Monica Cox facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Monica F. Cox
Alma mater	Spelman College University of Alabama Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
Spouse(s)	Ishbah Cox
Awards	Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Scientific career
Institutions	Ohio State University Purdue University
Thesis	An examination of the validity of the VaNTH Observation System (2005)

Monica Farmer Cox is a professor who teaches about engineering at Ohio State University. She was the first African-American woman to earn tenure in engineering at Purdue University. Tenure means she earned a permanent teaching position. She won the 2008 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This award is given to young scientists and engineers by the President of the United States.

Early Life and Education

Monica Cox was born in Fort Gaines, Georgia. She grew up in small towns in Alabama. When she was a kid, she took a computer science class at a community college. She earned a full scholarship to attend Spelman College.

College and NASA Work

At Spelman College, she studied mathematics. She graduated with honors, which is called cum laude. She joined a special program at NASA for women in science and engineering. During college, Cox worked at the Marshall Space Flight Center. After graduating, NASA sponsored her to research for the International Space Station. She worked with the team that controls things on the ground for the space station.

Advanced Degrees

Later, she earned a master's degree from the University of Alabama. She then got her PhD from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. Her PhD was in leadership and policy studies.

Her Career in Engineering Education

In 2011, Monica Cox became the first African-American woman to earn tenure in the College of Engineering at Purdue University. This was a big achievement. She was even invited to the White House by Michelle Obama. There, she spoke on a panel about flexible work environments.

Leadership and Innovation

At Purdue University, she became the Director of the International Institute of Engineering Education Assessment. In 2013, she started her own company called STEMinent LLC. This company helps fairly assess how well faculty members perform their jobs. While at Purdue, she received several awards. These included a Faculty Award for Excellent Leadership and a National Science Foundation Career Award.

Moving to Ohio State University

In 2015, Cox became the Chair of the Department of Engineering Education at Ohio State University. She is the first African-American woman to be a Full Professor in the College of Engineering there. She leads a big project funded by the National Science Foundation. This project studies why women, especially women of color, continue to work as engineering professors. She also wrote a book in 2018 called Excellence: Why Being Average is Never an Option.

Awards and Special Recognition

Monica Cox won the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2008. Her research looks at how women of color participate in engineering. She also creates tools to help evaluate engineering education. In 2018, she was honored by Mathematically Gifted & Black during Black History Month.

See also

In Spanish: Monica Cox para niños