Alice Ball

Chemist

Dr. Alexa Canady

Neurosurgeon

Dr. Alexa Canady is the first African-American woman to become a neurosurgeon. She graduated from University of Michigan Medical School in 1975, and began her surgical internship in 1975 at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She dealt with prejudice throughout her time at the hospital, such as being called the “equal-opportunity package.” When she became a neurosurgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, she was voted one of the top residents. In 1984, she became the first African-American woman to become certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. From 1987 to 2001, she was chief of neurosurgery at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and has since helped thousands of pediatric patients.

Dr. Marie Maynard Daly

Biochemist

Dr. Marie Daly was the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the United States. After she earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Queens College in 1942, Daly completed her master’s degree at New York University in only one year. At Columbia University, she studied how bodily compounds contribute to digestion and earned her doctoral degree in just three years. Her postdoctoral research at the Rockerfeller Institute focused on the composition of the cell’s nucleus and how proteins are metabolised. She taught at Howard University, Columbia University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. While devoting her time to research, Daly helped develop programs aimed at increasing minority enrollment in medical school and graduate programs. In 1988, she created a scholarship fund at Queens College for African-American science graduates.

Mary Elliott Hill

Organic and Analytical Chemist

Mary Elliott Hill was an organic and analytical chemist, born in North Carolina. She attended the Virginia State College for Negroes, now Virginia State University (VSU) from 1925-1929. She taught at VSU and took graduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania. She was one of the earliest African American women to acquire her master’s degree in chemistry (1941). Her work specified in ultraviolet light and using that to develop analytic methodology. While an associate professor and acting head of the chemistry department at Kentucky State University, she collaborated with her husband Carl McClellan Hill in developing the ketene synthesis, which aided in the development in plastics.

Dr. Shirley Jackson

Theoretical Physicist

Dr. Shirley Jackson is a theoretical physicist and the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). She was the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and founded the MIT Black Student Union, increasing African-American enrollment from two to 57 in only one year. While working at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Rutgers University, she prepared or collaborated on over 100 scientific articles. She was the first female and African-American President of RPI and introduced the Rensselaer Plan, improving the school’s academics and enrollment. She was appointed Chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission where she established a strategic assessment program, completely remaking the program to become more efficient. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Dr. Shirley Jackson the National Medal of Science, the highest honor to individuals who made contributions to scientific fields.

Dr. Mae C. Jemison

Physician and Astronaut

Dr. Jemison is a doctor, engineer, physicist, and astronaut who became the first African American woman to travel into outer space. Growing up, she always had a passion for science and was upset because she saw no female astronauts. She attended Stanford University and Cornell Medical School. After serving two years in the Peace Corps, she opened a private medical practice. In 1987, she applied and was selected to train at NASA. On September of 1992, she and six other astronauts went into space on the space shuttle “Endeavor.” After leaving NASA, Jemison started a consulting company that advocates for science, technology and social change, while also teaching environmental studies at Dartmouth. She has received multiple awards and serves on the Board of Directors of many organizations. She is continuing her passion for space and leading the 100 Year Starship Project.

Katherine Johnson

Mathematician

Katherine Johnson was a NASA mathematician who helped calculate the flight path for NASA’s first manned space mission in 1962, and made important calculations for the Apollo moon landing. Her story was depicted in the film “Hidden Figures,” a critically acclaimed movie detailing the experience of Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson — three African-American mathematicians who worked on John Glenn’s first launch into space. She continued working at Langley Research Center for 33 years and retired in 1986. In 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. She died on February 24, 2020 at 101 years old.

Dr. Ruth Smith Lloyd

Anatomist

Dr. Ruth Lloyd was known as the first African American woman to acquire her doctorate degree in Anatomy. She started her work in pursuing a degree in zoology, then doctoral research where she studied in the fertility of female Macaque monkeys. She taught Anatomy and Physiology in 1955. During this, she studied on endocrinology, sex-related hormones, and medical genetics. She was an active member of the Sigma Xi Honorary Scientific Society and the American Association of Anatomists. Outside of her work, she was very dedicated to the All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington. All of her contributions, including being a charter member of the National Museum of Women in Arts, serve as a basis for researchers today.

Carolyn Parker

Physicist