Percy A. Pierre

Percy Anthony Pierre (born January 3, 1939) is an American electrical engineer and academic administrator specializing in signal processing, stochastic processes, and the statistical analysis of communications systems. He received his doctorate degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1967, and is recognized as the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. His early research on non-Gaussian random processes and signal detection, funded by the Navy for sonar applications, resulted in twelve publications in leading mathematics and engineering journals between 1969 and 1971. From 1977 to 1981, he served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for research, development, and acquisition, where he oversaw the development of the M1 Abrams tank, MIM-104 Patriot missile system, and AH-64 Apache helicopter. He is a graduate and former trustee of Notre Dame University, and is currently Glenn L. Martin Endowed Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Early life and education Pierre was born on January 3, 1939, to Rosa Villavaso and Percy John Pierre in Welcome, St. James Parish, Louisiana. In 1957, Pierre graduated from St. Augustine High School in New Orleans. He credits the priests at St. Augustine with instilling in him two overriding missions: to excel intellectually in engineering and use his career to make a difference in the lives of other African-Americans.

Pierre attended the University of Notre Dame on scholarship, earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering in 1961 and 1963. His dissertation research, funded by the Navy, had applications in the understanding and use of underwater sonar. Between 1969 and 1971, he published twelve papers in leading mathematics and engineering journals, establishing foundational work in the field. His work addressed topics including central limit theorems for conditionally linear random processes, the characterization of Gaussian random processes, singular non-Gaussian measures in detection and estimation theory, and the convergence of error probabilities for signal detection. working for Daniel "Pat" Moynihan on domestic affairs during the Nixon administration. Pierre was considered a leader in developing and implementing programs to recruit, retain, and graduate engineering students from diverse populations. The Sloan Foundation supported the 1973 NAE Symposium and committed $12 - $15 million over a five to seven year period for a special program for minorities in engineering. Pierre managed a $12 billion annual budget for research and development that included the completion of the development and initial production of the Abrams tank in 1979 and the Patriot missile system and Apache helicopter in 1980.

Prairie View A&M University In 1983, Pierre was elected President of Prairie View A&M University. During his tenure, he established the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering Technology and the Benjamin Banneker Honors College.

Michigan State University In 1990, Pierre joined Michigan State University as vice president of research and graduate studies, and professor of electrical and computer engineering. During his 28-year tenure, he mentored more than 200 graduate students in engineering.

University of Maryland In 2019, Pierre was named an Adjunct Professor and Glenn L. Martin Endowed Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Personal On August 8, 1965, Pierre married Olga Agnes Markham. The couple had two daughters, Kristin and Allison. In 2024, Olga Markham Pierre (b. 1940) died from pancreatic cancer complications.

