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List of African-American women in STEM fields facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The following is a list of notable African-American women who have made contributions to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

An excerpt from a 1998 issue of Black Issues in Higher Education by Juliane Malveaux reads: "There are other reasons to be concerned about the paucity of African American women in science, especially as scientific occupations are among the most pivotal and highly compensated in the occupational spectrum. Yet, both leaks in the pipeline and gender stereotyping contribute to the under-representation of African American women in the sciences.

Organizations like Dr. Shirley McBay's Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) have done significant work in creating a climate that encourages success in math, science, and engineering for minority students. Yet, efforts like this struggle for funding in an atmosphere that is hostile to affirmative action and to targeted educational opportunities. The evidence to support targeting, though, is in the gaps revealed by the data. Too many gaps reflect the relative absence of sisters in science.

Yet, women like Jemison, Jackson, and McBay offer stellar and motivational examples of what can be done in science careers. These sisters in science are true pioneers, women who make it possible for so many others to see work in science as an option for African American women."

Contents

A

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Dr. Rediet Abebe (crop).png Rediet Abebe computer scientist 1991- First female computer scientist to be appointed to the Harvard Society of Fellows
Lilia Ann Abron chemical engineering, environmental engineering 1945- First African-American woman to earn a PhD in chemical engineering
Claudia Alexander.jpg Claudia Alexander geophysics, planetary science 1959-2015 Project manager for NASA's Galileo mission and Rosetta mission
Gloria Long Anderson chemistry 1938- Pioneer of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, known for work with fluorine-19 and solid rocket propellants
Treena Livingston Arinzeh biomedical engineering 1970- Researcher of adult stem-cell therapy
Estella Atekwana.jpg Estella Atekwana Biogeophysics; tectonphysics 1961- Dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of Delaware
Balanda Atis cosmetic science Cosmetic chemist at L'Oréal USA who expanded range of cosmetics available for people of color
Donna Auguste businesswoman, computer scientist 1958- Senior engineering manager for the Newton personal digital assistant (PDA)
DrWandaMAustin.jpg Wanda Austin aerospace engineering 1954- Former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation

B

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
June Bacon-Bercey.png June Bacon-Bercey meteorology 1932- Believed to be the first African-American woman to gain a degree in meteorology and known to be the first African-American woman to be a televised meteorologist.
Erica Baker.jpg Erica Baker software engineer 2006- Engineer and engineering manager in the San Francisco Bay Area, known for her outspoken support of diversity and inclusion.
Alicia Augusta Ball.jpg Alice Augusta Ball chemistry 1892-1916 First woman and African-American to receive a master's degree from the University of Hawaii
Patriciabath.jpg Patricia Bath ophthalmologist, inventor 1942-2019 Pioneered laser surgery to remove cataracts
Regina Benjamin official portrait.jpg Regina Benjamin physician 1956- 18th Surgeon General of the United States
Angela Benton internet entrepreneur 1981- Founder of NewME, Streamlytics, and Black Web 2.0
Matilene Berryman.jpg Matilene Berryman oceanographer, lawyer 1920-2003 Professor of marine science at the University of the District of Columbia and textbook author
Sarah Boone inventor 1832-1904 Second African-American woman to attain a U.S. patent
Sylvia D. Trimble Bozeman mathematician 1947- Researcher of functional analysis and image processing, member of Obama's Presidential Committee on the National Medal of Science, founder of Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education
Khalia Braswell computer scientist 2014-present an American computer scientist, educator, and technologist. INTech Camp for Girls
Carolyn Brooks microbiologist 1947- Researcher in immunology, nutrition, and crop productivity
Dorothy Lavinia Brown.jpg Dorothy Lavinia Brown surgeon 1919-2004 First African American female appointed to a general surgery residency in the racially segregated South.
Marjorie Lee Brown mathematician 1914-1979 Third African-American woman to receive a PhD in mathematics
Kimberly Bryant, Black Girls Code @ SXSW 2016.jpg Kimberly Bryant electrical engineer 1967- Founder of Black Girls Code
Joy Buolamwini - Wikimania 2018 01.jpg Joy Buolamwini computer scientist 1989- Founder of Algorithmic Justice League; Rhodes Scholar, Fulbright fellow, Stamps Scholar, Astronaut Scholar and Anita Borg Institute scholar
Ursula-Burns.jpg Ursula Burns engineer, CEO 1958- CEO of Xerox; first black woman to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the first woman to succeed another as head of a Fortune 500 company

