In 1876 Edward Alexander Bouchet made history by becoming the first African American PhD physicist, and the sixth person of any race to receive a PhD in physics from an American university. Bouchet went on to educate and inspire others as a science teacher at a school for black students. https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200706/history.cfm
After completing a Ph.D. at Columbia—and becoming the first African American woman to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry—Daly taught and conducted research. At Columbia, her research focused on how the body's chemicals help digest food. Fascinated by the human body's complicated inner workings, Daly is best known for research geared toward practical applications for health and nutrition, she investigated the effects of cholesterol, sugars, and other nutrients on the heart. Her research disclosed the relationship between high cholesterol and clogged arteries and increased our understanding of how foods and diet affect the health of the heart and the circulatory system.
https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/marie-maynard-daly
Gladys Mae West is an American mathematician known for her contributions to the mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth, and her work on the development of the satellite geodesy models that were eventually incorporated into the Global Positioning System (GPS). West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018. (https://scientificwomen.net/women/west-gladys-194)
Onesimus
Onesimus
“... in science credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not the man to whom the idea first occurs.” Francis Galton
In 1706, an enslaved West African man was purchased for the prominent Puritan minister Cotton Mather by his congregation. Mather gave him the name Onesimus, after an enslaved man in the Bible whose name meant “useful.”
His contribution to modern medicine cannot be overstated, and he helped eradicate one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Yet, because he came to the United States as part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, little of Onesimus exists in the historical record. There are no known depictions of him — and historians aren’t even sure of his true birth and death dates.
https://www.history.com/news/smallpox-vaccine-onesimus-slave-cotton-mather
https://allthatsinteresting.com/onesimus
https://undark.org/2020/04/02/slave-smallpox-onesimus/
Mark E. Dean was chief engineer on the team that designed the original IBM PC in the early 1980s. He helped develop technologies, including the color PC monitor and the first gigahertz chip. With a colleague, he developed a system that allowed devices such as printers and monitors to be plugged directly into computers.
Tyson is the fifth head of the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium in New York City and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.
In an era when NASA is led by an African American man (Administrator Charles Bolden) and a woman (Deputy Administrator Dava Newman), and when recent NASA Center Directors come from a variety of backgrounds, it's easy to overlook the people who paved the way for the agency's current robust and diverse workforce and leadership. Those who speak of NASA's pioneers rarely mention the name Dorothy Vaughan, but as the head of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ (NACA’s) segregated West Area Computing Unit from 1949 until 1958, Vaughan was both a respected mathematician and NASA's first African-American manager. (https://www.nasa.gov/content/dorothy-vaughan-biography
Being handpicked to be one of three black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools is something that many people would consider one of their life’s most notable moments, but it’s just one of several breakthroughs that have marked Katherine Johnson’s long and remarkable life. Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in 1918, her intense curiosity and brilliance with numbers vaulted her ahead several grades in school. By 13, she was attending the high school on the campus of historically black West Virginia State College. At 18, she enrolled in the college itself, where she made quick work of the school’s math curriculum and found a mentor in math professor W. W. Schieffelin Claytor, the third African American to earn a PhD in mathematics. She graduated with highest honors in 1937 and took a job teaching at a black public school in Virginia. (https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography)
Mary W. Jackson grew up in Hampton, Virginia. After graduating with highest honors from high school, she then continued her education at Hampton Institute, earning her Bachelor of Science Degrees in Mathematics and Physical Science. Following graduation, Mary taught in Maryland prior to joining NASA. Mary retired from the NASA Langley Research Center in 1985 as an Aeronautical Engineer after 34 years. (https://www.nasa.gov/content/mary-w-jackson-biography)
As a doctor, engineer, and NASA astronaut, Mae Jemison has always reached for the stars. In 1992, Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space. She has also written several books and appeared on many television programs including an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In addition to her many awards, Jemison has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame. (https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mae-jemison)
https://scalar.usc.edu/works/international-women-in-engineering/mae-jemison
Vivien Thomas
The life of Vivien Thomas is an inspiring story of an African-American pioneer who overcame the barriers imposed by a segregated society. With no formal medical training, he developed techniques and tools that would lead to today's modern heart surgery. In operating rooms all over the world, great surgeons who received their training from Vivien Thomas are performing life-saving surgical procedures.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-blackhistory-thomas-story.html
Jane Cooke Wright
Dr. Jane Cooke Wright was truly a trailblazer in multiple aspects of her life. She was born in 1919 in Manhattan to Corinne Cooke, a school teacher, and Louis Wright, one of the first African American graduates from Harvard Medical School. Similar to her father, Dr. Jane Cooke Wright attended medical school at New York Medical College and did residencies at various hospitals – including Harlem Hospital where she was chief resident.
