An earlier version of this post misstated her name. He later earned his Doctorate in Physics in 1976 from MIT. Their main contribution(s) to science and the world: Elmo was the first African-American to receive a doctorate in Chemistry in the U.S. Elmo would spend a quarter of a century developing the undergraduate program at Fisk University and founded the first graduate Chemistry program at a black college. Her career was primarily devoted to calculating the trajectories for many NASA missions. Katherine would graduate summa cum laude with degrees in Mathematics and French at the age of 18 in 1937. Yes, Valerie. The first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Post-doctorate, Betty taught chemistry and mathematics for a time at Mississippi Valley State University and Southern University for around 10 years and later joined IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Their main contribution(s) to science and the world: Margeret's research was mainly concerned with termites. American physician, surgeon and medical researcher known as the inventor of the blood bank.

Emmett later earned his Ph.D. and joined the Research Institute for Advanced Studies at Baltimore and later NASA in 1966. It would prove effective and worked tirelessly to develop a means of injecting oil. . Bill where she obtained her M.D. In 1946, Clark opened The Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem which was one of the first agencies to provide comprehensive psychological services and educational programs to children of color living in poverty.

She remained with the organization when NACA morphed into NASA and later earned her B.Sc. Second black inventor to issue a patent; invented seed planter and cotton planter. Marie Maynard Daly, Ph.D. was a pioneer in linking high cholestrol and clogged arteries. Brown, Mitchell, [www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/chem/display/henry mcbay.html "Faces of Science: African-Americans in the Sciences,"] 1996. In 1993, then-president Clinton appointed her as the United States Surgeon General, making her the first African American and the second woman (following Antonia Novello) to hold the position. Though she also worked in hazardous waste cleanup and contamination, Betty's main expertise was explosives. His life was tragically cut short during mission STS 51-1 that exploded mid-launch in January of 1986. "David Blackwell Fought Racism; Became World-Famous Statistician." Scientific discipline: Physician/Medical Sciences, Place of birth: Woodsdale, North Carolina. Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment that she patented in 1986. Designed long-distance flight airplane; the only African-American to invent and display the airplane at the 1911 First Industrial Air Show held in conjunction with the Auto Show at Grand Central Palace in Manhattan in New York City; president of the African Union Company, Inc. After her many accomplishments at NASA, she finally retired from NASA in 1995. NASA awards including the Goddard Space Flight Center Award of Merit and the NASA Equal Opportunity Medal. Unless otherwise noted, all stories are sourced from Black Women Scientists In The United States by Wini Warren. She also published 26 scientific papers throughout her career. She ran it. She held various senior roles at NASA including the Project Manager of the Space Physics Analysis Network and Associate Data Operations Officer. First African American to be granted a patent (for a dry cleaning process called dry scouring), Held patent for improvements to the bicycle frame, specifically so it could be taken apart for compact storage. Neil would turn his childhood passion into a lifetime career by initially studying Physics at Havard University and then the University of Austin.

George spent an extended period of his career at the Tuskegee Institute where he would make the majority of his scientific discoveries. We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing.

She would also establish the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in 1976.

Pioneering chemist Percy Julian holds an award from the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, ca. "Ernest Everett Just." American scientist and inventor and an extraordinary explorer and innovator of agricultural science.

There's also Patricia Bath, the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology and the first African American female doctor to receive a medical patent. Brief biography: Born in Harlem in 1942, Patricia be encouraged by her 'working class' parents to pursue her interests in science. the National Academy of Science’ highest honor, the Public Welfare Medal in 1995. including the Project Manager of the Space Physics Analysis Network and Associate Data Operations Officer. 23 Black Female Scientists Who Changed The Damn World. Statistician David Harold Blackwell, Ph.D. was the first tenured black professor at the University of California-Berkeley and the first black person admitted to the National Academy of Sciences. [2] He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm. Famous Black scientists include Mae Jemison, George Washington Carver, and Charles Drew. in Biology from the University of California in 1950 and his masters' in Biology in 1954 from the University of Washington. 2008. Carey, Charles W. (2008). Arthur applied his knowledge by collaborating with other scientists to develop the scientific technique of, Neil then completed an MPhil in Astrophysics at Columbia University in, . Scientific discipline: Pharmacist and Chemist, Date of death (if relevant): December 1916. Also, it was not until six years after her death, in 1922, that Ball got the proper credit she deserved. Mamie Phipps Clark (1917-1983), a social psychologist whose research on black children's self-image was instrumental in establishing the harm of segregated schools during Brown v. She led it. He would later work for the National Center for Atmospheric Research from 1972 onwards. Interestingly his heritage included African Royalty.

