Dr. Deidre E. Paris

Deidre E. Paris Ph.D
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Deidre E. Paris graduated from Southern University in 1992, with a plan to major in electrical engineering.With a choice of attending five graduate schools -- the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, North Carolina A&T State University, and Georgia Tech -- Paris felt unsure about going to Tech because of the keen competition.But positive testimonials from other Southern alumni who had attended graduate school at Tech helped her make up her mind.

"One of the things that really stood out about Tech," Paris says, "was the cohesiveness among African-American students through the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)....I was extremely successful in the electrical engineering program, and I can attribute much of this success [to] interactions and contacts [at] FOCUS gatherings."

Paris graduated from Georgia Tech with an M.Sc. in computer engineering and power system planning in 1994, when many power companies were being deregulated.

"I wanted to become involved in [the] paradigm shift," she says.

She went on to get a master's in public policy and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

The first Black to receive a doctoral degree in construction engineering management at Georgia Tech, Dr. Paris now is a professor at Clark Atlanta University, where she teaches courses in electrical and environmental engineering.

Deidre E. Paris Ph.D

Growing the supply of Black engineers with master's or doctorate degrees is the mission of the Georgia Institute of Technology's annual FOCUS program.Traditionally held during Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday week, FOCUS' three-day series of lectures, tours, panel discussions with academic and professional leaders, and seminars on financial assistance and the admissions process is designed to encourage Black students to pursue graduate degrees at Georgia Tech and elsewhere.

This year, more than 300 Black juniors and seniors from 100 colleges and universities across America attended the 12th annual FOCUS graduate recruiting event at Tech, in Atlanta's historic university district.
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Deidre E. Paris graduated from Southern University in 1992, with a plan to major in electrical engineering.With a choice of attending five graduate schools -- the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, North Carolina A&T State University, and Georgia Tech -- Paris felt unsure about going to Tech because of the keen competition.But positive testimonials from other Southern alumni who had attended graduate school at Tech helped her make up her mind.

"One of the things that really stood out about Tech," Paris says, "was the cohesiveness among African-American students through the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)....I was extremely successful in the electrical engineering program, and I can attribute much of this success [to] interactions and contacts [at] FOCUS gatherings."

Paris graduated from Georgia Tech with an M.Sc. in computer engineering and power system planning in 1994, when many power companies were being deregulated.

"I wanted to become involved in [the] paradigm shift," she says.

She went on to get a master's in public policy and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

The first Black to receive a doctoral degree in construction engineering management at Georgia Tech, Dr. Paris now is a professor at Clark Atlanta University, where she teaches courses in electrical and environmental engineering.

Janise McNair, assistant electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, attended FOCUS in 1994.Since then, it has become her homecoming weekend.McNair says she chose Tech because of the commitment to making graduate school a successful experience for minority engineers.

"This was not just a program to increase admission numbers and then abandon you once you arrived, this was a program that had a vested interest in my success," she says.

Deidre E. Paris Ph.D
...
Deidre E. Paris graduated from Southern University in 1992, with a plan to major in electrical engineering.With a choice of attending five graduate schools -- the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, North Carolina A&T State University, and Georgia Tech -- Paris felt unsure about going to Tech because of the keen competition.But positive testimonials from other Southern alumni who had attended graduate school at Tech helped her make up her mind.

"One of the things that really stood out about Tech," Paris says, "was the cohesiveness among African-American students through the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)....I was extremely successful in the electrical engineering program, and I can attribute much of this success [to] interactions and contacts [at] FOCUS gatherings."

Paris graduated from Georgia Tech with an M.Sc. in computer engineering and power system planning in 1994, when many power companies were being deregulated.

"I wanted to become involved in [the] paradigm shift," she says.

She went on to get a master's in public policy and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

The first Black to receive a doctoral degree in construction engineering management at Georgia Tech, Dr. Paris now is a professor at Clark Atlanta University, where she teaches courses in electrical and environmental engineering.

Janise McNair, assistant electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, attended FOCUS in 1994.Since then, it has become her homecoming weekend.McNair says she chose Tech because of the commitment to making graduate school a successful experience for minority engineers.

"This was not just a program to increase admission numbers and then abandon you once you arrived, this was a program that had a vested interest in my success," she says.

Deidre E. Paris, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Civil and Electrical Engineering Clark Atlanta University

Deidre ParisInstructorMember of Adjunct Faculty
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Deidre Paris, Ph.D.deidre.paris@beulah.org

Dr. Deidre Eileen Paris received her doctor of philosophy degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in the school of Civil and Environmental engineering in Construction Engineering Management.Her doctoral thesis was entitled A Residential Satisfaction Decision Support System in Affordable Housing.She also received two masters' degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology in Public Policy and Electrical Engineering.Environmental Policy was her specialization in public policy; her thesis was entitled Implementing Design for The Environmental Principles in The Army's Work Breakdown Structure.Computer Engineering and Power Systems Planning were her area of expertise during her studies in receiving her masters' in electrical engineering.Her bachelors' degree is in electrical engineering from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Her industry experience includes working as an engineer for General Motors, General Electric, and Delta Airlines.She also has worked for several governmental agencies including the Army Environmental Policy Institute, Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and Georgia Tech's Construction Research Center.Her research interests are in civil infrastructure and asset management, infrastructure decision support systems, and urban sustainable economic development.

Her awards and honors include Georgia Institute of Technology Board of Regents' Scholar (1997-2001); Georgia Institute of Technology Presidential Fellow (1996-2000); Kimley-Horn Engineering Scholarship recipient (1999); GEM (Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science) Fellow (1992-1994); Motorola Scholar (1992); and an inductee of Eta Kappa Nu electrical engineering honor society (1989).

Dr. Paris is currently a civil and electrical engineering Assistant Professor at Clark Atlanta University in the department of engineering.She teaches freshmen seminar to students to help them get acclimated to college and the field of engineering.Other classes include, circuit analysis, digital logic, and engineering economy.Her professional membership includes American Society for Engineering Education, and American Society of Civil Engineers; she is also a board member for the Historic District Development Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing development located in Atlanta, Georgia.Her research area involves transportation educational outreach and decision support systems for urban infrastructure management which is being performed under FACES (Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Science) Career Initiative Grant, sponsored by the National Science Foundation for new faculty.She is also doing research in transportation education with the Federal Highway Administration.

Deirdre Paris (Clark Atlanta University)