C

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Alexa-Canady.jpg Alexa Canady neuroscience 1950- First black woman to become a neurosurgeon
Carolyn Cannon-Alfred pharmacologist 1934-1987 Professor and co-author of Medical Handbook for the Layman
Majora-Carter-headshot.png Majora Carter developer, activist 1966- Founder of Sustainable South Bronx
Gloria Chisum experimental psychologist 1930- Developed eye protection for pilots; first African-American woman to join the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees
Mamie Clark 1958.jpg Mamie Phipps Clark social psychologist 1917-1983 Researched self-esteem and self-concept in African-American children, which was used in 1954 civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas
May Edward Chinn 1917.jpg May Edward Chinn physician 1896-1980 First African-American woman to graduate from NYU School of Medicine, first African-American woman to intern at Harlem Hospital
YvonneYoungClark.jpg Yvonne Clark engineer 1929-2019 first woman to get a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at Howard University, the first woman to earn a master's degree in Engineering Management from Vanderbilt University, and the first woman to serve as a faculty member in the College of Engineering and Technology at Tennessee State University
Jewel Plummer Cobb biologist, profesor 1924-2017 Researched melanoma
Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.jpg Johnnetta Cole anthropologist, educator and museum director 1936- Spelman College's seventh president and the first Black woman to lead the institution
Rebecca J Cole.jpeg Rebecca Cole physician 1846-1922 Second African-American woman physician
Bessie Coleman, First African American Pilot - GPN-2004-00027.jpg Bessie Coleman aviator 1896–1926 First African American and Native American woman to hold a pilot license
Cynthia Oliver Coleman chemical engineer ????--???? First African American female chemical engineer.
Betty Collette veterinary pathologist 1930-2017 Sole African-American pathology researcher at Georgetown University School of Medicine in the 1950s
Margaret S. Collins zoologist 1922-1996 First African American female entomologist and the third African American female zoologist
Carol Blanche Cotton psychologist 1904-1971 Researched cognitive ability in children diagnosed with spastic paralysis
Patricia S Cowings NASA Publications Photo.jpg Patricia S. Cowings aerospace psychophysiologist 1948- First African American woman scientist to be trained as an astronaut by NASA
Rebecca Lee Crumpler physician 1831–1895 First African-American woman to become a physician in the United States

D

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Shaundra Daily electrical engineering and computer science 2010-present American professor and author known for her work in the field of human-centered computing and broadening participation in STEM. She is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Duke University.
Marie Maynard Daly.jpg Marie Maynard Daly biochemist 1921–2003 First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry
Theda Daniels-Race nanoengineering, electronic engineering Michael B. Voorhies Distinguished Professor in the Division of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Louisiana State University, 19th African American woman to obtain a PhD in a physics-related field in the US
Christine Darden.jpg Christine Darden aerospace engineer 1942- Researcher at NASA who pioneered the design of supersonic aircraft
Geraldine Claudette Darden mathematician 1936-???? 14th African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics
Mary Deconge mathematician 1933-???? 15th African-American woman to earn her Ph.D. in mathematics
Giovonnae Dennis electrical engineer One of the first African-American women to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, and one of the few at a primarily white institution rather than a historically black institution (HBCU); Founded Software Tailoring
Elaine Denniston Keypunch operator, lawyer 1939- Supported the Apollo program as a keypunch operator
Helen O. Dickens
Helen Octavia Dickens physician 1909–2001 First African-American woman to be admitted to the American College of Surgeons
Georgia Mae Dunston Human Geneticist 1944- Professor at Howard University and founder of the National Human Genome Center

E

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Annie Easley.jpg Annie Easley mathematician and rocket scientist 1933–2011 Leading member of the software development team for the Centaur rocket stage, and one of the first African-Americans to work at NASA
Cecile H. Edwards nutritionist 1926–2005 Researcher focused on improving nutrition and well-being of disadvantaged people
Joycelyn Elders official photo portrait.jpg Joycelyn Elders pediatrician 1933- Second woman, second person of color, and first African American to serve as Surgeon General
Lola Eniola-Adefeso in Findings Magazine 01.png Lola Eniola-Adefeso chemical engineer Co-founder and chief scientific officer of Asalyxa Bio, researcher of biocompatible functional particles for targeted drug delivery
Anna Epps microbiologist 1930- first female dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College, possibly the first African-American woman with a PhD to lead a medical school
Jeanette J. Epps.jpg Jeanette J. Epps astronaut and aerospace engineer 1970- Second woman and first African-American woman to have participated in CAVES
Aprille J. Ericsson, Assistant Secretary of Defense.jpg Aprille Ericsson-Jackson aerospace engineer 1963- First African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University and the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in Engineering at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center
Brittney Exline software engineer Youngest African-American female to be accepted into an Ivy League school, at 15; United States' youngest African-American engineer
Cassandra Extavour (38815546055).png Cassandra Extavour evolutionary biologist Director of EDEN, a national research collaborative encouraging use of non- Drosophila model organisms