While attending medical school and becoming a chief resident as an African American woman was already incredibly groundbreaking, Dr. Jane Wright’s work drastically advanced the way cancer is treated. In 1949, she joined her father at the Harlem Hospital Cancer Research Center, which he found, where she did some of her most groundbreaking research.
https://mbb.yale.edu/news/celebrating-black-history-month-jane-cooke-wright
Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks
Although not a scientist herself, one can argue that Henrietta Lacks’s contributions to science and medicine truly have made her “immortal”:
“Born on August 1, 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia, Henrietta Lacks could not have known the effect she would have on innovation in medicine. At the age of 31, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, which at the time was one of only a few hospitals to treat black patients in the area. She began treatment and underwent a biopsy, which ultimately revealed a remarkable discovery.
“While other cancer cells died very quickly, Lacks' cells reacted quite differently. Dr. George Gey, who had spent years collecting and culturing cancer cells from cervical cancer patients at Johns Hopkins, soon found that rather than die, Lacks' cells instead doubled within 24 hours.
“ Sadly, Lacks passed away on October 4, 1951, just eight months after her original diagnosis. Though just 31 years old at the time, her cells and her impact on medicine lived on.
“Lacks' cells continued to grow, thus allowing medical researchers to research, test, and experiment on live human cells in a controlled environment. This line of cells has proven to be monumental in the field of medical research. Now called the HeLa immortal cell line (the name HeLa coming from the first two letters of her first and last name), Lacks' cells have aided in the research and development of treatments for countless diseases. These treatments include the polio vaccine, numerous viruses, AIDS, the effects of radiation and toxic substances on the human body, the study of the human genome, and so many others.
“Lacks' cells continue to aid in the advancements of medical research. Now affectionately called the "Mother of Medicine," Lacks has paved the way for innovation and the modern medicine we all benefit from today.”
“Celebrating Black History Month: Henrietta Lacks.” The University of St. Thomas, The University of St. Thomas, 9 Feb. 2021, tommiesports.com/news/2021/2/9/general-celebrating-black-history-month-henrietta-lacks.aspx.
Lonnie Johnson is a former Air Force and NASA engineer who invented the #1 top selling water toy of all time. The Super Soaker. Two of Johnson’s companies, Excellatron Solid State and Johnson Battery Technologies, Inc. (JBT) are developing revolutionary energy technology.
JBT is introducing a new generation of rechargeable battery technology which has the potential to revolutionize the battery industry. Providing a source of energy many times that which exists today in a substantially reduced size, this technology will solve many of the problems related to technology mobility in the future. http://lonniejohnson.com/biography/
In 1956, Hawkins, along with partner Victor Lanza, invented a polymer that had all the desired characteristics. This polymer was essentially a plastic that contains a chemical additive composed of carbon and antioxidants that prevents the material from deteriorating, even in severely hot or cold weather conditions. The new material, now known as “plastic cable sheath,” went into production in the 1960s and became widely used as an inexpensive, durable, and safe coating for telecommunications wire. It is still used today to protect fiber optic cable.
