First African-American woman to earn doctorate in electrical engineering speaks at UND Sandra Johnson, the first African-American woman to earn an electrical engineering doctorate degree in the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the Phenomenal Women Awards Reception in the International Centre, 2908 University Ave., at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 29. The reception recognizes women for significant and extraordinary contributions to society. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Johnson is currently a research division master inventor at IBM, where she holds 10 patents with another three pending. She enjoys investigating ways to increase computer speed and was a part of the design team that developed the prototype for IBM’s “Deep Blue,” which beat world chess champion, Garry Kasparov.