F

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Etta Zuber Falconer mathematician 1933-2002 One of the earlier African-American women to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics
Angella D. Ferguson pediatrician 1925-???? Pioneer researcher of sickle cell disease, created the blood test which is still used as the standard for sickle cell detection at birth
Evefields.jpg Evelyn J. Fields oceanographer 1949-???? Fields was the first woman, and first African American to head the NOAA Corps, first woman and first African American to command a NOAA ship, and the first woman to command a ship in the United States uniformed services for an extended assignment
Dr. Njema Frazier at Department of Energy.jpg Njema Frazier nuclear physicist 1974-???? Nuclear physicist as National Nuclear Security Administration, former staff member for the Committee on Science at the U.S. House of Representatives
A. Oveta Fuller virologist 1955-2022 Researcher who significantly advanced knowledge of Herpes simplex virus

G

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2018 - day 3 (30671211838).jpg Timnit Gebru computer scientist 1983- Founder of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR), researcher of algorithmic bias and data mining
Gloria Ford Gilmer mathematician 1928-2021 First African American woman to publish a non-PhD thesis
Sarah E. Goode inventor 1855–1905 One of the first known African American women to receive a United States patent
Evelyn Boyd Granville mathematician, computer science 1924-2023 Performed pioneering work in the field of computing
Bettye Washington Greene at work.tif Bettye Washington Greene chemist 1935-1995 First African American female Ph.D. chemist to work in a professional position at the Dow Chemical Company, considered an early African American pioneer in science
Eliza Ann Grier.jpg Eliza Ann Grier physician 1864–1902 First African American woman licensed to practice medicine in the U.S. state of Georgia
Margaret Grigsby physician 1923-2009 First African American woman to become a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the first woman to preside over a major medical division at Howard University Hospital
Bessie Blount Griffin physical therapist, inventor 1914–2009 Holder of multiple patents for assistive devices for amputees, including the first electric device for self-feeding

H

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Sossina M. Haile materials scientist 1966- Developed the first solid acid fuel cells
Betty Harris chemist 1940- Patented a spot test for detecting TATB in the field, still used by the Federal Department of Homeland Security to screen for nitroaromatic explosives
Paula Hammond, PCAST Member (cropped).jpg Paula T. Hammond Chemical Engineer 1963- Koch Professor of Engineering, Department Head of Chemical Engineering, Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research, MIT
Mary Styles Harris geneticist 1949- one of the first African Americans to enroll at Miami Jackson High School; one of the first women to enroll at Lincoln University; founder of BioTechnical Communications
Alma Levant Hayden (cropped).jpg Alma Levant Hayden chemist 1927-1967 one of the first African-American women to gain a scientist position at a science agency (The NIH) in Washington, D.C.; may have been the first African-American scientist at the FDA; led the team that exposed the common substance in Krebiozen
Haynes euphemia.jpg Euphemia Lofton Haynes mathematician 1890-1980 First African-American woman to earn a PhD in Mathematics
Ruby Hearn 2011.png Ruby Puryear Hearn biophysicist 1940- Researcher and advocate for maternal, infant, and child health; AIDS; and minority medical education
Gloria Conyers Hewitt mathematician 1935- 4th African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics; first African American woman to chair a math department in the United States
Mary Elliott Hill chemist 1907-1969 Believed to be one of the first African-American women to be awarded with a master's degree in chemistry
Stephanie Hill engineer Vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions
Jane Hinton.jpg Jane Hinton veterinarian 1919-2003 pioneer in the study of bacterial antibiotic resistance and one of the first two African-American women to gain the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine; co-developed the Mueller–Hinton agar
Esther A. H. Hopkins chemist, lawyer 1926-2021 Best known for her career as a biophysicist and research chemist at American Cyanamid along with research in the Polaroid Corp Emulsion Coating and Analysis Laboratory
RuthWinifredHoward1920.png Ruth Winifred Howard psychologist 1900-1997 One of the first African American women to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology
Fern Hunt.jpg Fern Hunt mathematician 1948- Leader in applied mathematics and mathematical biology research
Yasmin Hurd.jpg Yasmin Hurd neuroscientist

