By: Martin Creamer
24th January 2011
A 100% black-owned flexible plastic packaging film producer is embarking on a R500-million expansion programme to substitute imports and to capture a larger slice of the burgeoning African market.

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The Testimony of William Hunter Dammond: The First African American Graduate of the University of Pittsburgh
by
Roland Barksdale-Hall
Bryant & Stratton College
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

William Hunter Dammond

Read about William Hunter Dammond, the first African American to graduate in Civil Engineering from the Western University of Pennsylvania in June 1893.

Titled “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference,” the annual event, celebrating its 25th  anniversary this year, will be held in Washington, D.C. from February 17th through the 19th.  The Marriot Wardman Park Hotel on Connecticut Avenue in D.C’s “Northwest” quadrant is hosting the conference.

For RRTN by Tristen Graves

MIT professor and architect, Philip Freelon, landed a major architectural project for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.  The museum is set to be built adjacent to the Washington Monument by 2015.  With a track record of designing cultural institutions, the Freelon Group Inc. used relevant experience to their advantage during the international design competition.

Anacostia Library, D.C. Public Libraries, ©Mark Herboth

 “We have been designing museums for over a decade at the firm,” said Freelon, acknowledging the work of his 50-member architectural firm located in Durham, North Carolina. “We competed for and were selected to do the pre-design and programming work for the museum.” The 14-month programming work process allows for decisions such as, the vision of the museum and possible exhibits.

 Team members, Davis Brody Bond, the SmithGroup and Tanzanian-born British architect, David Adjaye are also in collaboration with Freelon on the museum project that will be devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life.

 With construction set to begin in 2012, the project’s outcome has the potential to inspire and teach millions of visitors; just the type of job Freelon has connected with throughout his 30 years as an architect. 

 “I happen to be an African-American male from Philadelphia, all of the aspects of who I am come into play as I pursue this career,” said Freelon. 

Designing on a Futuristic Level
For RRTN by Tristen Graves

Digital fabrication may come as an unfamiliar concept for many, however for MIT professor and researcher, Larry Sass, it’s the future of architecture.

Sass, who earned both a masters and PhD from MIT, foresees the traditional use of blueprints and two-dimensional models transitioning to the use of three-dimensional, computer-generated models; a radical approach to the conventional process used by architects today.

Preserving Diverse Community at MIT

For RRTN by Tristen Graves

Robbin Chapman works to increase the numbers of underrepresented faculty and graduate level students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

As the Manager of Diversity Recruitment for the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and the Assistant Associate Provost for Faculty Equity, Chapman works to ensure that MIT does not miss the opportunity to continue excelling.

“MIT is about promoting excellence and effecting positivechange in the world and one of the ways to promote excellence and innovation is to have a variety of people that bring all kinds of skills and perspectives, an area needed for the continued growth and innovation of MIT,” Chapman said.

Robbin Chapman on Robert R. Taylor