Carol Espy-Wilson
| Dr. Carol Espy-Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Electrical Engineering |
| Institutions | University of Maryland, College Park |
| Alma mater |
Stanford University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | An acoustic-phonetic approach to speech recognition: application to the semivowels (1987) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kenneth H. Stevens |
| Spouse | John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. |
Dr. Carol Espy-Wilson is an electrical engineer and a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD) at College Park. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987, becoming the first African-American woman to earn this degree from MIT.
Dr. Espy-Wilson was born in Atlanta, GA. She is the youngest of four children born to Mattie and Matthew Espy. Her older brothers are Stanley, Frederick and Calvin Espy. Espy-Wilson attributes much of her success to her family. Her father was a remodeling contractor and was exceptional with mathematics. She says, “he could come into a room, do all sorts of calculations in his head and tell how much material, like tile, would be needed to lay the floor.” Her father’s math ability and his strong work ethic were passed down to Espy-Wilson’s brothers, who in turn instilled in her the drive to excel. In addition, Espy-Wilson’s mother instilled the importance of faith and religion in the Espy children. Her mother taught that regardless of their current circumstance, they were called to be the best at whatever they attempted. And she challenged them to look beyond the immediate and to achieve excellence as an investment in the future. This commitment to achievement was a part of the fabric of the Espy family. Espy-Wilson’s family had high expectations for all the children and Espy-Wilson was expected to toe the line.
Calvin, seven years older, was Espy-Wilson’s role model and advisor. Starting when she was five years old, Calvin would try to teach her the math he was learning in school. When Calvin graduated from Georgia Tech in Electrical Engineering, Espy-Wilson decided to major in Electrical Engineering, as well. Espy-Wilson’s approach was that she would start in Electrical Engineering, and if she did not like it, she would figure out what other engineering field suited her better. She never got to a point where she did not like Electrical Engineering. Calvin graduated from Stanford University with his MS degree in Electrical Engineering and brought an application from Stanford home to Espy-Wilson and made sure that she filled it out when it was time for her to apply to schools.
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