A Flying Legacy

Imagine the conviction you would need to persuade aerospace behemoth, Boeing to use Computer-Aided-Design (CAD), that you developed from the ground up. Let me introduce you to Walter Braithwaite, a truly amazing Jamaican engineer who oversaw the production, design, and manufacturing of the world’s first “paperless-plane”.

Braithwaite was born in January of 1945 to a modest family in Kingstown, Jamaica. In his early age, he took a keen interest in engineering. He continued to learn about engineering in London, eventually leading a graduation from MIT. He rose to fame with his exceptional credentials, having designed and established a universal CAD platform for modeling plane blueprints and running simulations, eliminating the need for expensive and time-consuming clay models and wind tunnel tests. He was named VP of Information-Architecture after working on numerous aircraft, and was bestowed “Black Engineer of the Year” award in 1995.

Success didn’t come without its challenges, including subvert racism and persistent resistance to his ideas, Braithwaite was able to overcome them because of his conviction. For example, Braithwaite machined a model based on CAD, which had less than 0.03nm misalignment- exponentially improved from the previous clay-based model. His intellect, perseverance mixed with a laid-back attitude was paramount in his meteoric rise - leading to the presidency of Boeing-Africa later.

In a time when aerospace was dominated by white men, Walter Braithwhite worked for diversity and equality in the field, paving the way for the likes of Sally Ride and Mae Jemison. Diverse people bring their lively ideas and novel solutions to the field, and ultimately create an inclusive workplace free of discrimination. Walter Braithwaite epitomized how diverse engineers can revolutionize the industry and successfully lead them into the 21st century.

I’m no stranger to diverse ideas, like Braithwaite. In a First-Lego-League robotics team one task required us to program a robot to place three energy units into a hopper. We designed solutions - only to find them to be time consuming, preventing us from scoring additional points. However, a diverse team member had the innovative idea to use a gearbox to catapult the units from a "home base" - which was christened the “work-from-home”. These experiences have reinforced to me the importance of the value of diversity and inclusion in achieving success. Similarly, another teammate’s way of thinking introduced music to our project - and captivated the judges. This collectively earned us 2nd place, a robot design award, and a spot at state-wide competition. These achievements were brought on by ingenuity and ideas of a diverse team built on respect. You can’t put a color on creativity.

Braithewaite brought a different brand of thinking - one that was cultivated by his hardworking nature, his unique upbringing, and conviction to eliminate any barriers that sought to stop him. Braithwaite’s background was a prideful thing which allowed him to progress-forward.

Diverse people have diverse ideas. I imagine multiracial teams inclusive of women could solve paramount issues in the aerospace industry. According to a study done by MIT - women are more social, and excellent organizers- possibly being effective in creating a comfortable yet efficient air travel experience. In the book “Diversity-Bonus”, the author finds that people of different race, gender and socioeconomic status could take different angles on things based on their experiences - thus solving daunting challenges innovatively. Additionally, McKinsey & Co. demonstrated diverse organizations actually have improved their financial standings by 35%. I imagine diversified teams collectively could figure out how to bring supersonic travel back, creatie composite materials that push the boundaries of speed and bringing air travel to underserviced places. Anything is possible with the diverse people given the right environment while improving organizations financial health.

Walter Braithwaite was a trailblazer who metamorphosed the aviation industry and firmly established the value of diversity. Braithwaite, and many others, is living proof how minority engineers can be true leaders with their dogedness and ardent desire to succeed. My firsthand experience has demonstrated that diverse viewpoints and approaches leads to efficient solutions to engineering challenges. The inclusion of women and non-white engineers will foster innovation, opening frontiers of supersonic and outer-space exploration. A better world would run on diversity, and I can’t wait to be part of it.