N.C. A&T Alumni Times

N.C. A&T Alumnus, NASA Rocket Scientist and BBQ Pit Master Lands Role as Host of PBS’ “Nourish”

Barbeque is a southern tradition that dates back to the 1700s and still remains as one of American’s favorite foods of choice. It has played a major role in Dr. Howard Conyers’ ’04 life. He is a NASA rocket scientist, and since the age of four years old, the Manning, South Carolina native has been a whole-hog barbecue pit master. Now he is taking his talent to PBS Digital Stuidos, a network through PBS, as the new host of "Nourish" available on its own YouTube channel and Facebook Watch.

“While growing up on a farm, I learned from my father how to barbeque a whole hog, a tradition that has been passed down to my family through stories and techniques in the community,” said Conyers. “Barbecue was part of plantation culture that was primarily done by enslaved Africans.”

“Nourish” is a digital show all about food, culture, and science in the Deep South. Conyers, as the host and one of the show’s co-producers, will travel to various places to interview food experts to further understand the culture of what people eat and the science behind it. For the pilot season of the show, there will be 10 episodes in the online series that will air every two weeks on YouTube.

“The opportunity with PBS was presented to me a year ago when I did a history of BBQ lecture and demonstration at Slow Food Nations in Denver, Colorado. On that day, one of the PBS producers just so happened to be in the audience and was interested in doing a documentary on my work to submit to an internal PBS Digital Studios competition,” said Conyers. “I decided to invest in the project, and I barbequed a whole hog to give the producer a real experience, which in turn, led the network to ask me to host my own show.”

Conyers’ love and passion for pit cooking has afforded him many opportunities to travel the U.S. and internationally, and be a part of TV shows such as “Man Fire Food” on the Cooking Channel. When he is not traveling or teaching about his craft, he works as a full-time structural dynamicist to support rocket engine testing for the NASA Stennis Space Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been with NASA for nearly nine years.

“What I love most about being a pit master is that barbeque creates an opportunity for people of all walks of life, cultures and colors to come together and fellowship over food,” said Conyers. “It is my hope with the show, “Nourish,” that people will learn more about the American south, fall in love with the culture of food, and see the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) in food.”

In 2004, Conyers received his bachelor’s degree in bioenvironmental engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He also received a M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Duke University from 2004-2009. In addition, his wife Kathryn received a bachelor’s degree in finance from N.C. A&T in 2006.

To view “Nourish,” visit the show’s YouTube Channel here and subscribe for future notifications on new episodes.