John Brooks Slaughter (March 16, 1934 – December 6, 2023) was an American electrical engineer and college president who served as the first African-American director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). His work focused on the development of computer algorithms for system optimization and discrete signal processing.

Early life and education

Slaughter was born in and grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and attended Topeka High School. After two years at Washburn University, Slaughter transferred and earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Kansas State University in 1956, an M.S. in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1961, and a Ph.D. in engineering sciences from the University of California, San Diego in 1971.

Academic career

Slaughter took a civilian position at the United States Navy Electronics Laboratory in San Diego in 1960. He was appointed Director of the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington in 1975. He joined the NSF in 1977 as assistant director for Astronomics, Atmospherics, Earth and Ocean Sciences. From 1980 to 1982 he was Director of the NSF. Slaughter was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1982. From 1982 to 1988 Slaughter served as Chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park, then served as President of Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1988 to 1999. In 1999 he was appointed Melbo Professor of Leadership in Education at the University of Southern California.

Death

Slaughter died on December 6, 2023, while receiving treatment at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California. He was 89.

Awards and honors