Claudia Alexander
Her research focused on Space Physics. She went to the University of Michigan and she works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA. She worked on the Rosetta mission that landed on a comet this year in November.
Aprille Ericsson-Jackson
She is an Aerospace Mech. Engineer who studied at Howard University. She works for NASA Goddard.
Dara worked at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, but has since moved to the Kitt Peak National Observatory (one of the locations of the NSF funded National Optical Astronomy Observatory) located in Tucson, AZ where she is a staff astronomer. And is a totally cool person!
This is a very nice article, with only a few errors.
Dr Beth Brown was a wonderful person inside and out. And she was taken too soon, having departed this earth in 2008.
Also Claudia Alexander worked on the highly publicized Rosetta mission that landed on a comet this year.
And Jarita Holbrook is working in South Africa.
Thanks!
Thanks!
More for this (already awesome) list:
John Asher Johnson, Aomawa Shields, Jedidah Isler, and Hakeem Oluseyi!
I would like to add my esteemed colleagues here at NASA: Tehani Finch and Tonia Venters
Dara Norman also worked at Goddard Space Flight Center.
I absolutely love this post. Granted, Neil Degrasse Tyson is a much respected astrophysicist and his work should be recognized. Yet, there are many other unnamed astrophysicists that should be given recognition, including the ones listed on this post. Thus, I would like to include the following.
In 1973, three outstanding astrophysicists; Donald Edwards, John McNeil Hunter and Halson V. Eagleson were honored at a special ceremony at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Although retired, two female physicists are Shirley Ann Jackson and Katherine Johnson. Mrs. Jackson had worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory located in Batavia, Illinois. Mrs. Johnson had worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Please keep up the good posting. Peace.
Another great astronomer for the list: Louis Gregory-Strolger (see http://astro.wku.edu/strolger/) – he's a supernova expert, part of the team that won the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics.
Bessie Coleman?
https://twitter.com/hakeemoluseyi …I just saw him on Strip The Cosmos!
Yay for seeing Dara Norman on the list!
Great list! But don't forget Clifford Johnson! You've seen him a bunch on The Universe, Nova, etc. Also, you probably know his blog, asymptotic.com. 🙂
It's asymptotia.com. Darn auto-correct.
I love the spirit of the post but the information is a bit inaccurate. Not all on it are astrophysicists and as was pointed out by someone else, Beth (whom I knew since we were undergraduates in the 1980s) passed away in 2008. The article speaks of her "current" work.
Here is a more complete (but still incomplete) list that was compiled first by me up to 2002 and then added to by Jarita Holbrook. I have not added anyone since 2010. The list is organized as: last name, first name, year of PhD.
Rouse Carl 1956
Banks Harvey 1961
Walker Arthur 1962
Peery Benjamin 1962
Carruthers George 1964
McGruder Charles 1972
Mallett Ron 1973
Basri Gibor 1979
Lindesay James 1980
Williams Barbara 1981
Richards Mercedes 1986
Bates Bernard 1986
Woodward Charles E. 1987
Sterling Alphonse 1988
Strachan Leonard 1990
Petters Arlie 1991
Tyson Neil 1991
Williams Reva K. 1991
Wilcots Eric 1992
Damas Chantale 1993
Alexander Claudia 1993
O'Neal Ray 1994
Armando Howard 1994
Davis Stanley 1995
Morgan Windsor 1995
Evans Aaron 1996
Holbrook Jarita 1997
Best Jason 1997
Brown Beth 1998
Norman Dara 1999
Oluseyi Hakeem M. 2000
Alexander Stephon 2000
Shambrook Anouk 2001
Strolger Louis 2002
Garrison David 2002
McLin Kevin 2003
Tavarez Maritza 2005
Johnson John A. 2006
Ita Eyo Eyo 2008
Finch Tehani 2008
Allen Walter 2009
Venters Tonia 2009
Lauburg Vanessa 2009
Nia Imara 2010
Thanks for the shout out, Lucianne, my fellow TED Fellow. 🙂
Thanks for this great list and the additions from others. I have one to add to the list: Maggy Aderin – Pocock, from UK of Nigerian descent. Some info about her: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/maggie-aderinpocock-a-woman-on-a-mission-proving-science-isnt-just-for-rich-white-men-7584939.html
Dr. Jarita C. Holbrook is also a speculative fiction writer. Her story 'Zambeto' appears in the Griots: Sisters of the Spear anthology.
Awesome! !!
Why Blerds? Can't they just be Nerds like the rest of us rather than labeling them something based upon a pigment?
It's not about you. Deal with it.
You need to add Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer at The Franklin Institute.
Byron C Mayes Thanks for the intelligence response.
This is an OUTSTANDING list of of African American scientists. How many HBCUs still offer physics as a major?
Dara Norman and Jarita Holbrook, like Neil deGrasse Tyson dance! Dara and Jarita are a part of our dance family! Dance is a Science…..
I miss her dearly and really need her advice and encouragement at this time in my life.
Huh?? This is not the best reporting I've ever seen! Nice article but lacking in real information As a proud mother (single parent) I'd like to point out that DR. Dara Norman completed undergrad at M.I.T. Worked at Goddard Space Laboratory on the Hubble Mission. Obtained her Doctorate at University of Washington, and works at C.T.I.O. in Tucson, AZ Thanks Hakeem O. and Jarita H. for the more accurate outline. Better work from Journalism Dept. would be nice!
Great stuff, glad to know the future of science and technology has some diversity!
Also, I would like to add my lovely husband, Dr Louis Strolger who currently works for Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD
May Claudia Alexander R.I.P. http://aalbc.it/claudiaa Alexander also published several books
Milton Davis, whats up man. I guess you also know Claudia Alexander (who passed last week) was a steampunk writer as well under the name E.L. Celeste http://aalbc.it/claudiaa