Carol Espy-Wilson facts for kids

Carol Yvonne Espy-Wilson (born circa 1957) is an amazing electrical engineer. She is also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She teaches at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park. Dr. Espy-Wilson earned her highest degree, a Ph.D., in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987.

Meet Carol Espy-Wilson, a Pioneer in Sound Engineering

Growing Up and Discovering Engineering

Carol Yvonne Espy was born around 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the youngest of four children. Her parents were Mattie and Matthew Espy. Carol Espy-Wilson often says her family was key to her success. Her family had high hopes for all their children. They expected Carol to always do her best.

Inspired by Family

Her older brother, Calvin, was seven years her senior. He was a great role model and advisor for Carol. When she was just five years old, Calvin started teaching her math. He shared what he was learning in school. Calvin later graduated from Georgia Tech in Electrical Engineering. This inspired Carol to choose Electrical Engineering too.

Calvin went on to get his master's degree from Stanford University. He brought an application home for Carol. He made sure she filled it out when it was time for her to apply to colleges. Carol decided to attend Stanford University. She studied Electrical Engineering there. She earned her Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in 1979.

Learning at Top Universities

After Stanford, Carol wanted to continue her studies. She chose the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for graduate school. She earned her MS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1981. Her master's research looked at how noise affects signals.

She then received her "Electrical Engineer (EE)" degree from MIT in 1984. In 1987, she completed her Ph.D. Her advisor was Kenneth Stevens. Her Ph.D. research focused on speech recognition. She studied how sounds are made and how computers can understand them.

Making Waves in Speech Technology

After earning her Ph.D., Dr. Espy-Wilson stayed connected with MIT. She worked there as a researcher. Later, she joined the faculty at Boston University from 1990 to 2001. Today, she is a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. She works at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Leading Research in Communication

At UMD, she leads the Speech Communication Lab. Dr. Espy-Wilson made history at the University of Maryland. She was the first African American woman. She was also the first African American person. She achieved tenure and became a Full Professor in her department. This was a huge accomplishment!

Her research explores how engineering, language, and sound work together. She wants to understand how we communicate through speech. She is creating new ways for computers to recognize speech. This helps computers understand different voices and speaking styles. Her work also covers how we produce speech. She studies how to make speech clearer. She also researches how to identify speakers.

Innovating with OmniSpeech

Dr. Espy-Wilson is also an entrepreneur. She founded a company called OmniSpeech. This company creates technology to make sound quality better. For example, it improves how clear voices sound on cell phones. It also helps improve sound in hearing aids.

Recognized for Excellence

In 2008-2009, Dr. Espy-Wilson received a special honor. She was named a Sargent-Faull Fellow at Harvard Radcliffe Institute. She focused on making speech recognition systems work well even with background noise. In 2022, she was named an IEEE Fellow. This award recognized her important contributions. It honored her work in improving speech and helping computers understand it.

Her Family and Legacy

Dr. Espy-Wilson is married to John Silvanus Wilson Jr.. He is a respected leader in education. He was the 11th President of Morehouse College in Atlanta. He also served as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). HBCUs are colleges and universities that were founded to serve the African American community.

Carol and John have three children together. They have two daughters and one son. Their twin daughters, Ayana and Ashia, graduated in 2011. Ayana went to Stanford University. Ashia graduated from Harvard University. Their son, John "Jay" Sylvanus Wilson, III, is an alumnus of Princeton University. This shows a family that truly values education and achievement.