I

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Jedidah Isler astrophysicist First African-American woman to complete her PhD in astrophysics at Yale; member of Joe Biden's presidential transition Agency Review Team; founder of Vanguard: Conversations with Women of Color in STEM (VanguardSTEM)
Nia Imara astrophysicist and artist First African-American woman to earn a PhD in astrophysics at the University of California, Berkeley

J

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Deborah J. Jackson aeronautical engineer First African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University
Fatimah Jackson biological anthropologist Researcher of human-plant co-evolution and anthropological genetics; first African-American to receive the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award
Shirley Ann Jackson World Economic Forum 2010.jpg Shirley Ann Jackson physicist 1946- President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; first African-American woman to have earned a doctorate at MIT; second African-American woman in the United States to earn a doctorate in physics
Chavonda Jacobs-Young - USDA Agricultural Research Service Administrator.jpg Chavonda Jacobs-Young paper scientist 1967- First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in paper science
Mae Carol Jemison.jpg Mae Jemison astronaut and physician 1956- First African American woman to travel in space
Allene Johnson chemist 1933– Educational advisor for the New Jersey American Chemical Society
Ashanti Johnson.jpg Ashanti Johnson geochemist and oceanographer First African American to earn a doctoral degree in oceanography from Texas A&M University
Katherine Johnson in 2008.jpg Katherine Johnson mathematician 1918-2020 calculated the trajectories for many NASA missions, including Apollo 11; one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist
Tracy L. Johnson molecular and cell biologist Researcher of gene regulation, chromatin modification, RNA splicing
Anna R Johnson.jpg Anna Johnson Julian sociologist 1903-1994 First African-American woman awarded a PhD in sociology by the University of Pennsylvania
Lynda Marie Jordan biochemist 1956– Third Black woman to receive a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Angie Jones computer scientist, software engineer and automation architect Software engineer with 26 patents in the United States and China

K

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Sinah Estelle Kelley chemist 1916–1982 Worked on mass production of penicillin
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner inventor 1912–2006 Holder of five patents, including the adjustable sanitary belt
Angie Turner King chemist and mathematician 1905–2004 Professor of chemistry and mathematics at West Virginia State College
Emeline King automotive designer 1957– Former automotive designer for Ford Motor Company (1983–2008), author
Reatha King 2009.jpg Reatha King chemistry 1938– Former vice president of the General Mills Corporation; the former president, executive director, and chairman of the board of trustees of the General Mills Foundation
Ruth King - Tai Chi.jpg Ruth G. King Educational psychologist 1933– First woman president of the Association of Black Psychologists

L

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Margaret-Morgan-Lawrence.jpg Margaret Morgan Lawrence pediatric psychiatrist 1914–2019 Researched negative psychological effects of segregation on Black children
Katheryn Emanuel Lawson radiochemist 1926–2008 One of the first few female African American chemists who worked in Sandia National Laboratories
LillianLewis1925.png Lillian Burwell Lewis zoolologist 1904-1987 First African-American woman to receive a doctorate degree from the University of Chicago
Chekesha Liddell material science and engineering Researcher of colloidal materials, and the relationship between micron and submicron length scales
Ruth Smith Lloyd anatomist 1917-1995 First African-American to earn a PhD in anatomy
Flubin.tif Farah Lubin Neuroscientist Prominent researcher of epigenetic mechanisms underlying cognition
Irene-D-Long-NASA.png Irene Long aerospace medicine 1951-2020 First female chief medical officer at the Kennedy Space Center
Beebe Steven Lynk.jpg Beebe Steven Lynk chemist 1872–1948 Professor of medical Latin botany and materia medica at the University of West Tennessee

