2020 black engineer of the year is RIT alumnus and NASA director

Among more than 10,000 national nominees, Clayton Turner received the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year award, presented to him in Washington, D.C. This award, representing achievement in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), honors Turner’s accomplishments at NASA.

After he graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 1990, Turner started working as a design engineer for NASA on the Lidar In-Space Technology Project. After working on many other NASA projects, he was named Director of NASA’s Langley Research in September 2019. In this current position, Turner directs more than 3,400 researchers, engineers, scientists, and support staff who are responsible for developing new technology for space exploration and aviation.

Turner can add his Black Engineer of the Year award to many other awards and accolades he’s earned in his prestigious career. Some of these other honors include RIT’s College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award, the NASA Exceptional Engineering Engineering Achievement Medal, and the NASA Leadership Medal.

Turner is also involved with the community as a youth sports coach and an advocate who promotes careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Putting action to his advocacy, Turner serves as the NASA Langley representative to the Virginia STEM Education Commission.