Celebrating Black History Month & STEM
Feb 06, 2023
February is Black History Month, making it a fitting time to celebrate the many Black STEM innovators from our history and those who have made significant strides in the present day. It is especially important we highlight these individuals, as STEM is a field in which African Americans tend to be underrepresented. The following list features just some of the many African Americans who have achieved great feats in the world of STEM. It is by no means a complete list, and more add their names each day.
George Washington Carver
Born into slavery, George Washington Carver would go on to become the first Black student at Iowa State Agricultural College. On his path to college, he gained experience through various different occupations and furthered his knowledge through some self-education. He became a professor and conducted research at what is now Tuskegee University. Carver is most well-known for inventing many products made from peanuts, such as milk, cooking oil and cosmetics. Though he is most famous for these inventions, he also is credited with the discovery of various other products, such as instant coffee, chili sauce, shoe polish, and shaving cream, to name a few.
Annie Easley
Annie Easley was a NASA computer scientist. She was known at first as a “human computer” as her career began when she performed calculations by hand and analyzed problems for other researchers. One of her first projects involved running simulations for the Plum Brook Reactor Facility - she was just one of four African Americans hired for the job. As technology improved, Easley learned various computer programming languages to support NASA’s programs. NASA’s site tells us she “developed and implemented code used in researching energy-conversion systems, analyzing alternative power technology—including the battery technology that was used for early hybrid vehicles, as well as for the Centaur upper-stage rocket” (Mills, 2017). Easley also earned a mathematics degree from Cleveland State.
Gladys West
Gladys West grew up in Virginia in the 1930s, where farming was the backbone of the economy. At the time, the most likely options for Black women were to farm or work at a tobacco-processing plant. Yet her academic strength earned her a scholarship to what is now Virginia State University, where she earned a mathematics degree in 1952. In 1956, she received a position as a mathematician at the U.S. Naval Proving Ground, where she was just their fourth Black employee. One of her greatest achievements was the Naval Ordinance Research Calculator (NORC), which helped determine the movement of Pluto. She is most well-known for her calculations which led to the invention of the GPS.
John Henry Thompson
John Henry Thompson is the inventor of the computer programming language known as Lingo. Thompson was interested in programming from a young age, and taught himself various different languages in high-school. He earned a degree in Computer Science from MIT, where he also minored in Visual Arts. He used his program Lingo to create MacromediaTM Director, which helps create multi-media content and applications. His programming language Lingo is often used in web design, video game design, and graphics.
Dr. Mae Jemison
Highlighted back in our October 2022 Newsletter and our blog STEMpressions, Dr. Mae Jemison is an accomplished STEM innovator who is definitely worth mentioning twice. Jemison graduated from Stanford with a Bachelor of Science in 1977. From there, she would go on to attend medical school. Dr. Jemison applied to NASA’s space program and became the first African American woman in space. She currently works on the 100 Year Starship project, which guarantees space travel to a star within the next 100 years. Dr. Jemison has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career, and she continues to advocate for young students in STEM careers.
Each of these innovators has helped pave the way for future inventors and African Americans in STEM. While some have passed, others are still excelling in their careers and serving as an example for our children of what can be accomplished when they take part in STEM learning. They remind us that no matter who you are and no matter your background, STEM is for everyone!
References:
- https://www.engineeringforkids.com/about/news/2021/february/10-black-innovators-who-have-made-an-impact-in-s/#:~:text=1.,300%20uses%20for%20the%20peanut.
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Iowa-State-University
- https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2014/02/25/more-peanut-man#:~:text=Among%20Carver's%20many%20synthetic%20discoveries,soil%20conditioner%20and%20Worcestershire%20sauce.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gladys-West
- https://www.black-inventor.com/john-thompson
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