Dr. Ershela Sims receives the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 2012 Dr. Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year Award

Congratulations to Dr. Ershela Sims for being the 2012 recipient of the National Society of Black Engineers, Dr. Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year Golden Torch Award. The Dr. Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year Award Awarded to an active classroom collegiate faculty member with demonstrated commitment to advancing education in engineering, science or mathematics. The criteria for the award are:
 *   Must demonstrate significant contribution to engineering, math or science curriculum development
 *   Must demonstrate significant positive impact on campus activities
 *   Must demonstrate prominent research activities and must provide copies of published articles on the topic of education
 *   Must demonstrate activities supporting the NSBE mission
 *   Must demonstrate participation in an education program designed to benefit African American students on a national or local level
 *   Must indicate scope of commitment to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields
 *   Must be a faculty member at an institution of higher learning
http://www.nsbe.org/Programs/NSBE-Programs/Golden-Torch-Awards/2012-GTA-...
Below is the NSBE press release:
As a child growing up in Fort Pierce, FL., Ershela Sims always enjoyed math and science. At first, she thought she would become a physician, but upon being diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 14 and visiting the brace and limb shop where her orthosis was to be made, she became fascinated with the human body and how it moved. From that point, she decided she wanted to study biomedical engineering in college and pursue a career in biomechanics.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University, Dr. Sims earned a doctorate in biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill and worked as a software design engineer at Nortel Networks. She enjoyed her job, but she still felt a pull to use her biomedical engineering degree and “make a difference.”
She decided to pursue a career in academia. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship investigating gait mechanics associated with osteoarthritis of the knee, Dr. Sims taught anatomy courses in the medical school at Duke University for two years. She is now an adjunct assistant professor in that department. In her full-time position, Dr. Sims is an engineering instructor at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), a public high school in Durham, that serves the entire state of NC. Having this position enables her to teach engineering to students who may not even have had access to advanced math or science courses in their home high school, much less college-level engineering courses.
Dr. Sims’ commitment to NCSSM and its students does not stop in the classroom. She is a faculty sponsor/co-sponsor for three different STEM-related clubs: NSBE Jr., Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and Science Olympiad.
Dr. Sims has published several peer-reviewed articles in the areas of gait mechanics, sports biomechanics and anatomical education. Most recently, she and her colleagues at Duke University authored a book chapter on “The Relationship between Gait Mechanics and Radiographic Disease Severity in Knee Osteoarthritis.” and they have an article in press entitled "Pain Coping Skills Training and Lifestyle Behavioral Weight Managment in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Study.