M

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Shirley Malcom.jpg Shirley M. Malcom science administrator 1946- head of education and human resources programs at AAAS
Harriet Marble pharmacist 1885-1966 Early African-American woman pharmacist and the first in Kentucky
Cora Bagley Marrett.jpg Cora Bagley Marrett sociologist, science administrator 1942- Deputy director of the National Science Foundation
Dr. McCauley-Bell Headshot 1.jpg Pamela McCauley-Bush Engineer First African-American woman granted an engineering Ph.D. in the state of Oklahoma; U.S. Fulbright Scholar
Dorothy McClendon microbiologist 1924-2013 Developed methods to protect stored goods, notably fuel, from degradation due to biological agents
Linda C. Meade-Tollin biochemist 1944– First female chairperson of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers; may have been first Black woman to graduate from CUNY with a biochem PhD.
Juanita Lynn Merchant.jpg Juanita Merchant physiologist Contributed to understanding of gastric response to chronic inflammation; chief of the University of Arizona Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology; inaugural member of the NIH Council of Councils
Shireen Mitchell entrepreneur, author, technology analyst and diversity strategist Founder of Digital Sisters/Sistas, Inc and Stop Online Violence Against Women
Victorine Louistall Monroe Professor Emerita of Library Science 1912–2006 first Black faculty member at West Virginia University
Ruth Ella Moore.jpg Ruth Ella Moore bacteriology 1903–1994 first African-American woman with PhD in a natural science, department head at Howard University
Tanya Moore mathematician Founder of Infinite Possibilities Conference;
Willie Hobbs Moore engineering, physics 1934–1994 first African American woman to receive a PhD in physics

N

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Dr. Shelia Nash-Stevenson.png Shelia Nash-Stevenson Physicist, integration engineer integration engineer for the Planetary Programs Missions Office at Marshall Space Flight Center
Ann T. Nelms nuclear physicist 1929- Studied persistence of nuclear radioactivity which was cited in reports on nuclear fallout and human health
Lyda D. Newman Inventor 1885- Patented novel durable hairbrush with synthetic bristles which is still used today

O

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Joan Murrell Owens marine biologist 1933-2011 Described a new genus and three new species of button corals
Melanie Harrison Okoro environmental scientist 2009-present Okoro is known for her efforts in promoting diversity in STEM fields, and she has held multiple positions in several organizations related to diversity and inclusion. Okoro has served on the council of the American Geophysical Union as an early career scientist and was the Diversity & Inclusion task-force chair.

P

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Carolyn Beatrice Parker.jpg Carolyn Parker mathematician, physicist 1917–1966 worked on the Dayton Project, the plutonium research and development arm of the Manhattan Project

first African-American woman known to have gained a postgraduate degree in physics

Jennie Patrick chemical engineering 1949– one of the first African American women in the United States to earn a doctorate in traditional chemical engineering; pioneer in supercritical fluid extraction
Hattie Scott Peterson civil engineer 1913–1993 believed to be the first African-American woman to gain a bachelor's degree in civil engineering
April2017ClaricePhelps (cropped).jpg Clarice Phelps nuclear chemist first African-American woman to help discover a chemical element (tennessine)
Vivian-Pinn-2010.jpg Vivian W. Pinn pathologist 1941- Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Becoming Interplanetary.jpg Chanda Prescod-Weinstein theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, cosmologist, writer 1982 - possibly first African-American woman to hold a faculty position in theoretical cosmology
Duck-Research-Laboratory.jpg Jessie Isabelle Price veterinary microbiologist 1930-2015 isolated and reproduced the cause of the most common life-threatening disease in duck farming in the 1950s
Talking About the Colony (5196965089).jpg Sian Proctor African American explorer, scientist, STEM communicator, and aspiring astronaut geology, sustainability and planetary science professor
Johnnie Hines Watts Prothro chemist 1922–2009 One of the first African American nutritionists and food scientists

Q

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
LynnaeQuick.jpg Lynnae Quick planetary scientist, planetary geophysicist 1984 - Ocean worlds Planetary Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; fifth African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in planetary science; first African American staff scientist in the history of the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, where she worked from 2017 to 2019; Asteroid 2001 SV 291 was renamed Asteroid 37349 Lynnaequick in honor of her work modeling cryovolcanic eruptions and faculae formation on Ceres. First African American to receive the American Astronomical Society's Harold C. Urey Prize which is the highest honor for young planetary scientists and recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of planetary science by an early career researcher.

