Cynthia Oliver Coleman
Cynthia Oliver Coleman, P.E. (born 1948) is a retired ExxonMobil chemical engineer renown for being the first black female chemical engineer from the University of Houston (UH), Texas in the United States of America.[1]
Early life and family
Coleman was born and grew up an only child in Third Ward in Houston, Texas in 1948. Both her parents did not attend college and worked in low-paid occupations.[2]
Education
In high school, Coleman excelled and became a member of the National Honour Society, Student Council and the Charmettes Social Club.[3]
She developed an interest in engineering while still in high school having heard about it. At the time, the only college Coleman thought she could attend in Third Ward as a black woman was Texas Southern University. However, she was not able to obtain an engineering degree there so Coleman researched other colleges.[4]
In 1967, Coleman was accepted into the University of Houston.[5]
Coleman graduated with magna cum laude in 1971.[6]
Career
After graduating, Coleman started her career by completing an internship as a reservoir engineer at the Shell Oil company. She later received offers from several companies and decided to accept the offer of working in chemical engineering at Exxon, at the time known as Humble Oil. She would go on to work the company for thirty-three years.[7]
Achievements
Coleman is renown for her ground breaking career in chemical engineering. Over the years, she has provided "steadfast support and mentorship of students in STEM". Her aim has been to inspire other women to gain careers in engineering. She serves on the UH Petroleum Engineering Advisory Board and the Engineering Alumni Association. Coleman is founder and chair emerita of the Engineering Alumni Association’s Engineers Week, which generated $330,000 in scholarships.[8] During the Eweek to celebrate the achievements of engineering students she said "Our event was specifically created to benefit UH engineering students and organisations" [9]
In 2019, Coleman joined the Cullen College of Engineering Bridgebuilder Society.[10]
Personal life
Coleman lives with her husband Leonard J. Coleman, aged 70, in Houston.[11]
References
- ↑ Greenwall, S. (2025) Day 3: The Brilliant Cynthia Oliver Coleman, PE, LinkedIn, Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jerrod-henderson-2b668165_day-3-the-brilliant-cynthia-oliver-coleman-activity-7292161917677096960-ichj
- ↑ Carson, Joelle (2017) Cynthia Oliver Coleman, P.E. ('71), The Lunar Cougar, Available at: http://development.uh.edu/lunarcougar/cynthia-oliver-coleman-p-e-71/
- ↑ Greenwall, S. (2020) The Story of UH's First Black Woman Chemical Engineer, by Cullen College of Engineering, Available at: https://www.egr.uh.edu/parameters/2020-fall/story-uh%E2%80%99s-first-black-woman-chemical-engineer
- ↑ Carson, J. (2017) Cynthia Coleman, P.E. ('71), by The Lunar Cougar, Available at: http://development.uh.edu/lunarcougar/cynthia-oliver-coleman-p-e-71/
- ↑ Cynthia Oliver Coleman, P.E. The Official Blog of Tau Beta Pi (2022) Available at: https://taubetapiathq.com/2022/02/08/cynthia-oliver-coleman-p-e/
- ↑ SWE Magazine (2022) Fellow Grade, by Society of Women Engineers, Available at: https://swe.org/magazine/fellow-coleman-22/
- ↑ University of Houston (2023) Alum Coleman, P.E. Honoured as Fellow Grade by SWE, by Cullen College of Engineering, Available at: https://www.egr.uh.edu/news/202301/alum-coleman-honored-fellow-grade-swe
- ↑ SWE Magazine (2022) Fellow Grade, Magazine of the Society of Women Engineers, Available at: https://swe.org/magazine/fellow-coleman-22/
- ↑ Hutchinson, Inez (2018) Engineering Alumni Association Kicks Off Eweek With Reception & Program, University of Houston, Available at: https://www.egr.uh.edu/news/201803/engineering-alumni-association-kicks-eweek-reception-program
- ↑ Keimig, Alex (2025) CIS Undergrad Ilori Receives Cynthia Oliver Coleman P.E. Engineering Scholarship, University of Houston, Available at: https://www.egr.uh.edu/news/202505/cis-undergrad-ilori-receives-cynthia-oliver-coleman-pe-engineering-scholarship
- ↑ Carson, Joelle (2017) Cynthia Oliver Coleman P.E. ('71), The Lunar Cougar, Available at: http://development.uh.edu/lunarcougar/cynthia-oliver-coleman-p-e-71/
This article "Cynthia Oliver Coleman" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Cynthia Oliver Coleman. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
