Trailblazer Award Honors UA Physics Graduate Student

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – K. Renee Horton, a doctoral candidate in The University of Alabama department of physics and astronomy, recently received the Trailblazer Award at the 2010 Black Engineer of the Year Awards STEM Global Competiveness Conference in Baltimore, Md.

The Trailblazer Award recognizes people who are making an impact at different stages of their career.

Horton returned to her education after taking 10 years off to raise her three children.

“It can be stressful having kids and being a student, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Horton says. “When I look back at it, I’m glad I chose to come to UA. These experiences have changed the way I look at life.”

Horton will graduate with a Ph.D. in material science from UA in December. “I wanted to go into a field where research was being done and applied as well. Material science gives me that,” Horton said.  She will be the first African-American to complete that particular degree at UA.

Horton has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University and she is from Baton Rouge.

After graduation, Horton hopes to get a job working for NASA. When Horton was a child, she wanted to become an astronaut. However, she has a hearing impairment that hindered her from reaching this goal, but she did not let this deter her from her dream. “This is the way I’d like to be a part of that,” said Horton. “If I can’t be an astronaut, I’d like to be able to send one to space.”

She currently works at the Center for Materials for Information Technology, a multidisciplinary research program at UA focusing on new materials for advanced data storage. Through the center, she also runs an outreach program for children in the Tuscaloosa area.

Horton is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., which has been a valuable support system for her at UA. “There’s a lot of isolation working in my field, but Delta Sigma Theta has given me support here,” she said.

Horton also credits UA with providing her with many opportunities to advance her career. “The opportunities that I’ve had at UA have made me a truly well-rounded person.”

While at UA, Horton became a member of the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics. She will be a North American delegate to an IUPAP Conference next year in South Africa. Horton will visit Africa this April to help plan next year’s conference. Through IUPAP, she has also visited Brazil and South Korea.