Black men on the cutting edge: … designing spacecraft, redesigning and racing cars and remaking urban parks

OUTER SPACE. The final frontier. And the search for life beyond planet earth is a distant concept--for most. But for Dr. Joe Mills, an internationally recognized nuclear engineer, it is a way of life. Dr. Mills is vice president and program manager of the Boeing Company's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) effort, which is searching for signs of extraterrestrial life on the three ice-covered moons of Jupiter--Callisto, Ganymede and Europa.

As part of NASA's initiative to revolutionize space exploration, the JIMO team, headed by Mills, will study technology options for the development and implementation of a nuclear-powered spacecraft. If successful, the spacecraft would be the nation's first nuclear fission reactor-powered scientific spacecraft, allowing exploration of Jupiter's moons and the ocean suspected to exist beneath the ice on Europa.

"Because nuclear space power is a more compact technology, it allows us to have higher power," says Dr. Mills, the recipient of the 2004 Pioneer Award. "So, once we're at those moons, we can do more advanced science. We can use lasers to penetrate the icy crusts. With a higher power level and advanced science instrumentation, we can conduct better research, collect more data and send it back to Earth a lot faster. And once we've established that capability, it would be available to go to Saturn or Neptune or any other NASA mission. This reactor power system can be used to provide power for a lunar base on the moon or on Mars, which we would need before sending human beings back to those planets."

HAROLD MARTIN is an expert behind the wheel of a racecar and an expert under the hood as well. The former General Motors engineer, who holds 10 worldwide patents, is living his lifelong dream of driving a race car as well as advancing motoring technology through his innovative high-tech approaches.

Martin competes in the International Hot Rod Association's Pro Modified drag racing class with his innovative ACDelco Pontiac Grand Am car. He is also head or CEO of three companies--Harold Martin Racing, as both a team owner/driver; Martin Technologies, a tier-one automotive supplier; and Martin Motor Sports, a company that builds race ear engines for race teams around the country.

He is well on his way to achieving his goal of a world championship. "We just returned from a race where we were the No. 1 qualifier and took second place finish," he says. "It's a really great way to start the season out. We came back home as if we'd finished last place--our sleeves are rolled up and we're working on new innovations [to win first place]."

Martin's sleek Pontiac Grand Am covers the quarter-mile in 6.15 seconds at a breathtaking 230 miles-per-hour pace. But even that impressive speed does not compare with the lightning-fast innovations he has invented for his 2,300-horsepower GM racing engine. While other racers rely on mechanical systems, Martin has been harnessing the power of high-speed computers to perfect electronic fuel injection. Although he could have acquired a proven engine, he chose to design an engine from scratch. His invention of the first electronic fuel injection engine ever in the Pro Modified class makes him a part of history. "Electronic fuel injection," he says, "is the future, and it's exciting to be a pioneer in motor sports. Bringing state-of-the-art systems to drag racing is the kind of challenge that excites an engineer."

What also excites this engineer is giving back to the community. He sponsors the Harold Martin Scholarship and has a full public speaking schedule addressing groups from schoolchildren to executives. "I've watched Harold at the track and he has a great fan base as well as the respect of his fellow race drivers," says Tom Paci, associate manager of Motor-sports for General Motors' Service and Parts Operations. "He never turns down an opportunity to talk to a race fan, youth group or sign an autograph."

Martin is a Detroit native--and has homes in Selma, Ala., and the Detroit area. He is married and has a 13-year-old son, Harold Martin II, who is involved in his pit crew.

Martin's father, Houston Martin, was involved with racing in Selma, and his dad's hobby of cars and motor sports inspired him. "Motor sports at the time was and still is a difficult profession to break into and back then it was nearly impossible." But taking risks is the motto of a successful race car driver, and he believes in overcoming fear. "This is a very risky sport," he says. "I race a very dynamic race car and they rarely do the same thing twice."

How does he deal with the danger? "I say my prayers, I buckle my seat belt and I go out and do my professional job."

For an entrepreneur, an inventor, and a professional race car driver, that's the only way to live.

Walter Hood Landscape Architect

LIKE a face-lift, the once-forgotten urban parks of Oakland, Calif.--defined by litter, loss and a lack of interest--have been revitalized. Through the visionary designs of landscape architect Walter Hood, many of Oakland's recreational areas have blossomed into thriving, inner-city epicenters, welcoming the young, the old and the visitor in search of something new.