African American chemist Percy Julian was a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs such as cortisone, steroids and birth control pills. Julian discovered how to extract sterols from soybean oil and synthesize the hormones progesterone and testosterone. He was also lauded for his synthesis of cortisone, which became used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. https://www.biography.com/scientists/percy-julian
Dr. Alexa Canady was the first African American woman in the United States to become a neurosurgeon. Alexa Canady earned a B.S. degree in zoology from the University of Michigan in 1971, and graduated from the medical school there in 1975. "The summer after my junior year," she explains, "I worked in Dr. Bloom's lab in genetics and attended a genetic counseling clinic. I fell in love with medicine." In her work as a neurosurgeon, she saw young patients facing life-threatening illnesses, gunshot wounds, head trauma, hydrocephaly, and other brain injuries or diseases. Throughout her twenty-year career in pediatric neurosurgery, Dr. Canady has helped thousands of patients, most of them age ten or younger.
Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919) was “the first Black woman millionaire in America” and made her fortune thanks to her homemade line of hair care products for Black women. Born Sarah Breedlove to parents who had been enslaved, she was inspired to create her hair products after an experience with hair loss, which led to the creation of the “Walker system” of hair care.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/madame-c-j-walker
Actor Nichelle Nichols, who died July 30, 2022, didn't just break new ground on "Star Trek" by playing one of the first leading recurring Black female characters on U.S. television. A decade after the show ended, she did the same for NASA, appearing in a promotional film aimed at recruiting women and people of color to apply to be astronauts, as she recounted in a 2012 visit to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The next astronaut class, appointed in 1978, included Guy Bluford, the first Black American in space, and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nichelle-nichols-helped-nasa-break-boundaries-on-earth-and-in-space/)
Lewis Howard Latimer
Inventor and engineer Lewis Howard Latimer was born to parents who had fled slavery. Latimer learned the art of mechanical drawing while working at a patent firm. Over the course of his career as a draftsman, Latimer worked closely with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, in addition to designing his own inventions.
He taught himself mechanical drawing and drafting by observing the work of draftsmen at the firm. Recognizing Latimer's talent and promise, the firm partners promoted him from office boy to draftsman. In addition to assisting others, Latimer designed a number of his own inventions, including an improved railroad car bathroom and an early air conditioning unit.
Latimer was directly involved with the inventions of the telephone. Working with Bell, Latimer helped draft the patent for Bell's design of the telephone. He was also involved in the field of incandescent lighting, a particularly competitive field, working for Hiram Maxim and Edison.
References and Recommended Further Reading
Alexander, Stephon. The Jazz of Physics : The Secret Link between Music and the Structure of the Universe. Basic Books, a
member of Perseus Books Group, 2016.
Biography.com Editors. “Lewis Howard Latimer Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2021, https://www.biography.com/inventors/lewis-howard-latimer.
Blakemore, Erin. “How an Enslaved African Man in Boston Helped Save Generations ... - History.” History Stories: How an Enslaved African Man in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox, A&E Television Networks, 8 Apr. 2021, https://www.history.com/news/smallpox-vaccine-onesimus-slave-cotton-mather.
Brockell, Gillian. “The African Roots of Inoculation in America: Saving Lives for Three Centuries.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 15 Dec. 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/12/15/enslaved-african-smallpox-vaccine-coronavirus/.
Brown TH. The African Connection: Cotton Mather and the Boston Smallpox Epidemic of 1721-1722. JAMA. 1988;260(15):2247–2249. doi:10.1001/jama.1988.03410150095037
“Celebrating Black History Month: Henrietta Lacks.” The University of St. Thomas, The University of St. Thomas, 9 Feb. 2021, tommiesports.com/news/2021/2/9/general-celebrating-black-history-month-henrietta-lacks.aspx.
Chandler, Jacie. “Black History Month: Recognizing African-American Scientists and Inventors.” Ecsc, Ecsc, 25 Feb. 2022, https://www.ecscience.org/post/black-history-month-recognizing-african-american-scientists-and-inventors.
“Edward Bouchet.” Physics Today, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.6.20170915a.
ENGINEER AT PLAY: LONNIE JOHNSON; Rocket Science, Served Up Soggy: ENGINEER AT PLAY: LONNIE JOHNSON. ProQuest, Jul 31, 2001, http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/engineer-at-play-lonnie-johnson-rocket-science/docview/2232155218/se-2.
Evans, Harold. “They Made America.” Internet Archive, Little, Brown, 1 Jan. 1970, https://archive.org/details/theymadeamericaf00evan/page/254/mode/2up.
