Dr. Ty Mitchell Mentor on the Map Award

The Ty Mitchell Mentor-on-the-Map Award honors individuals who played a significant role in mentoring the next generation of scientists o color.  

Dr. Tyrone (Ty) Mitchell graduated from L.B. Landry High School before attending Dillard University in New Orleans, where he earned a B.S. degree in chemistry.  He attended graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh where he obtained a M.S. in Organic Chemistry.

Dr. Mitchell joined General Electric (GE) and moved to Troy, NY, where he and his wife, Sandra, became the proud parents of three children.   Ty earned a Ph.D. in polymer chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1978, attending night school and working full-time in the Silicone Products Division at GE’s Corporate Research and Development Center in Niskayuna.  Dr. Mitchell co-authored 16 technical publications and holds more than 25 US patents in the areas of organosilicon chemistry, polymer chemistry, and improving the performance of commercial silicone sealants. At the time of his departure from GE in 1990, products he helped to develop were producing over $100M in annual sales for the company.

After leaving General Electric, he joined Corning Inc. where his work included finding and managing new fiber optic technologies, developing talent, and establishing links between universities and industry. With a unique talent and drive for mentoring others, Dr. Mitchell fostered career opportunities for many, including demographic groups that are generally under-represented in STEM fields.  He retired from Corning in 2000 and joined the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Virginia, as a Program Director.

Dr. Mitchell served on the Board of Directors of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), Clarkson University’s Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP), and the Technology Transfer Society (T2S).  He also participated on the Industrial Science & Technology and the Chemistry Section Committees of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In January 2006, he was inducted as an AAAS Fellow.

Over 50 years Dr. Mitchell dedicated his life by mentoring and coaching technical professionals in academia, government and industrial institutions. His commitment to the technical community with respect to mentoring and coaching is unmatched. Through hCis exemplary work he has advanced many careers as well as given many scientists and engineers the needed jolt to start their career.

Past Winners:

2014 Gloria Thomas, Louisiana State University
2015 Bernard Batson, University of South Florida
2016 Christine Grant, North Carolina State University
2017 Claudia Turro, The Ohio State University
2018 Javoris Hollingsworth, University of St. Thomas, Houston
2019 Stefan France, Georgia Institute of Technology
2020 Paul Adams, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
2021 Reginald Rogers, Jr., University of Missouri