued to move up. After becoming a program manager in the Nuclear Safeguards group, he became a peer reviewer for NRC and for other federal agencies that were engaged in university research collaborations. In his reviewer capacity, he noticed the absence of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as participants in this well-funded, federal-university research enterprise, and provided definitive data showing the role some HBCUs could play in conducting high-quality research for the federal government.[11][12]
In 1984, Shepard requested, and was granted, the opportunity under the government's Intergovernmental Personnel Assistant (IPA) Program, to join Howard's Chemistry Department as a Visiting Scientist to create and test a conceptual framework for improving the research infrastructure at HBCUs using partnerships and collaborations. While at Howard, he was awarded a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish a collaboration with Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Nigeria. He created a new focus in the department by conducting research on looking at unknown plants as potential food sources, and successfully demonstrated that not only could HBCU research infrastructures be strengthened through collaborations with each other, but also from global interactions.[13] [14]
In 1988, he returned to the NRC and became known as a the "Scientist Dedicated to HBCU Advancement in Federal Research," and played a critical role in launching a government-university partnership that strengthened underrepresented and underutilized institutions in science and engineering fields.[15]
In 1990, Shepard resigned from the NRC and founded the Science and Engineering Alliance, Inc. (known as SEA), a nonprofit research consortium of four HBCUs, Alabama A&M University (Huntsville, AL); Jackson State University (Jackson, MS); Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, TX); Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, LA); and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, CA), with the goal of broadening participation to increase the use of HBCUs in federally funded research.[16] [17]
Based on his advocacy on behalf of HBCUs, in 1993 he was asked by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) to share his thoughts on the future of HBCUs. His article, The HBCU in Tomorrow's World became the cover story for the NOBCChE Newsletter.[18][19]
Over its 24-year span under Shepard's leadership, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Survey of Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions for 1990 - 2009, the SEA institutions collectively secured over $1 billion in federal funds to support new initiatives, among which was enhancement of the research infrastructure.[20]
After leading SEA for nearly a quarter of a century and the organization exceeding its mission, in 2013 Shepard and the Board of Directors dissolved SEA. In that same year, he established The Shepard Institute (TSI), LLC to continue his advocacy for HBCUs and his writing.[21] [22]
The work and legacy of SEA were continued and expanded upon in 2020 by its successor organization, the National Science & Engineering Alliance (NSEA).[23]
Published works
Books, Monographs, and Media
Fulfilling MY Destiny, Step by Step – An Autobiography - (Published by AuthorHouse®, 2013; The Shepard Institute, 2016)
Fulfilling YOUR. Destiny, Step by Step – A Self-Help Guide - (Published by The Shepard Institute, 2017)
Food Science Lecture Note Series IV - International Food Policy. (2005). Monograph, Editors-in-Chief: Adeyemi, I. A., Ologunde, M. O., and Shepard, R. L., (Publisher: Scoripo Educational Achievement Services (SEAS) Publishers, Lagos, Abuja, ISBN: 978-9784829823)
Food Science Lecture Note Series V: Toxic Constituents of Food. (2005). Monograph, Editor-in-Chief: Adeyemi, I. A., Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Ologunde, M. O., and Associate Editor: Shepard, R. L., (Publisher: Scoripo Educational Achievement Services (SEAS) Publishers, Lagos, Abuja, ISBN: 978-9784829809)
Invited Speaker for Inauguration of Nigerian University's First Indigenous President: M.O. Ologunde (2019)
What Made the Difference, Inspiration for those reeling from setbacks, Howard University (2016)
Recognition and Awards
Mural of Shepard, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Building, Rockville, Maryland (2022)
Featured on the African American Historical Website, Blackpast.org (2018)
Distinguished Alumni & Citation, Garner Consolidated High School Alumni (2015)
Dedicated Service to LLNL, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), (1994-2013)
Outstanding Alumni, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) (2013)
William Jefferson Jackson Distinguished Alumni, Saint Augustine's University (2012)
Emerald Honors Educational Leadership Award, Science Spectrum, page 28 (2006)
Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer (2005-2006)
Founding Board Member, Building Engineering and Science Talent (BEST) (2001)
21st Century Trailblazer Award, Jackson, Mississippi City Council (1998)
Distinguished PhD Alumni, Howard University (1998)
Distinguished Alumni, Saint Augustine's University (1996)
References
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ Braimah, A. (2018, March 29). Robert Louis Shepard (1947- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/shepard-robert-louis-1947/
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ Braimah, A. (2018, March 29). Robert Louis Shepard (1947- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/shepard-robert-louis-1947/
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ Braimah, A. (2018, March 29). Robert Louis Shepard (1947- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/shepard-robert-louis-1947/
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. (1973). Negative and Positive Ion Mass Spectrometry of Some Substituted Diimides, Ph.D. Thesis, Howard University
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/xrs.1300040411
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/history.html
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ https://dh.howard.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1539&context=newdirections
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ https://www.nationalsea.org/our-history/
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/fg9f9rk
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ Shepard, Robert L. Fulfilling My Destiny, Step by Step. The Shepard Institute, 2013. ISBN 9781491829623
- ↑ https://www.nationalsea.org/our-history/
- ↑ https://www.nationalsea.org/our-history/
External links
This article "Robert Louis Shepard" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.