Gasman, Marybeth, and Laura W. Perna. “Promoting Attainment of African American Women in the STEM Fields: Lessons from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” Diversity in Higher Education, vol. 10, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2011, pp. 73–88, https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3644(2011)0000010008.
Gill, Monica. The 100 Most Influential Medical Pioneers of All Time, edited by Shalini Saxena, Rosen Publishing Group, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/socal/detail.action?docID=4573448.
Herschthal, Eric. Black Americans have always understood science as a tool in their freedom struggle. ProQuest, May 18, 2021, http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/black-americans-have-always-understood-science-as/docview/2528652918/se-2.
Hersey, Mark D. My Work Is That of Conservation: An Environmental Biography of George Washington Carver. University of Georgia Press, 2011.
Howell, Elizabeth. “NASA's Real 'Hidden Figures'.” Space.com, Space, 24 Feb. 2020, https://www.space.com/35430-real-hidden-figures.html#:~:text=%22Hidden%20Figures%22%20focuses%20on%20three,Katherine%20Johnson%20and%20Dorothy%20Vaughan.
“Jane Wright.” Historic Black Legacies in STEM, Africans in STEM, 2020, https://www.africansinstem.co.uk/jane-wright.html.
Jones, Abeni. “His Perseverance and Innovation Transformed Telecommunications.” PushBlack, 2020. https://www.pushblack.us/news/his-perseverance-and-innovation-transformed-telecommunications.
Kirkpatrick, Karen. "Lonnie Johnson." Georgia Trend, vol. 38, no. 5, 2023, pp. 98. ProQuest, http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/lonnie-johnson/docview/2765803455/se-2.
Kremer, Gary R. George Washington Carver: In His Own Words, Second Edition. University of Missouri Press, 2017.
Latimer, Lewis Howard et al. Incandescent Electric Lighting a Practical Description of the Edison System. D. Van Nostrand, 1890. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004960319&view=1up&seq=8
“Learn about the Stories of Lewis Latimer.” Lewis Latimer: Electrical Pioneer, Lewis Latimer House Museum, 2023, https://www.lewislatimerhouse.org/electrical-pioneer.
“The Legacy of Henrietta Lacks.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 2024, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henrietta-lacks.
Mickens, Ronald E. Edward Bouchet: The First African-American Doctorate. World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd, 2002, https://doi.org/10.1142/4925#t=toc.
“Neil DeGrasse Tyson.” Biography.com, Hearst Magazine Media, Inc, https://www.biography.com/scientist/neil-degrasse-tyson.
Odom, Brian C., and Stephen P. Waring, editors. NASA and the Long Civil Rights Movement. University Press of Florida, 2022.
Peiss, Kathy. “Shades of Difference.” Hope in a Jar, University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2011, pp. 203–37, https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812205749.203.
“Percy Julian.” Historic Black Legacies in STEM, Africans in STEM, 2020, https://www.africansinstem.co.uk/percy-julian.html.
Sanford, Ezelle, III. “The Unappreciated Legacy of African- American Inventors.” Magazine, National Geographic, 3 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/the-unappreciated-legacy-of-african-american-inventors?rid=0BDB19B43CDC41104013A6D62B481446&cmpid=org%3Dngp%3A%3Amc%3Dcrm-email%3A%3Asrc%3Dngp%3A%3Acmp%3Deditorial%3A%3Aadd%3DBHM2023_20230208&rnd=1675905686706.
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Crown Publishers, 2010.
Southwick, Albert B. "Slave brought inoculation idea." Telegram & Gazette, May 14, 2009. ProQuest, http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/slave-brought-inoculation-idea/docview/269058202/se-2.
“Ten Black Scientists That Science Teachers Should Know About.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 2 Jan. 2023, https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/ten-black-scientists-that-science-teachers-should-know-about-and-free-resources
Thrasher, Jake. “Celebrating Black History Month - Jane Cooke Wright.” Celebrating Black History Month - Jane Cooke Wright | Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, 24 Feb. 2021, https://mbb.yale.edu/news/celebrating-black-history-month-jane-cooke-wright.
