John Brooks Slaughter
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John Brooks Slaughter (March 16, 1934 – December 6, 2023) was an American
electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
and college president who served as the first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
director of the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
(NSF). His work focused on the development of
computer algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...
s for system optimization and discrete signal processing.


Early life and education

Slaughter was born in and grew up in
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...
, and attended Topeka High School. After two years at
Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...
, Slaughter transferred and earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from
Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...
in 1956, an M.S. in engineering from the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
in 1961, and a Ph.D. in engineering sciences from the
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
in 1971.


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 The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
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.Staff report (June 12, 1982)
National Science Chief To Leave Federal Post.
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
Slaughter was elected to membership in the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
in 1982. From 1982 to 1988 Slaughter served as Chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park, then served as President of
Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...
in Los Angeles from 1988 to 1999. In 1999 he was appointed Melbo Professor of Leadership in Education at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
.


Death

Slaughter died on December 6, 2023, while receiving treatment at Huntington Hospital in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
. He was 89.


Awards and honors

* Awarded the IEEE Founders Medal for 2022. * Mount Slaughter, one of the peaks of the
Sentinel Range The Sentinel Range is a major mountain range situated northward of Minnesota Glacier and forming the northern half of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica. The range trends NNW-SSE for about and is wide. Many peaks rise over and Vinson Mass ...
of the
Ellsworth Mountains The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a long and wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Marie Byrd Land. They are bisected by Minneso ...
in
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
* In 2023, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering renamed their Center for Engineering Diversity to the John Brooks Slaughter Center for Engineering Diversity.


References


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. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, John Brooks 1934 births 2023 deaths People from Topeka, Kansas Washburn University alumni Kansas State University alumni UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni University of California, San Diego alumni University of Washington faculty Presidents of the University of Maryland, College Park Presidents of Occidental College University of Southern California faculty United States National Science Foundation officials Electrical engineering academics American electrical engineers 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics United States Navy civilians Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Engineers from California Reagan administration personnel Carter administration personnel Topeka High School alumni