African-American Scientists

Black History Month – February 2009

Dr. Charles Drew 1904 – 1950 African-American medical doctor Dr. Drew was born in Washington,

DC Dr. Drew was educated at: Amherst

University, McGill University in Canada, and Columbia University

Dr. Drew did research in blood plasma for transfusion, making possible longer life of the blood. He organized a blood bank in London during World War II and saved lots of lives with his invention.

Ernest Just 1883 – 1941 African-American biologist Dr. Just was born in Charleston,

SC Dr. Just was educated at:

Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago.

Dr. Just was the first scientist to show that ultraviolet radiation (UV light) can cause cancer in cells.

Colonel Guion Bluford 1942 – African-American astronaut &

aerospace engineer Dr. Bluford was born in

Philadelphia, PA Dr. Bluford was educated at:

Pennsylvania State University, Air Force Institute of Technology, and University of Houston

Dr. Bluford was a NASA astronaut who flew 4 space missions on the space shuttle Challenger.

Percy Julian 1899 – 1975 African-American biochemist Dr. Julian was born in Montgomery,

AL Dr. Julian was educated at: DePauw

University, Harvard University, and University of Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Julian was a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical production of the human hormones, steroids, and birth control pills. Dr. Julian invented a treatment for glaucoma.

Phillip Emeagwali 1954 - African-American computer scientist Emeagwali was born in Nigeria,

Africa and then came to the U.S. He is recognized as one of the

fathers of the Internet, even called “Bill Gates of Africa.” It was his formula that used 65,000 separate computer processors to perform 3.1 billion calculations per second. That led to computer scientists comprehending the capabilities of supercomputers and of creating a system that allowed multiple computers to communicate.

Dr. Mae Jemison 1956 – African-American astronaut and

physician Dr. Jemison was born in Decatur, AL Dr. Jemison was educated at: Stanford

University and Cornell Medical College in: chemical engineering, medicine, and Afro-American studies and starting college age16

Dr. Jemison served in Peace Corps in Africa. She was the first African-American woman in space, flying on space shuttle Endeavour. She starred as herself on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams 1856 – 1931 African-American heart

surgeon Dr. Williams was born in

Hollidaysburg, PA Dr. Williams was educated at:

Chicago Medical College, Northwestern Medical School

Dr. Williams performed the first open heart surgery, with the patient surviving for years afterwards.

George Washington Carver 1864 – 1943 African-American botanist Carver was born in Diamond

Grove, MO Carver was educated at: Iowa

Agricultural College (bachelor of science and master of science)

Carver invented food products, cosmetics, and chemical products from peanuts, soybean, and other plants.