Beyond Stock Stories and Folktales by Call Number: LC1567 .W65 2011ISBN: 9781780521688Publication Date: 2011-09-20Ask practically any academic department chair why they do not have more African Americans among faculty members and they generally respond with stock stories or folktales, which stimulated the title of this volume. Stock stories are akin to grand narratives that explain 'why things are' in ways that satisfy those in dominant positions. Frierson and Tate argue it is time to move beyond these. The purpose of the book is to provide historical, conceptual, and empirically-based analyses focused on the development of African Americans in STEM fields. There is rarely any real understanding of the uneven contours of the education pipeline or the transition to academic life experienced in these situations and this volume will shed light on opportunities to advance African American attainment in STEM disciplines throughout the academic and professional spectra, and the mitigation of disparities that continue to be so prevalent. The editors hope that it will generate discussions and actions that are based on empirical evidence and policy analyses, rather than long standing stock stories and folktales that misrepresent the paths linked to African Americans' attainment in STEM fields.
African Americans in Science by Call Number: Q141 .C2138 2008ISBN: 9781851099986Publication Date: 2008-10-23This encyclopedia provides the most complete treatment to date of the accomplishments of African American scientists--and the struggles of African Americans to find their place in the scientific community. This comprehensive reference work sheds new light on an aspect of African American life that is often overlooked. More than a summary of individuals and accomplishments, African Americans in Science: An Encyclopedia of People and Progress explores the entire experience of African Americans seeking a place in the scientific community--not just the triumphs but the frustrations, discriminations, and the efforts to support (and sometimes impede) African American scientists. African Americans in Science offers alphabetically organized entries in three areas: the contributions of African Americans in over 30 different fields of science and medicine, schools and organizations that played a role in the development of African American scientists, and additional topics related to African American scientists. No other reference offers such a complete and up-to-date portrait of the pivotal work of African Americans across the spectrum of scientific research and what it took to achieve it. Over 250 alphabetically organized entries covering the breadth of scientific achievements by African Americans, as well as the institutions and organizations dedicated to helping African Americans pursue scientific careers An extensive bibliography of both print and online sources for further reading Indexes organized by individual name and by discipline Overview entries on issues such as scientific theories of race, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, and African Americans in various scientific fields
Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century by Call Number: Q141 .D535 1996ISBN: 0897749553Publication Date: 1996-01-08From George Washington Carver to Dr. Mae Jemison, African Americans have been making outstanding contributions in the field of science. This unique resource goes beyond the headlines in chronicling not just the scientific achievements but also the lives of 100 remarkable men and women. Each biography provides an absorbing account of the scientist's struggles, which often included overcoming prejudice, as they pursued their educational and professional goals.
Edward Bouchet by Call Number: Q141 .E393 2002ISBN: 9810249098Publication Date: 2002-02-01Edward A Bouchet was the first African-American to receive the doctorate in any field of knowledge in the United States and that area was physics. He was granted the degree in 1876 from Yale University making him at that time one of the few persons to hold the physics doctorate from an American university. Bouchet played a significant role in the education of African-Americans during the last quarter of the 19th century through his teaching and mentoring activities at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was one among a small number of African-Americans who achieved advanced training and education within decades of the American civil war. These people provided direction, leadership, and role models for what eventually became the civil/human rights movements. The year 2001 marks the 125th celebration of his receiving the doctorate degree. This book gives a summary of his life and career.
Contributions of African American Scientists to the Fields of Science, Medicine, and Inventions by Call Number: Q141 .S2856 2010ISBN: 9781607413196Publication Date: 2009-07-01Scientists included in this book represent the fields of biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, dentistry, engineering, entomology, genetics, geology, mathematics, medicine, nursing, physics, psychology, sociology, zoology, and inventions. Described here are African American men and women who have contributed to the advancement of science including inventions. These individuals have contributed in large and small ways that might have been overlooked when chronicling the history of science.
African-American Firsts in Science and Technology by Call Number: Q141 .W43 1999ISBN: 0787638765Publication Date: 1999-10-26This reference provides information on 1500 contributions of African Americans throughout history in the field of science and technology.
