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Engineering the Future
MIT alum champions minority students in science and technology. -
Who Was Robert R. Taylor?
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Meet MIT Professor Kristala Jones Prather
Using the power of microbiology to build chemical factories. -
Multimedia Display
RRTN packages the contributions of Blacks to science and technology.
Welcome to the Robert R. Taylor Network
The Robert R. Taylor Network honors the first African-American graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by highlighting the role of blacks and members of other underserved communities in architecture, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (ASTEM). The nonprofit organization works to increase participation by members of minority groups in the ASTEM fields and to increase the number of technology entrepreneurs coming from these communities. We are establishing collaborative, working links with schools, institutions and virtual communities in Africa and the Caribbean to share technology and promote innovation and entrepreneurial skills. Read more about our primary initiatives and values here.
Robert T. Coles
After years as a successful architect and advocate for the inclusion of more African-Americans in architecture, 80-year-old Robert T. Coles, a graduate of MIT, enjoys sailing his 25-foot sloop on Lake Erie off Buffalo, N.Y. And at 80, he continues his work. After 27 years in downtown Buffalo, Coles moved operations in 2007 from the Ellicott Square office to a studio in his self-designed Buffalo home some three miles away.
>read moreRobbin Chapman
Robbin Chapman works to increase the numbers of underrepresented faculty and graduate level students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As the Manager of Diversity Recruitment for the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and the Assistant Associate Provost for Faculty Equity, Chapman works to ensure that MIT does not miss the opportunity to continue excelling.
>read moreJim Gates
Gates, 59, is the John S. Toll professor of physics and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland at College Park, where he has taught since 1984. In 2009 he joined the Maryland State Board of Education and was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
>read morePaula T. Hammond
Paula T. Hammond of MIT advocates for solar energy. She is encouraged by her research into polymers that could significantly increase the power in methanol fuel cells and offer a lighter, longer lasting and environmentally friendly alternative to batteries in cell phones and laptops.
>read more