ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Feb. 19, 2016) -- An Army scientist was honored as a Modern-Day Technology Leader at the annual Black Engineer of the Year Award Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Global Competitiveness Conference in Philadelphia Feb. 18-20.
Phillip Minor, a computer scientist at the U.S. Army Materiel Command's Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, or CERDEC, was honored for his contributions in the field of computing technologies and standards.
Minor, from CERDEC's Command, Power and Integration Directorate, or CP&ID, serves as deputy director for the Common Operating Environment, or COE, directorate and technical advisor to the Executive Director, System of Systems Engineering and Integration, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
The COE, which is an approved set of computing technologies and open standards, is an Army effort to converge multiple systems onto a common architecture for increased flexibility and agility in developing capabilities.
Minor's work focuses on providing leadership and guidance for the development of the COE Implementation Plan, system-of-systems engineering and integration, and governance.
"He was the visionary and driving force leading to the planning and implementation of the Army's transition to the COE," said Charles Miller, chief for CP&ID's Positioning, Navigation and Timing Division, who nominated Minor for the award. "Mr. Minor's strategic thinking in COE planning and execution will benefit the Army by achieving network simplicity, leveraging standards based on industry best practices and products, thereby reducing lifecycle costs of development and sustainment of Army IT systems."
The BEYA award recognizes "technology leaders for their career achievements and their efforts in strengthening the STEM pipeline," as stated on the BEYA website.
"I'm honored to be recognized among my peers," Minor said. "My career in the technology field has been an invaluable experience, seeing how a concept -- starting from a vision and idea -- became an initiative and then executed across the Army has been an irreplaceable opportunity, one that I'm proud to be a part of."
During the conference, Minor had the opportunity to network with his peers as well as mentor students in attendance. He emphasized the importance of speaking with the next generation of STEM professionals, noting, "I wanted to let the students know there is a path to success by focusing on STEM activities early on."
Minor served in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years in command and staff positions before rejoining government service as a civilian employee. He earned a bachelor of science in computer science from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in information systems resources from Webster University.
Throughout his professional career, Minor has continued to seek out opportunities to give back to the community, using his daughters as an inspiration to mentor the next generation of engineers and scientist both at work and outside the office.
"I've always wanted to be a positive role model for my children, and this conference is all about increasing the interest and contribution of minority youth in the science and engineering environments," he said. "I've spent a lot of time away from family working on different things, and the BEYA Conference is a great opportunity for my loved ones to see how the work I've been doing over the years is making an impact."
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The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
Related Links:
U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center
U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command
Army.mil: Science and Technology News
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