Black Women Scientists in the United States by Call Number: Q141 .W367 1999ISBN: 0253336031Publication Date: 2000-02-22"There is very little reference material on black scientists in the US and even less that includes black women scientists. This book fills a void . . . " --Choice " . . . a valuable new survey of a social group almost universally neglected by chroniclers of American culture . . . [an] admirable book . . . " --San Francisco Examiner " . . . an illuminating collection of more than 100 profiles . . . " --Publishers Weekly This pathbreaking book goes beyond the lip-service traditionally paid to Black women scientists and illuminates their scientific contributions, struggles, strategies, and triumphs. Drawn heavily from primary sources, Warren's original reference guide includes biographies of more than 100 Black women scientists in fields from anatomy and mathematics to psychology and zoology.
African Americans in Science, Math, and Invention (a to Z of African Americans) by Call Number: Q141.S6285 2012ISBN: 9780816083312Publication Date: 2012-01-30Praise for the previous edition: "The scope is impressive...The information is well-written and accurate...[a] valuable reference...Recommended."—Library Media Connection "This book belongs in every high school library."—American Reference Books Annual "...useful...a good addition to any school or public library that does not already have a concise overview of African American scientists in its collection."—Booklist In research labs, university classrooms, NASA training facilities, and the administrative boardrooms of major institutions, African Americans have been important innovators, from early times to the present day. African Americans in Science, Math, and Invention, Revised Edition explores the many astronauts, physicists, chemists, biologists, agriculture specialists, and others who have dedicated their lives to improving humankind's knowledge and understanding of the universe. Each entry provides a biographical profile, surveying significant events in that person's life related to his or her accomplishments in these fields, followed by an up-to-date further reading list on that individual. A general introduction presents an overview of African-American contributions, subject indexes list individuals by year of birth and by fields of activity, and a general bibliography lists resources relevant to the topic. New and revised profiles include: Patricia Era Bath James Forten Bernard A. Harris Joan Higginbottom William B. Purvis John Brooks Slaughter Valerie Thomas Madame C.J. Walker.
Hidden Figures by Call Number: QA27.5 .L44 2016ISBN: 9780062363596Publication Date: 2016-09-06The #1 New York Times bestseller -WINNER OF ANISFIELD-WOLF AWARD FOR NONFICTION -WINNER BLACK CAUCUS OF AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NAACP IMAGE AWARD BEST NONFICTION BOOK -WINNER NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE COMMUNICATION AWARD The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA at the leading edge of the feminist and civil rights movement, whose calculations helped fuel some of America's greatest achievements in space--a powerful, revelatory contribution that is as essential to our understanding of race, discrimination, and achievement in modern America as Between the World and Me and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The basis for the smash Academy Award-nominated film starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner. Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black "West Computing" group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens. Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future.
The Jazz of Physics by Call Number: QB981 .A54 2016ISBN: 9780465034994Publication Date: 2016-04-26A spectacular musical and scientific journey from the Bronx to the cosmic horizon that reveals the astonishing links between jazz, science, Einstein, and Coltrane More than fifty years ago, John Coltrane drew the twelve musical notes in a circle and connected them by straight lines, forming a five-pointed star. Inspired by Einstein, Coltrane put physics and geometry at the core of his music. Physicist and jazz musician Stephon Alexander follows suit, using jazz to answer physics' most vexing questions about the past and future of the universe. Following the great minds that first drew the links between music and physics-a list including Pythagoras, Kepler, Newton, Einstein, and Rakim -- The Jazz of Physics reveals that the ancient poetic idea of the "Music of the Spheres," taken seriously, clarifies confounding issues in physics. The Jazz of Physics will fascinate and inspire anyone interested in the mysteries of our universe, music, and life itself.
Origins by Call Number: QB981 .T96 2014ISBN: 9780393350395Publication Date: 2014-09-02Our true origins are not just human, or even terrestrial, but in fact cosmic. Drawing on recent scientific breakthroughs and the current cross-pollination among geology, biology, astrophysics, and cosmology, ?Origins? explains the soul-stirring leaps in our understanding of the cosmos. From the first image of a galaxy birth to Spirit Rover's exploration of Mars, to the discovery of water on one of Jupiter's moons, coauthors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith conduct a galvanizing tour of the cosmos with clarity and exuberance.
