The official biography below was current at the time of the award. Awardees may choose to provide their latest biographical information on their profile page.

Lesia Crumpton-Young is an engineering scholar who excels at research, teaching and service. She is Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, author, and recipient of multiple awards in Educational Leadership. She has comprehensively and effectively integrated viable research experiences with mentoring to increase the numbers of women and minorities in engineering. Dr. Crumpton-Young is the first African American woman to graduate with a Ph.D. from the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University as well as the first African American woman to be Department Chair of an Industrial Engineering Department. Throughout her career, she has engaged in mentoring activities and increased student awareness and engagement in the field of engineering. She has mentored over 280 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students and 35 faculty members nationally. She is actively involved in efforts to mentor and introduce engineering to minority students in the community through outreach activities that are targeted at reaching disadvantaged students.