First African American Ph.D. Graduate in EE at KU to Speak at Alma Mater


KU EE graduate Andrew Williams will discuss the founding of the Spelman College SpelBots RoboCup team, the first all-women, African American team to compete in the international RoboCup of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Spelman College will share his personal and educational journey.

Professor Williams grew up in Junction City, the youngest of six children of an African American father and a Korean mother. He went on to become the first African American to receive an electrical engineering Ph.D. at the University of Kansas in 1999.

The National Society of Black Engineers Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsoring Andrew Williams: Outside the Box. The talk will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, in the Spahr Engineering Classroom.