12 Slides About
African American Contributions
to the Chemical Sciences
Sibrina N. Collins, PhD
College of Wooster
Created by Sibrina N. Collins, The College of Wooster (scollins@wooster.edu) and
posted on VIPEr (www.ionicviper.org) on July 21, 2010. Copyright Sibrina N. Collins
2010. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial
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Overview
Impact of George Washington Carver
 Changing Demographics
 Selected Profiles of Chemists
 Conclusions
 Useful Resources
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George Washington Carver
(1865-1943)
Born Diamond Grove,
Missouri
 B.S. (1894) and M.S.
(1896) from Iowa
Agricultural College
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– Served on faculty,
Department of Botany
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In 1896, moved to
Tuskegee, Alabama
– Tuskegee Normal and
Industrial Institute
The website for this image is http://www.blackscholarsindex.com/2009/10/george-washington-carver-an-earlybiotechnologist/.
Impact of Carver
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Research developed 325 products from peanuts
– 108 applications for sweet potatoes; 75 products from pecans
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Responsible for the invention of a process for producing
paints from soybeans
– Three patents were issued between 1925-1927
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Spingarn Medal in 1923 (Given annually by the NAACP)
Honorary doctorate in 1928, Smith College
In 1943, honored by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
– Dedicated $30,000 for a national monument recognizing his
accomplishments
The image for this website is http://www.blackscholarsindex.com/2009/10/george-washington-carver-an-earlybiotechnologist/.
Employed doctoral scientists and engineers, by
race/ethnicity and occupation: 2003
Source: Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and
Engineering (NSF, December 2006)
U.S. Census Projections (2050)
URM Population (18-24 years old) will be
greater than 50%
 Serious Consequences
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– Shortfall in STEM workforce
– Enrollments in U.S. STEM academic
departments need to be reflective of these
changing demographics
The Legacy Begins:
Dr. Saint Elmo Brady
(1884-1966)
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Born in Louisville, KY
Dr. Brady Career Highlights:
1908
B.S. in Chemistry, Fisk University
1914
M.S. in Chemistry, University of Illinois
1914
Admitted to Phi Lamda Upsilon
1915
Inducted into Sigma Xi
1916
Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Illinois
(First African American)
Faculty Positions
1916-1920 Tuskegee University
1920-1927 Howard University
1927-1952 Fisk University
 Scholarly Achievements: Published three abstracts in Science Magazine
(1914-1915); Published J. Ind. Eng. Chem. (1916); Established a summer
program for infrared spectroscopy. Also published three monographs
entitled “Household Chemistry for Girls.”
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The website for this image is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo_Brady.
Dr. Marie Maynard Daly
(1921-2003)
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Born in Corona, NY
B.S. from Queens College in 1942
M.S. from New York University in 1943
Earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1947
– Dissertation Title: A Study of the Products formed by Action of
Pancreatic Amylase on Corn Starch
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Career Highlights
– Instructor, Howard University (1947-48)
– Biochemist at Columbia University (1955-1959)
 Investigated artery metabolism and the relationship between high
cholesterol and heart attacks
– Investigator for the American Heart Association (1958-1963)
– Associate Professor of Biochemistry (1971-1986) at the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University
The website for this image is http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/clark-marie-maynard-daly-1921-2003.
Dr. Novella Bridges
Organometallic Chemist
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Native of Detroit, Michigan
B.S., Jackson State University (1994)
Earned Ph.D. (Inorganic) from Louisiana State University
(2000)
Career Highlights
– Research Chemist, PNNL (Richland, WA), 2001-present
– JACS publication (2003) focused on Dirhodium catalysts
– ACS 2004 Regional Industrial Innovation Award (with
Darryl Fisher and Anna Gutowska), RadioGelTM
– Research efforts: Heterogenous catalysis, Hydrogen
production
The website for this image is http://www.gemfellowship.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=77.
Professor Gregory H. Robinson:
Organometallic and Main Group
B.S. from Jacksonville State U (1980)
 PhD, University of Alabama (1984)
 Career Highlights
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Humbolt Research Fellow at the Technische
Universitat Berlin (1994)
 Reported first compound gallyne compound,
containing a Ga-Ga triple bond (JACS, 1997)
 Professor, Clemson University (1985-1995)
 Professor, University of Georgia (1995-p)
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The website for this image is http://www.chem.uga.edu/phonebook/cgi/expand.cfm?ln=Robinson&fn=Gregory&id=1&sortvar=LastName,FirstName.
Conclusions
It is important to recognize everyone’s
contributions to the chemical sciences.
 Broadening participation in chemistry
remains a real challenge.
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– No one size fits all—find what works
– Make the commitment = time and money
Useful Resources
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Faces of Science: African Americans in Science
– https://webfiles.uci.edu/mcbrown/display/faces.html
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“Saint Elmo Brady (1884-1966): Pioneering Black
Academic Chemistry,” Florida Scientist, 2006, 69(2),
116-123.
Collins, S.N. “African Americans and Science,” Chem.
Eng. News, 2009, 87(43), p.3.
National Organization for the Professional Advancement
of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
– www.nobcche.org (See “Our Chemistory,” for more
profiles of Chemists and Chemical Engineers)