R

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Mary Logan Reddick neuroembryologist, biologist 1914 - 1966 possibly the first African-American woman scientist to receive a fellowship to study abroad, and the first female biology instructor at Morehouse College
Eslanda Goode Robeson.jpg Eslanda Goode Robeson chemist 1896–1965 first black head histological chemist of Surgical Pathology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
THE A&T COLLEGE REGISTER 1961 Gladys Royal, W. E. Reed, R. L. Satoera, George Royal.jpg Gladys W. Royal chemist 1926–2002 One of the early African-American biochemists; part of one of the few African-American husband-and-wife teams in science

S

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Antoinette Rodez Schiesler chemist 1934 - 1996 director of research at Villanova University
Lyndsey Scott in flowers (cropped).jpg Lyndsey Scott computer programmer 1984- lead iOS software engineer at NGO fundraiser Rallybound; first African American to sign an exclusive runway contract with Calvin Klein
Alberta Jones Seaton embryologist, biologist 1924-2014 One of the first African-American women awarded a doctorate in zoology, in Belgium in 1949.
Nashlie Sephus Artificial intelligence engineer AI engineer, CTO of startup Partpic (acquired by Amazon) PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019 Ada Lovelace Award
Cheryl-Shavers.jpg Cheryl L. Shavers semiconductor engineering and management 1953- first African-American Undersecretary of Commerce for Science and Technology
Mabel Keaton Staupers Nursing administrator 1890 - 1989 Instrumental in implementing the desegregation of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII
Susan McKinney Steward full.jpg Susan McKinney Steward pediatrician, homeopath 1847-1918 the third African-American woman to earn a medical degree, and the first in New York state.
Moogega Cooper.jpg Moogega Cooper Stricker Planetary protection engineer 1985-20?? NASA engineer working on Mars 2020 rover.
Thyrsa Frazier Svager.jpg Thyrsa Frazier Svager mathematician 1930-1999 one of the first African-American women to receive a PhD in mathematics
Latanya Sweeney at a Knight News Challenge event in New York City, November 2017.jpg Latanya Sweeney computer scientist computer scientist best known for work on k-anonymity

T

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
NASA photo of data scientist Valerie L. Thomas.gif Valerie Thomas physicist and inventor 1943- Inventor of the Illusion Transmitter
Overseer of NASA's Landsat program, international expert in Landsat data products
Lisette Titre-Montgomery Lisette Titre-Montgomery Game Developer 1998- Art Director and Game Developer . Lisette has contributed to some of the industry's highest profile games, including Tiger Woods Golf, The Simpsons, Dante's Inferno, Dance Central 3, SIMS 4, South Park, and Transformers Age Of Extinction for Android and iOS. Her most recent project is Psychonauts 2 with Double Fine Productions.
Margaret E. M. Tolbert chemist and science administrator 1943- the first African American and the first woman in charge of a Department of Energy lab
Rubye Prigmore Torrey chemist 1926–2017 Known for developing a mechanism to decompose hydrogen sulfide, which earned her a place in Sigma Xi

V

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Powtawche Valerino October 2017 (cropped).jpg Powtawche Valerino mechanical engineer First Native American to earn a PhD in engineering at Rice University

W

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Chelsea Walton MFO 2014.jpg Chelsea Walton mathematician 1983 – associate professor at Rice University and a Sloan Research Fellow
Dawn Ward synthetic chemist 1973 – Chemist creating molecules active against Hepatitis C virus
Dr Gladys West Hall of Fame.jpg Gladys West mathematician 1930 – work on satellite geodesy models used in GPS
Jessica profile picture.jpg Jessica Ware evolutionary biologist, entomologist. work on phylogenomics of insect evolution
Marguerite Williams geologist 1895 – 1991 the first African American to earn a doctorate in geology in the United States
Geraldine Pittman Woods science administrator 1921–1999 known for her lifelong dedication to community service and for establishing programs that promote minorities in STEM fields, scientific research, and basic research
Biophoto2.jpg Dawn Wright oceanographer, geographer 1961- expert in seafloor mapping, marine geographic information systems
Jane Cooke Wright.jpg Jane C. Wright cancer researcher, surgeon 1919-2013 pioneering cancer researcher and surgeon noted for her contributions to chemotherapy

Y

Image Name Field(s) Dates Notes Ref.
Josephine Silone Yates, c1902 (cropped).jpg Josephine Silone Yates chemist 1859-1912 one of the first black professors hired at Lincoln University; first black woman to head a college science department; may have been the first black woman to hold a full professorship at any U.S. college or university
Roger Arliner Young zoology 1889-1964 first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Zoology

See also

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