Juan Gilbert is coming home.

Gilbert, a 1987 Hamilton graduate, will be speaking at Miami University Hamilton and Miami Middletown next week as part of the regional campuses’ celebration of Black History Month.

A professor at Clemson University, Gilbert’s 40-minute lecture is under the Racial Legacies & Learning XXVII series. He’ll speak on Innovation, Mentoring and Society: How One Person Can Make A Difference at 7 p.m. Tuesday at MUH’s Harry T. Wilks Conference and at noon Wednesday at MUM’s Miriam G. Knoll Campus & Community Center.

“I’ll be talking about things we’re able to do with technology and innovation, and how we can use that to mentor students to create an impact on society,” said Gilbert, 42. “Often the case, people think we can’t do it. There’s not enough of us or we don’t have the necessary credentials to do something. I talk about how we’ve been able to change that.”

Gilbert — winner of the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring — is an IDEaS Professor & Chair of the Human-Centered Computing Division in the School of Computing at Clemson, where he directs the Human Centered Computing Lab. He received the Presidential Award on Dec. 12.

“It was a huge honor,” Gilbert said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event to meet the president and be able to receive an award from him. It was very humbling.”

Gilbert graduated from Miami University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in applied science. He has a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. He’s in his third year at Clemson after teaching nine years at Auburn University.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back and seeing everybody,” Gilbert said, “to share my experiences with people and let them know how it’s worked for me and how it can work them.”

For more information, contact the office of multicultural services at (513) 785-3024.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or steven.matthews@coxinc.com.