California State University, NorthridgeCalifornia State University, Northridge
July 31, 1996
Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
Director of News and Information,
(818) 677-2130
cchandler@exec.csun.edu
Esther Lewis, of Oakland, and Martha Sayre, of Arleta, will each receive $2,000. The two will also serve as mentors to undergraduate students in the university's MESA Engineering Program, which targets under-represented groups in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
This is the first year the fellowships have been awarded. They are named for Dr. A.F. "Rick" Ratcliffe, dean emeritus of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and one of the first African Americans in the nation to serve as dean of an engineering college.
The fellowships are endowed by the GTE Foundation and are awarded annually to African American or Latino students who have participated in the MESA Engineering Program.
Esther Lewis earned her bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from CSUN in 1995. She works at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo and takes evening classes toward her master's degree in industrial engineering and engineering management
Sayre is president of the campus chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. She completed her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering last May at CSUN. She is working on her master's degree in environmental engineering at CSUN.