Since leaving NASA, she's organized international science camps, taught at Dartmouth, and started a number of organizations including the Jemison Foundation, a group that promotes science literacy and education. There she met Kenneth Bancroft Clark, a master's student in psychology, who later became her husband and who convinced her to pursue psychology due to her interests in child development. She is also credited as being the first African-American female Ph.D. chemist to join the Dow Chemical Company. West of WSE receives Benjamin Franklin Medal : Johns Hopkins University – The Gazette", "Ian Moss: America's Diversity Can Provide Prosperity", "University of Chicago to commemorate accomplishments of mathematics alumnus J. Ernest Wilkins Jr", "Daniel Hale Williams: Innovative Surgeon, Educator, and Hospital Administrator", "Scott W.Williams | Mathematical Association of America", "The Pursuit of Happiness – Economics for the Citizen", Kwame Anthony Appiah, Henry Louis Gates –, "Medicine: Negro Fellow. She would continue working for Dow well into the later 1980's before retiring in 1990. White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, with degrees in Mathematics and French at the age of. Tragically she would die very young at the age of 23 and would never receive recognition for her achievements in her lifetime. I WANNA BECOME A SCIENTIST WHEN I GET OLDER !

They deserve much more respect then they get, i didint know about any of them before. Clark died from cancer at the age of 65 on August 11, 1983. (Jan. 31, 2014) http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/biomolecules/proteins-and-sugars/daly.aspx, DrMae.com. THAT'S NOT ALL!

Jan. 13, 2003. Their main contribution(s) to science and the world: Tragically Ronald is best-known not for his contributions to science but his tragic death during the Challenger Space Shuttle Explosion in 1986. By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Scientists, engineers, and inventors find the solutions to the world's problems. Scientific discipline: Biochemist and Astrochemist, Date of death (if relevant): Still alive (Aged 93 at the time of writing). In 1978 he joined NASA and invented his famed invention the X-Ray Spectrometer. His 'labor of love' for teaching would inspire countless numbers of future chemists.

Here he assisted in the development of the first nuclear reactor for atomic-powered submarines. African American physician who performed the first prototype open-heart surgery. "About Dr. And she didn't stop there. Ruth Winifred Howard was a psychologist who published a study on triplets. He would leave home at the age of 20 to enroll at the all-black college at Fisk University in Tennessee. ), she also did the calculations for Project Apollo's Lunar Landing, and was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Post graduation she worked for a time as a school teacher before joining NACA at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in 1952. She would take her parents lessons to heart and later earned her B.Sc. The achievements of a selection of pioneering black scientists, including Banneker and Carver, are outlined in the list of African American Scientists below. THANK YOU, MAE. He would later earn his masters and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois and he also became the first African-American to be admitted into Phi Lambda Upsilon. The obstacles each scientist faced, which included racial and gender prejudices that prevented educational and employment opportunities, must have been frustrating and, at times, seemed insurmountable. Brief biography: Bettye Washington Greene earned her B.Sc. African American scientist and researcher and a recipient of 14 U.S. patents, who discovered that a particular combination of chemicals caused all living organisms to emit light.

Their main contribution(s) to science and the world: Dorothy is best known for her work as a 'Human Computer' at NACA and then NASA. Invented ultraviolet camera/spectrograph, which was used by NASA when it launched Apollo 16 in 1972, Discovered hundreds of uses for previously useless vegetables and fruits, principally the, 2nd African American to obtain a PhD in chemistry in US and part of the founding faculty of Roosevelt College (now, Electrician, construction, international businessman, and aviation pioneer. Her invention would be widely adopted by NASA and is still used in the production of televisions and video screens. He was primarily responsible for the design and implementation of a distillation process for purifying large quantities of hydrogen fluoride. Their main contribution(s) to science and the world:Neil deGrasse Tyson is probably the best-known Black American scientist alive today. Let that sink in for a second: she left NASA and her career as an astronaut because she wanted to give back more to us. These included advancements in fertilization, experimental parthenogenesis, cell division, hydration, diversion, dehydration of cells and UV carcinogenic radiation effects on cells. Brown, Jeannette E. (2012). Despite this, she would become a professor at the Department of Geology and Geography and later the Biology Department at Howard University. The dispute was resolved when the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (UPAC) accepted both claims and ruled over the current naming of both elements. Ball’s scientific rigor resulted in a highly successful method to alleviate leprosy symptoms, later known as the “Ball Method,” that was used on thousands of infected individuals for over 30 years until sulfone drugs were introduced. Chappelle: The Man, His Life, His Work And His Aspirations.". Warren worked as a research assistant post-academia and the later served as adjunct professor at the University of Michigan. In 1978 he joined NASA and invented his famed invention the. Their main contribution(s) to science and the world: Dr. Jackson was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT in Theoretical Physics and the second to earn a doctorate in Physics in general. This is really inspirational, glad to see that there are black people in these areas. Thanks for this information. New York: Oxford University Press. It's thanks to Gloria that they have goggles that reduce some of those risks.