IEEE Region 3 WIE representative

Dr. Ebonee Walker is a Materials Engineer in the Technology Development Directorate, U.S. Army DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center. She currently leads the destructive physical analysis of microelectronics program to assess quality for missile systems.

Dr. Walker began in the Electronics and Computer Technology Function supporting the Advanced Missile Components from Nanomaterials Program.  She worked on efforts to develop sensors for health monitoring of missile rockets.

Prior to joining the Government, she was a research assistant at Vanderbilt University in the Thermal Engineering Lab where she developed a computational technique for studying thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes using molecular dynamics simulations. As a research assistant at Fisk University in the Nanoscale Sensors and Materials Group, she fabricated and characterized zinc oxide nanowires for chemical sensor applications. She was also a Graduate Co-Op student for the AMRDEC where she worked on projects to incorporate nanomaterials into missile casings to improve mechanical strength.

Previous government assignments include Executive Officer of the Weapons Development & Integration Directorate (WDID); Materials Engineer and University Liaison in the Corrosion Program Office, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command; and Co-Op/Intern in the Aerospace Materials Function, WDID.

For a year, she participated in the DoD Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program-Germany where she worked at the Bundeswehr’s Materials, Fuels, and Lubricants Lab. There she conducted research on methods to incorporate zinc oxide nanowires into epoxy resins to improve electrical conductivity to increase light strike protection of carbon-fiber reinforced composites.

Dr. Walker is an active IEEE member in the Huntsville Section, where she is a past Section Chair and immediate past Section Treasurer. She is currently Region 3’s Women in Engineering Coordinator. She was also featured in IEEE/IEEE-USA’s 2014 New Faces of Engineering Professional Edition.

She has also been active in Toastmasters International since 2008 as a charter member of Vanderbilt Toastmasters. She has held several leadership positions at the club and district level to include Area 13 Governor. She is currently a member of Strategic Speakers Toastmasters, Club #6054, and is the Club Secretary.

Dr. Walker earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Materials Science from Vanderbilt University. She also holds a Master of Arts in Physics from Fisk University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, where she graduated as valedictorian.