U.S. Census Bureau Black History Month Feature for February 8

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily Black History Month feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8: EVAN FORDE

Profile America for the eighth day of Black History Month.  By the time he was in third grade, Evan Forde — now one of the nation's leading oceanographers — already had a telescope, microscope and chemistry set.  The fact that his father was a high school science teacher obviously shaped his future.  By age 23, he already had two geology degrees from Columbia.  While still an undergraduate, he went to work for NOAA, where he still is on the staff, winning the Research Employee of the Year award in 2001.  Forde's specialty is the formation and evolution of underwater canyons, as well as their landslides and avalanches.  There are 85,000 environmental and geoscientists in the U.S. — 4 percent of them African-American.  You can find these and more facts about the African-American population on the web at www.census.gov.  

Sources: www.aoml.noaa.gov/forde/index.html

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 603

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  For further information, contact Rick Reed:  301-763-2812; fax: 301-763-3762; or e-mail: rreed-at-census.gov.

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau