The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) congratulates DR. DWIGHT L. WILLIAMS, PH.D., P.E. as the 2005 - 2006 National Young Engineer of the Year
Dwight the Academician and Licensed Professional Engineer
Entered North Carolina State University (NCSU) as 17 year old freshman
Completed NCSU’s undergraduate Nuclear Engineering program with concentration in nuclear reactor power systems in 4 years
Continued at NCSU through completion of master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering with concentrations in nuclear fusion and plasma physics
Earned Ph.D. from University of Maryland’s Nuclear Engineering program with concentrations in airborne radionuclide transport and gamma-ray spectroscopy
Earned perfect 800 score in Quantitative (mathematics) portion of GRE and 760 in Analytical (logic) section
Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Fellowship (M.S.) and Southern Regional Education Board Fellowship (Ph.D.)
Dwight at North Carolina State University (B.S., M.S.)
Dwight began his undergraduate collegiate studies at age 17 as a freshman at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Because of the success Dwight found in his high school physics class, he decided to major in nuclear engineering. Although Dwight had completed collegiate level courses while in high school, he decided to start afresh as an undergraduate and he carried no collegiate credits upon entry into NCSU. While he understood that this decision could cost time towards graduation, and possibly cause him to take longer than four years to complete his academic program, he felt that the thoroughness of his education would be well worth the potential extra time.
As a result of Dwight’s decision, he repeated several classes as an undergraduate that he had completed the year before in high school. These classes included Calculus I and II, English I and II, etc. -- a number of the “weed out” courses. The decision to repeat these classes may have been the single most beneficial academic decision that Dwight made as an undergraduate. Because of Dwight’s decision, he was able to achieve two critical goals as a freshman. He was able to perform extremely well in his courses (maintaining a 3.7 GPA his first semester). In addition, and most importantly, Dwight was able to develop a masterful understanding of fundamental concepts by repeating these courses. This understanding has served as the foundation that enabled Dwight to excel both academically and professionally.
Dwight successfully completed his undergraduate studies in four years -- a noteworthy accomplishment for an engineering student. Afterwards, he continued in the NCSU nuclear engineering program as a master’s degree candidate. To broaden his knowledge of nuclear engineering, he studied controlled nuclear fusion and plasma physics. (“Nuclear fusion” is a highly advanced process that theoretically generates nuclear energy more efficiently than nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion is achieved in a “plasma” environment.) He became fascinated with the numerous practical applications of plasmas and decided to focus his thesis research on plasma technology. In 1994, he completed and defended his thesis, which addressed plasma destruction of hazardous waste.
Dwight at the University of Maryland (Ph.D.)
Four years later, after substantial work experience at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Prototype International Data Center, Dwight enrolled in the University of Maryland Nuclear Engineering Department as a Ph.D. candidate. His work experience, which was heavily based in Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty monitoring, spurred his interest in radionuclide transport and radiation detection processes. To augment his knowledge base in these areas, in addition to registering for nuclear engineering courses, he registered for supplemental courses including meteorology and atmospheric chemistry. Dwight culminated his studies by completing and defending his dissertation entitled, A Process Model to Characterize Airborne Radionuclide Emissions and Transport using Radiological and Meteorological Measurements.
Dwight’s Academic Awards
Dwight has been recognized for outstanding achievements throughout his academic career. While his grades have been the primary basis for these awards, other factors have included his leadership abilities, extracurricular activities, and GRE scores. He performed especially well on the GRE, earning a perfect 800 score in the quantitative section and a near perfect 760 in the analytical section. His two highest academic awards were fellowships -- specifically, the DOE Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Fellowship which supported his master’s degree studies and the Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholars Award which supported his Ph.D. studies. Prior to winning the DOE fellowship, his master’s studies were supported by a Graduate Assistantship and a Teacher’s Assistantship, both granted by the NCSU Department of Nuclear Engineering. His undergraduate awards include being named to NCSU’s Dean’s List, the African- American Academic Achievement Award, and the Atlantic Coast Conference Athletic-Academic Honor Roll.
Dwight’s Extracurricular Activities
Aside from Dwight’s collegiate educational endeavors and accomplishments, he has participated in numerous organizations and activities. As a Ph.D. candidate, he was a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Nuclear Society, the American Physical Society, and the American Society for Engineering Education. While at NCSU, his extracurricular activities included the United Student Fellowship, where he served as a Sunday school teacher, and the Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society. Additionally, he was a varsity decathlete on NCSU’s track team and a member of champion football and basketball intramural sports teams. Moreover, he was actively involved in the Peer Mentor program, which enabled him to help younger undergraduates to efficiently navigate their way to graduation. During his free time, he tutored his classmates and younger engineering and mathematics students in technical courses.
Dwight’s Professional Engineering Licensure (P.E.)
In 1999, Dwight earned his professional engineering (P.E.) license. Achieving this exceptionally high level of professional certification was a major milestone in Dwight’s technical career. A P.E. license is the criterion that qualifies an engineer to sign engineering blueprints, to provide engineering consulting services to the public -- to perform the full gamut of engineering work. Only 10% of Americans with collegiate engineering degrees have reached this level of certification. Because Dwight was able to reach this milestone so early in his career, he was propelled into the forefront of the engineering profession.
