“There are few lists that celebrate successful women and only one that recognizes women of the M2M and technology space. Call it the Internet of Things (IoT) or M2M, our industry and these women have enabled the world of people and machines to collide gracefully,” says Peggy Smedley, editorial director, Connected World magazine and president, Specialty Publishing Co. “I wish to extend my congratulations to each woman named, and am happy to be able to do so during Women’s History Month.”

Professor Pamela McCauley Bush’s work at the University of Central Florida in the Department of Industrial Engineering includes the development of a communications model in an Emergency Operations Center and evaluative research on the use of hand-held communications tools to support key personnel in emergency management, mitigating tragic loss of life in man-made disasters (bombings, mass shootings) and natural disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes).

An insecure teen mother at age 15, Dr. Bush struggled against the odds to complete her education. Even the case worker in the state welfare office questioned Dr. Bush’s choice of pursuing college, attempting to write her off as another “statistic.”

Dr. Bush persevered and became the first African American woman to receive a PhD in Engineering in the state of Oklahoma. From there, she went on to become a Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at M.I.T. Today, she is a full professor of engineering and according to the National Science Foundation, one of only a handful of African American women in the nation to hold this title.

She will return to M.I.T. on April 3rd to give a talk; “True Diversity: A Multiplier in Global STEM Innovation” highlighting statistics, best practices and practical examples to validate the impact of incorporating various types of diversity in organizations. On April 4th, Dr. Bush will also speak at Worcester Polytechnic Institute about why male/female diversity in STEM is important and why women need to be leaders in STEM fields.

Dr. Bush has received numerous awards (Engineer of the Year, The Distinguished Alumni Award, Engineering Educator of the Year, Fulbright Specialist Award and the Women Making a Difference Award, to name a few) in recognition of her professional accomplishments and community outreach efforts in the business, technology and education communities.

She is the author of Ergonomics: Foundational Principles, Applications, and Technologies, a textbook that is used on college campuses around the world and is based on Dr. Bush’s almost two decades of teaching. She recently authored Transforming Your STEM Career Through Leadership and Innovation, a research-based book on successful leadership strategies and principles. Her personal story of facing adversity to pursue her educational goals is told in her book; “Winners Don’t Quit… Today They Call Me Doctor.”

Dr. Pamela McCauley Bush is an award winning full Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems at the University of Central Florida where she leads the Human Factors in Disaster Management Research Team and serves as Director of the UCF Ergonomics Laboratory. She is the president of T-STEM Inc which provides program evaluation consulting and expert witness services, as well as STEM education, leadership and diversity programming. http://www.pamelamccauleybush.com