Honors and awards

Pierre has received numerous professional accolades and awards. 1979: Senator Proximire Award for Excellence, US Congress, for presentations of the Department of the Army's Research Development, and Acquisition Budgets for FY 79 1980: Senator Proximire Award for Excellence, US Congress, for presentations of the Department of the Army's Research Development, and Acquisition Budgets for FY 80 1981: Distinguished Service Medal, US Army 1984: Honorary Doctoral Degree, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1984: Reginald Jones Award, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering 1990: Regents Visiting Professor, University of California at Berkeley 1993: Superior Public Service Award, US Navy 1997: Frazier Thompson Pioneer Award, Black Alumni of the University of Notre Dame 2003: Frederick Scott Award, Society of Black Alumni of the Johns Hopkins University 2003: The Golden Torch Award, National Society of Black Engineers 2004: Diversity Award, Michigan State University 2004: Founder's Award, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering 2008: Cavanaugh Award for Public Service, University of Notre Dame Alumni Association 2008: Lifetime Mentor Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science 2009: Member, National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors for an engineer. 2013: Named a "Game Changer" in the 100 year History of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University 2021: Harriet Shriver Rogers Lecture, Johns Hopkins University Trustee, The White House Fellows Foundation, Treasurer, Washington, DC, 1981-1983 Member, Advisory Council, Lincoln Laboratory, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lexington, MA, 1981-1995 Member, NASA Advisory Council, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC, 1982-85 Trustee, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), New York, NY, 1983-1989 Director, Center for Naval Analyses, Alexandria, VA, Chairman of Technical Advisory Committee, 1983-1993 Member, The Army Science Board, Office of the Secretary of the Army, 1983-85 Trustee, The Southwestern Athletic Conference, New Orleans, LA, 1983-1989, Chairman 1985-87 Trustee, The Hitachi Foundation, 1985-1998 Member, National Security Advisory Board, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1989-1994 Trustee, The Aerospace Corporation, 1991-1999 Member, NASA Advisory Council, University Relations Task Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1991 Commission on the Future of the National Science Foundation, National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, 1991-92 Director, Michigan Biotechnology Institute, 1991-95 Director, CMS Energy Corp., a $6 billion public utility in Michigan, 1992-2010 Director, Consortium for International Environmental Science Information Network, Saginaw, MI, 1992-96 Director, Old Kent Financial Corporation, 1992-2002 Advisory Council, The Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, 1993-2003 Director, Industrial Technology Institute, Ann Arbor, MI Member, Defense Science Board, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC, 1993-96 Member, Board of Overseers, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, 1993-99 Director, Whitman Education Group, Miami, Florida, 1995-2003 Trustee, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, 1996-2005 Founding chairman, National Academy of Engineering's Racial Justice and Equity Committee

Publications

Technical publications Pierre, Percy A. (1969). "Properties of Random Functions with Applications to Communications Theory." Annals of Mathematical Statistics 40 (1). Pierre, Percy A. (1969). "Singular Non-Gaussian Measures in Detection and Estimation Theory." IEEE Transactions on Information Theory IT-15 (2). Pierre, Percy A. (1969). "On the Independence of Linear Functionals of Linear Processes." SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics 17 (4). Pierre, Percy A. (1969). "New Techniques for Finding Solutions and Error Bounds in Signal Detection and Estimation Problems." Report RM-6089-PR. Santa Monica, CA: The RAND Corporation. Pierre, Percy A. (1969). "Characterization of Gaussian Random Processes in Terms of Independent Random Variables." IEEE Transactions on Information Theory IT-15 (6): 648–658. Pierre, Percy A. (1969). "The Sample Function Regularity of Linear Random Processes." SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics 17 (6): 1070–1077. Pierre, Percy A. (1970). "Asymptotic Eigenfunctions of Covariance Kernels with Rational Spectral Densities." IEEE Transactions on Information Theory IT-16: 346–347. Pierre, Percy A. (1970). "On the Convergence of Error Probabilities for Signal Detection." Information and Control 17: 10–13. Pierre, Percy A. (1971). "Infinitely Divisible Distributions, Conditions for Independence, and Central Limit Theorems." Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications 33: 341–354. Pierre, Percy A. (1971). "The Quadratic Variation of Random Processes." Zeitschrift für Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie und Verwandte Gebiete 19: 291–301. Pierre, Percy A. (1971). "Central Limit Theorems for Conditionally Linear Random Processes." SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics 20: 449–461.

Engineering education and policy Pierre, Percy A. (1972). "1973 Minorities in engineering." In: Minorities in Engineering, Proceedings of a Meeting of the Engineering Manpower Commission of Engineers Joint Council, November 30, 1972. New York: Engineers Joint Council. Pierre, Percy A. (1975). "Keynote address: Minority program directors' workshop." In: Proceedings of a Workshop for Program Directors in Engineering Education of Minorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Pierre, Percy A. (2015). "A brief history of the collaborative minority engineering effort: A personal account." In: Changing the Face of Engineering: The African American Experience, 13–36. Slaughter JB, Tao Y, Pearson W Jr, eds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Pierre, Percy A., and Catherine Weinberger (2024). "The 50-Year History of the Minority Engineering Effort: How the Engineering Profession Sparked the Movement to Diversify Its Workforce." The Bridge, National Academy of Engineering.