Walt W. Braithwaite (born January 1945) is a Jamaican-Born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and former executive at

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

. He played an integral role in the introduction and use of CAD/CAM and IGES technology at Boeing and in 2000 was named as Boeing's President of Boeing Africa. He has received the Black Engineer of the Year and Pathfinder Awards and the Walt E. Braithwaite Legacy Award is named in his honor.

Early life and education

Braithwaite was born in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Jamaica in January 1945. His father, Ivanhoe Brathwaite, worked as both a laborer and was in sales. His mother, Ivy Braithwaite, worked as a beautician, seamstress, and embroiderer. Braithwaite also had one sister. After deciding as a child his career would be in engineering, Braithwaite gained experience at a local maritime machine shop through an apprenticeship. In addition, he learned about diesel engineering by taking a correspondence course. Braithwaite's family moved to

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during his teen years, where he attended Hackney Technical College in

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while working towards a certificate in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

. To complete this education, he moved to

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, Illinois. Braithwaite received a bachelors of science degree in Engineering in 1965 from the American Institute of Engineering and Technology. While working at Boeing, he received a two masters degrees; one in Computer Science in 1975 from 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 ...

and one in Industrial Management from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1981 while serving as a Boeing

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. After beginning a Ph.D. at the

, Braithwaite completed his Ph.D. in technology and business processes at

Rushmore University Rushmore University is an unaccredited institution of higher learning offering online degrees in a variety of business-related fields, exclusively via distance learning. It has been described as a diploma mill, providing illegitimate academic degre ...

Career

Braithwaite joined Boeing in 1966 as an associate tool engineer in the Fabrication Division. In 1975 he was the senior engineer responsible for developing Boeing's use of computer technology by using

CAD/CAM CAD/CAM refers to the integration of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Both of these require powerful computers. ''CAD'' software helps designers and draftsmen; ''CAM'' "reduces manpower costs" in the manufacturi ...

in the design of commercial airplanes. Over the next several decades Braithwaite's teams oversaw the engineering development of the

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, 727, and 737 and later as head of engineering operations for the

747 747 may refer to: * 747 (number), a composite number * AD 747, a year of the Julian calendar * 747 BC, a year in the 8th century BC * Boeing 747, a large commercial plane Arts and media * 747s (band), an indie band * ''747'' (album), by country m ...

, 767 programs and the 777, the first commercial aircraft to be designed entirely with computer-aided design. Braithwaite also created and served as the pioneer for the implementation of the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES). In 1991, Braithwaite was named as vice president of information systems and architecture at Boeing. In 1994, Braithwaite was named vice president of all information systems activities for Boeing Commercial Air-plane Group. In 2000 Boeing named Braithwaite President of Boeing Africa, responsible for overseeing corporate activities in the region and acting as an ambassador and liaison between local governments and Boeing divisions in the region. After 36 years with Boeing, Braithwaite retired in 2003 as the highest-ranking black executive in Boeing's history. During his time at Boeing, Braithwaite was known as a quiet person who listened more than talked. Although he at one time was told by a manager that he needed to be aggressive, this same manager later came to value Braithwaite's knowledge, wisdom, and personal integrity. Braithwaite also created a mentoring program during his time at Boeing.

Personal life

Braithwaite volunteered with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

Black Achievers program and is a member of

Sigma Pi Phi Sigma Pi Phi (), also known as The Boulé, is an African American professional fraternity. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1904, it is the oldest Greek lettered fraternity for African Americans. The fraternity does not have collegiate ...

fraternity.

Honors and awards

*1987 Joseph Marie Jacquard Memorial Award *1995 Black Engineer of the Year Award *1996 History Makers Award in Science and Technology *1998 Honorary Doctorate of Laws from

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

*2017 Pathfinder Award The Walt W. Braithwaite Legacy Award was named after Braithwaite.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braithwaite, Walt 1945 births 21st-century American engineers University of Washington alumni Living people Boeing people People from Kingston, Jamaica MIT Sloan Fellows MIT Sloan School of Management alumni Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom British emigrants to the United States