Women in Science + a Playlist
Words by: Maggie Laubscher | Music by: Abby Yemm
Shonda Rhimes coined the term F.O.D. in her 2015 book Year of Yes. First. Only. Different. It is so good and represents so much. It rolls off the tongue and sounds as empowering as it should. It also represents hardship and toughness and pushing against allllll the barriers. Shonda beautifully describes FODs, writing…
‘We are a very select club, but there are more of us out there than you’d think. We know one another on sight. We all have that same weary look in our eyes. The one that wishes people would stop thinking it remarkable that we can be great at what we do while Black, while Asian, while a woman, while Latino, while gay, while a paraplegic, while deaf. But when you are an FOD, you are saddled with that burden of extra responsibility - whether you want it or not.’
Today, on this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we honor the FODs of science. And this month, during Black History Month, we are zoning in on the courageous Black FODs. Vibe is empowerment and pushing against barriers. Let’s go.
Patricia Bath, first Black woman to receive a medical patent
Patricia E. Bath (1942–2019) was an eye doctor, inventor, and crusader. She spent her career fighting blindness. When Patricia was just an intern in NYC, she noticed discrepancies in vision problems between the mostly black patients at Harlem Hospital and mostly white patients at Columbia University Hospital. She discovered that blindness was twice as prevalent among black people as white people. And so began her lifelong fight against this discrepancy. The FOD ophthalmologist eventually became the first Black woman to receive a medical patent - for a laser technique to treat cataracts.
Image credit: Herbert S. Sonnenfeld via The New York Times
Wangari Maathai, first African woman to win a Nobel Prize
Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) was an environmentalist, activist, Nobel Prize winner, and first female head of a university department in Kenya. In short, she was a trailblazer and a fighter. During her life, she also founded the Green Belt movement, which has planted over 10 million trees.
Image credit: Environmental Africa
Marie Maynard Daly, first Black woman to earn a PhD in Chemistry
Marie Maynard Daly (1921–2003) earned a PhD in Chemistry in 1947, the first Black woman to do so. After this achievement - earned at Columbia University - Marie went on to teach at Howard University, score a grant from the American Cancer Society, work with Alfred Mirsky (molecular biology pioneer) at the Rockefeller Institute, and teach biochemistry at Columbia University. Throughout her career, the Queens NY native worked to get more minorities in medical school and graduate science programs. She finished her career teaching at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Mic drop.
Image credit: Biography.com
Mae Jemison, first Black woman in space
Mae Jemison (1956–present) is a doctor, astronaut, and former Peace Corps doctor. She is also the first Black female astronaut and first Black woman to travel to space. Mae graduated from both Stanford University and Cornell University, and later taught at Dartmouth College. She also founded her own company - the Jemison Group - which does tech research and development.
Image credit: Rob Schamberger
Shirley Ann Jackson, first Black woman to earn a doctorate from MIT
Shirley Ann Jackson (1946–present) is breaking barriers right and left. She is the first black woman to earn a doctorate from MIT, the second Black woman to earn a PhD in physics, and the first woman and Black person to serve as Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The physicist keeps pushing boundaries and we are cheering her on from the sidelines, always.
Image credit: Courtesy of Shirley Jackson, via MIT Technology Review
Annie Easley, rocket scientist
Annie Easley (1933–2011) was a real-life rocket scientist, and a Black female one to boot. She was also a computer scientist and mathematician! Annie was hired by NASA in 1955 as a human computer, which is the coolest thing we’ve heard all year.
Image credit: Wikipedia
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