The Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) STEM Conference is held annually to recognize the contributions of individuals who are innovators and trailblazers in their professional careers related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). For 38 years, the BEYA STEM awards have continued to provide employers throughout the country with the opportunity to voice the accomplishments of minorities in STEM.
BEYA first introduced the Legacy Award category in 2016 as a fitting tribute to a generation of awardees, many of whom continue to light a path in STEM. Every year since, BEYA has recognized new winners with awards that bear the names of past honorees so that future BEYA generations will be reminded of their impact on innovation, diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM. Legacy Awards are given to individuals who embody an award’s namesake through their work history and contributions.
Electric Boat (EB) is proud to announce that Kamal Mohamed is EB’s first Legacy Award recipient, and has been honored with BEYA’s 2024 Vice Admiral Melvin G. Williams Jr. Legacy Award. In a videotaped interview with Tracy Nixon-Moore, Workplace Culture and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Kamal speaks to what being the first EB recipient of a Legacy Award means to him. Kamal notes the parallels between his career journey and that of Vice Admiral Melvin Williams Jr., and explains the impacts this recognition has on him and EB.
Vice Admiral Melvin G. Williams Jr.
Vice Admiral Melvin G. Williams Jr. is a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Him and his father, Melvin G. Williams Sr., are noted as the only African American father and son in U.S. Navy history, and both reached top ranks of vice admiral and master chief. The father-son duo are also co-authors of the book, Navigating the Seven Seas, which is a recommended read on the Navy Reading Program list. A nuclear-trained submariner, Vice Admiral Melvin G. Williams Jr.’s career included service as an enlisted sailor and more than three decades as a commissioned officer. In 1994, he became the first African American to command a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, USS Nebraska (SSBN 739). As commanding officer of this ship, his team earned the top U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force Strategic Performance Award in the nation—the Omaha Trophy. USS Nebraska was the first Ohio-class submarine to win this prestigious award for excellence.
Melvin is one of the “Centennial Seven”—the first seven African Americans to command a Navy submarine in the first 100 years of the U.S. Submarine Force. In 2006, he became the sixth African American to reach vice admiral rank, and in 2008, became commander of the U.S. Second Fleet, which oversaw 126 ships, 4,500 aircraft and 90,000 personnel home-ported at U.S. Navy installations along the East Coast. Melvin was a recipient of BEYA’s Professional Achievement in Government Award in 1995, and was inducted into the BEYA STEM Hall of Fame in 2011. He now serves on the Board of Directors for ISO England, Inc.
Kamal Mohamed
Kamal began his career at EB in 2010 as a systems engineer and has worked in numerous organizations across the company including engineering, program office and operations. Throughout his tenure, he has held positions of increased responsibility and has been promoted several times, most recently to ship’s manager of PCU Iowa (SSN 797) in 2020. One of the most difficult, important and visible roles at EB, Kamal’s tenacity and drive is crucial to being a ship’s manager. His leadership and determination has guided his team throughout the lifecycle of PCU Iowa.
Kamal’s ability to lead through adversity while maintaining morale was demonstrated through two major obstacles, the first being the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced him and his team to adapt to unprecedented changes to keep the workforce and submarine crew safe while continuing construction. The second obstacle came in February 2023, when during the coldest weather the EB shipyard had seen in years, the pontoon used to lower submarines into the water suffered a fracture. This resulted in PCU Iowa, which was next to the pontoon, having to be rolled back into the building. Kamal and his team pivoted and re-planned work to accomplish as much as possible on land while the pontoon issue was resolved. Under Kamal’s leadership, the Iowa will be more complete at launch than any other Virginia-class submarine before. These are just two examples of where Kamal and his team didn’t just survive during challenging times, but thrived and grew from them. These examples also demonstrate how Kamal leads in a manner whereby the entire team reaches goals that are greater than the sum of all the parts.
Kamal is a graduate of Business Leader Group (BLG) 10 and Future Leader Group (FLG) 9. He is a member of several employee organizations, including EB’s employee resource group (ERG), the Black Engagement Council (BEC).
Kamal and fellow Legacy Award recipients will be recognized at the BEYA HBCU Engineering Deans’ Recognition Ceremony taking place on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD, where they will be recognized for their continuous leadership, determination and success. General Dynamics (GD) will hold a separate ceremonial dinner on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum to personally recognize winners from GD business units.
Congratulations to Kamal on his honorable and distinguished achievement!
Click here to read about the Melvin G. Williams Jr. Legacy Award and Kamal Mohamed in the U.S. Black Engineer Information Technology magazine.