Welcome to the Universe by Call Number: QB982 .T974 2016ISBN: 9780691157245Publication Date: 2016-09-29The New York Times bestselling tour of the cosmos from three of today's leading astrophysicists Welcome to the Universe is a personal guided tour of the cosmos by three of today's leading astrophysicists. Inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course that Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott taught together at Princeton, this book covers it all--from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes, wormholes, and time travel. Describing the latest discoveries in astrophysics, the informative and entertaining narrative propels you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space. How do stars live and die? Why did Pluto lose its planetary status? What are the prospects of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? How did the universe begin? Why is it expanding and why is its expansion accelerating? Is our universe alone or part of an infinite multiverse? Answering these and many other questions, the authors open your eyes to the wonders of the cosmos, sharing their knowledge of how the universe works. Breathtaking in scope and stunningly illustrated throughout, Welcome to the Universe is for those who hunger for insights into our evolving universe that only world-class astrophysicists can provide.
African American Women Chemists by Call Number: QD21.B69 2012ISBN: 9780199909612Publication Date: 2011-01-01Dr. Marie Maynard Daly received her PhD in Chemistry from Columbia University in 1947. Although she was hardly the first of her race and gender to engage in the field, she was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in the United States. In this book, Jeannette Brown, an African American woman chemist herself, will present a wide-ranging historical introduction to the relatively new presence of African American women in the field of chemistry. It will detail their struggles to obtain an education and their efforts to succeed in a field in which there were few African American men, much less African American women.The book contains sketches of the lives of African America women chemists from the earliest pioneers up until the late 1960's when the Civil Rights Acts were passed and greater career opportunities began to emerge. In each sketch, Brown will explore women's motivation to study the field and detail their often quite significant accomplishments. Chapters focus on chemists in academia, industry, and government, as well as chemical engineers, whose career path is very different from that of the tradition chemist. The book concludes with a chapter on the future of African American women chemists, which will be of interest to all women interested in science.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Call Number: RC265.6.L24 S55 2010ISBN: 9781400052172Publication Date: 2010-02-02#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The story of modern medicine and bioethics--and, indeed, race relations--is refracted beautifully, and movingly."--Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE * ONE OF THE "MOST INFLUENTIAL" (CNN), "DEFINING" (LITHUB), AND "BEST" (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE * ONE OF ESSENCE'S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS * WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review * Entertainment Weekly * O: The Oprah Magazine * NPR * Financial Times * New York * Independent (U.K.) * Times (U.K.) * Publishers Weekly * Library Journal * Kirkus Reviews * Booklist * Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta's family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family--past and present--is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family--especially Henrietta's daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn't her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
George Washington Carver by Call Number: S417.C3 A4 2017ISBN: 9780826221391Publication Date: 2017-11-21George Washington Carver (1864-1943) is best known for developing new uses for agricultural crops and teaching methods of soil improvement to southern farmers. This annotated selection of his letters and other writings from the collections at the Tuskegee Institute and the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, reveals the forces that shaped his creative genius--including the influence of persistent racism. His letters also show us Carver's deep love for his fellow man, whether manifested in his efforts to treat polio victims in the 1930s or in his emotionally charged friendships that lasted a lifetime. With a new chapter on the oral history interviews Dr. Kremer conducted (several years after publication of the first edition) with people who knew Carver personally, and the addition of newly uncovered documents and a bank of impressive photographs of Carver and some of his friends, this second edition of our classic title commemorates the 75th anniversary of Carver's death on January 5, 2018.
NASA and the Long Civil Rights Movement by Call Number: TL521.312 .N363 2019ISBN: 0813072484Publication Date: 2022As NASA prepared for the launch of Apollo 11 in July 1969, many African American leaders protested the billions of dollars used to fund “space joyrides” rather than help tackle poverty, inequality, and discrimination at home. This volume examines such tensions as well as the ways in which NASA’s goal of space exploration aligned with the cause of racial equality. It provides new insights into the complex relationship between the space program and the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South and abroad.
