Eight General Motors Engineers Receive Awards At the 2004 Black Engineer of The Year Awards Conference

DETROIT - Eight General Motors (GM) engineers received recognition for their contributions as innovators and leaders and for supporting the minority presence in the technology enterprise during the 18th Annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference at the Baltimore Convention Center on Feb. 21.

The awards, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, the Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine, are given to several African-American engineers, scientists, executives and educators each year.

The GM recipients include:

Professional Achievement in Industry Award: Clarence Ogletree, CIO, North American manufacturing Corporate Promotion of Education Award: Angela Barbee-Hatter, engineering group manager, Noise & Vibration Performance & Center Corporate Promotion of Education Award: Gary A. Cummings, director, vehicle systems engineer for exterior and body systems Special Recognition Award, Outstanding Engineer or Scientist: Semaj Northcutt, advanced vehicle integration design engineer Special Recognition Award, Student Leadership: Gary D. Harris, Jr., co-op student, Mishawaka Assembly Plant Modern Day Technology Leader: Terrence B. McCloud, manufacturing engineer, controls, robotics & welding Modern Day Technology Leader: McKinley James, manufacturing engineer - Bowling Green Assembly Modern Day Technology Leader: Thomas S. Tubbs, general foreman, bodyshop maintenance - Lordstown Assembly "These engineers are shining examples of GM's highly talented family of employees and we're very pleased they are being recognized for their contributions," said Katy Barclay, GM vice president, global human resources. "GM strives to create a supportive work environment where individuals can grow and realize their career aspirations regardless of race and these employees are a big part of our ability to achieve this goal."

Since the conference began in 1987, 48 GM engineers have been honored with Black Engineer of the Year Awards.

Clarence Ogletree, CIO, North American manufacturing, is a seasoned IT professional with more than 30 years experience in increasingly difficult assignments. In his current role as the CIO for North American Manufacturing, he is responsible for the flawless execution of all IT functions for 66 North American assembly plants, among the most complex manufacturing facilities in the world. He will be recognized for his leadership of the Information Systems Management Council of the Manufacturing Alliance Productivity Institute, which led to efforts to share information and benchmark improvements in business technology. He also developed a quality index supplier metric for IT services.

Angela Barbee-Hatter, engineering group manager, Noise & Vibration Performance & Center, has represented GM in many activities that encourage young people and professionals to take advantage of learning opportunities for personal development. She has been especially effective as a role model for African-Americans at GM and venues such as universities and technical societies, and served as an Adjunct Professor at Purdue University in 2001-2002. Today, she sits on Purdue's Advisory Board for the School of Mechanical Engineering. She manages a team of 22 direct reports at GM and is responsible for advance technology methods of development, vehicle technical specification allocation and computer-aided engineering and testing for noise and vibration.

Gary A. Cummings, director, vehicle systems engineer for exterior and body systems, also has a passion for providing educational opportunities for young people interested in engineering. He has been part of the GM Purdue recruiting team since 1981, helped establish GM's Engineer-in-Residence program at GM and works with Howard University's Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Program. He also is an executive coach for the GM African Ancestry Engineering Network and an Adjunct Professor at Walsh College in Troy, Mich. During his 20 year GM career, he has excelled in a number of critical positions within the engineering organization.

Semaj Northcutt, advanced vehicle integration design engineer, joined GM in 1994 as an intern. Since then, he has deployed his strong technical skills in a number of assignments. For example, he designed ergonomically friendly production tools to alleviate strain on plant operators and saved GM millions of dollars with his plan to increase production while reducing waste. He recently received a Master of Science in Engineering Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and plans to develop a four-week program that will give high school students the fundamental skills to brainstorm and patent ideas.

Gary D. Harris, Jr., co-op student, Mishawaka Assembly Plant, has served in three co-op work assignments at GM since 2000. An electrical engineering student at the University of Missouri-Rolla, he is currently working at the HUMMER H2 plant in Indiana. During his three years at GM, which included assignments in Warren and Milford, Mich., he designed, developed and evaluated a number of prototypes, testing models and databases in the telematics, HVAC and radio and human factors groups. He graduates in May 2004.

Terrence B. McCloud, manufacturing engineer, controls, robotics & welding, joined GM as a summer intern in 1998. Today, he leads the development of common template design for most of the operator assist tools within GM's general assembly arena. He spends considerable time promoting the engineering profession to minority audiences and serving as a mentor to students. He has been involved in recruiting youth, has coordinated and participated in educational workshops and served as a Visiting Instructor at Howard University. He is currently pursuing a post-graduate degree at Purdue University.

McKinley James, manufacturing engineer - Bowling Green Assembly, has spent much of his two-year GM career directing the activities of skilled trades in designing and building unique assist tools for assembly line operators. His work already has generated notable productivity and quality gains for the plant. He also is responsible for solving manufacturing problems and coordinates the plant's Operator Assist Build Shop. He also recently began work on a post-graduate degree.

Thomas S. Tubbs, general foreman, bodyshop maintenance - Lordstown Assembly, has spent nearly five years working at GM's Lordstown plant in Ohio, the largest single-line automotive assembly plant in the world. He is responsible for all bodyshop maintenance activities on his shift, which produces a minimum of 500 vehicles each shift. He maintains over 300 robots that place more than 2000 spot-welds on vehicles each day. He also mentors the plant's skilled trades supervisors.

General Motors Corp. , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, employs about 325,000 people globally. Founded in 1908, GM has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM today has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 192 countries. In 2003, GM sold nearly 8.6 million cars and trucks, about 15 percent of the global vehicle market. GM's global headquarters are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM and its products can be found on the company's corporate website at www.gm.com .