Essays explore how thousands of jobs created during the space race offered new opportunities for minorities in places like Huntsville, Alabama, while at the same time segregation at NASA’s satellite tracking station in South Africa led to that facility’s closure. Other topics include black skepticism toward NASA’s framing of space exploration as “for the benefit of all mankind,” NASA’s track record in hiring women and minorities, and the efforts of black activists to increase minority access to education that would lead to greater participation in the space program. The volume also addresses how to best find and preserve archival evidence of African American contributions that are missing from narratives of space exploration.
We Could Not Fail by Call Number: TL521.312 .P39 2015ISBN: 9780292772496Publication Date: 2015-05-01The Space Age began just as the struggle for civil rights forced Americans to confront the long and bitter legacy of slavery, discrimination, and violence against African Americans. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson utilized the space program as an agent for social change, using federal equal employment opportunity laws to open workplaces at NASA and NASA contractors to African Americans while creating thousands of research and technology jobs in the Deep South to ameliorate poverty. We Could Not Fail tells the inspiring, largely unknown story of how shooting for the stars helped to overcome segregation on earth. Richard Paul and Steven Moss profile ten pioneer African American space workers whose stories illustrate the role NASA and the space program played in promoting civil rights. They recount how these technicians, mathematicians, engineers, and an astronaut candidate surmounted barriers to move, in some cases literally, from the cotton fields to the launching pad. The authors vividly describe what it was like to be the sole African American in a NASA work group and how these brave and determined men also helped to transform Southern society by integrating colleges, patenting new inventions, holding elective office, and reviving and governing defunct towns. Adding new names to the roster of civil rights heroes and a new chapter to the story of space exploration, We Could Not Fail demonstrates how African Americans broke the color barrier by competing successfully at the highest level of American intellectual and technological achievement.
Space Chronicles by Call Number: TL789.8.U5 T97 2012ISBN: 9780393082104Publication Date: 2012-02-27Neil deGrasse Tyson is a rare breed of astrophysicist, one who can speak as easily and brilliantly with popular audiences as with professional scientists. Now that NASA has put human space flight effectively on hold--with a five- or possibly ten-year delay until the next launch of astronauts from U.S. soil--Tyson's views on the future of space travel and America's role in that future are especially timely and urgent. This book represents the best of Tyson's commentary, including a candid new introductory essay on NASA and partisan politics, giving us an eye-opening manifesto on the importance of space exploration for America's economy, security, and morale. Thanks to Tyson's fresh voice and trademark humor, his insights are as delightful as they are provocative, on topics that range from the missteps that shaped our recent history of space travel to how aliens, if they existed, might go about finding us.
Hope in a Jar by Call Number: TT957 .P45 1998ISBN: 9780812221671Publication Date: 2011-09-16How did powder and paint, once scorned as immoral, become indispensable to millions of respectable women? How did a "kitchen physic," as homemade cosmetics were once called, become a multibillion-dollar industry? And how did men finally take over that rarest of institutions, a woman's business? In Hope in a Jar, historian Kathy Peiss gives us the first full-scale social history of America's beauty culture, from the buttermilk and rice powder recommended by Victorian recipe books to the mass-produced products of our contemporary consumer age. She shows how women, far from being pawns and victims, used makeup to declare their freedom, identity, and sexual allure as they flocked to enter public life. And she highlights the leading role of white and black women--Helena Rubenstein and Annie Turnbo Malone, Elizabeth Arden and Madame C. J. Walker--in shaping a unique industry that relied less on advertising than on women's customs of visiting and conversation. Replete with the voices and experiences of ordinary women, Hope in a Jar is a richly textured account of the ways women created the cosmetics industry and cosmetics created the modern woman.
Inventors of Health and Medical Technology by ISBN: 9781502606587Publication Date: 2015-07-30Ever year, new technologies advance and improve societies. Some of the most influential inventions have occurred in the health and medical field. This book explores important inventors and the inventions that have influenced the medical industry, such as the smallpox vaccine, CT scanners, and DNA cloning.
Incandescent Electric Lighting. a Practical Description of the Edison System. by Publication Date: 1890
