{"id":33151,"date":"2022-03-11T01:55:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T06:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/?p=33151"},"modified":"2022-03-15T23:13:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T03:13:06","slug":"black-history-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/2022\/03\/black-history-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

African Americans are extremely underrepresented in STEM careers. Jobs in STEM have increased by 79% since 1990, yet African Americans only make up 9% of the U.S. STEM workforce today. So, here are a few inspiring black inventors and innovators in STEM to celebrate during Black History Month!<\/span><\/p>\n

Alan Emtage<\/b><\/p>\n

You would not have Google search today without Alan Emtage. He invented the first ever Internet search engine called Archie. His work is the root of many techniques used by modern <\/span>public search engines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Emtage gained his B.S. in Computer Science in 1987 and then his M.S. in Computer Science in 1991, both from M<\/span>cGill Univers<\/span>ity in Montr\u00e9al, Canada. While enrolled, he began working in the school\u2019s information technology department as a systems administrator. His job was to manually combine various File Transfer Protocol servers for software to be used by students and staff. This process was very time-consuming, so Emtage came up with Archie to do the task automatically in the middle of the night when no one was using the link.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Archie was not patented. According to Emtage, while other creators of search engines might be \u201cbazillionaires\u201d now, he made no money off this invention since making money off the Internet at the time was unheard of. He does not seem to be fazed by this though, knowing that at the end of the day he was the first!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson<\/b><\/p>\n

Dr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson was the first woman to earn a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University and the first African American woman to earn a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from NASA GSFC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dr. Ericsson<\/span>-Jackson stated that her interest in NASA and science began when she was in first grade when she watched the Apollo missions on TV. This led to her participating in science fairs, such as the one in eighth grade where she built her first science instrument, and then joining MIT\u2019s UNITE science outreach program for minority students. She earned her B.S degree in Aeronautical\/Astronautical Engineering followed by both her PhD\u2019s.<\/p>\n

She has been with NASA for over 27 years. Working as an Instrument Project Manager, she has led many space missions and helped develop various instruments, such as the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter. This instrument helps produce improved lunar gravity models and has been orbiting the moon ever since it launched in 2009.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Ericsson-Jackson has received numerous awards for her contributions. Some include the NASA Goddard Honor Award for Excellence in Outreach, The 2016 Washington Award, and a Science Trailblazers award from the Black Engineers of the Year Award Conference.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Katherine Johnson\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

You might have heard of Katherine Johnson through the infamous film, <\/span>Hidden Figures<\/span><\/i>. Johnson was one of the \u201chidden figures\u201d who aided in NASA\u2019s mission of sending the first astronaut into space and sending men to the moon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Johnson\u2019s skills were obvious as a child and she started attending high school at only ten years old. She earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in mathematics and became one of the first three African American students to enroll in a graduate program at West Virginia University.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She <\/span>joined NACA\u2019s West Area Computing unit before it became NASA and while it was still segregated in 1953. This unit was a group of African American women who were tasked to manually calculate complex mathematical equations. These computations were essential for placing a spacecraft into orbit. Johnson was the first woman in this unit to receive credit as an author of a research report.<\/p>\n

Johnson received multiple awards and honors for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and she also has a NASA building named after her!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dr. Warren Washington<\/b><\/p>\n

Dr. Warren Washington is a renowned climate scientist whose research and computer models helped scientists understand climate change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Washington\u2019s parents were not supportive of his interest in science and astronomy, but he went against their wishes and pursued the fields in college. He earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in physics and his master\u2019s in meteorology, both at Oregon State College. He got his PhD in meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, being the second African American ever to receive a PhD in meteorology at the time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He began working at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and stayed there for over 50 years. He then served a<\/span><\/p>\n

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s a member of the National Science Board from 1994 to 2006 and as its chair from 2002 to 2006. He has over 150 publications, including a book used as a standard reference in climate research called \u201cAn Introduction to Three-Dimensional Climate Modeling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Washington\u2019s models, the Parallel Climate Model and the Community Earth System Model, were used in the 2007 Int<\/span>ergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment which received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He also received the National Medal of Science in 2009 for his work.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are just some of the black leaders and innovators who have made a huge impact in STEM fields, inspiring others to become innovators as well for years to come. We hope that during this month we are able to recognize and celebrate more amazing black innovators and leaders!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Citations<\/b><\/p>\n

Alan Emtage creator of Archie, the world’s first search engine<\/span><\/i>. Alan Emtage Creator of ARCHIE, the World’s First Search Engine | Capitol Technology University. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.captechu.edu\/blog\/alan-emtage-creator-of-archie-worlds-first-search-engine<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Aprille Ericsson-Jackson: Aerospace engineer, and first African American woman to earn Phd’s from two renowned institutions<\/span><\/i>. Capitol Technology University. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.captechu.edu\/blog\/aprille-ericsson-jackson-aerospace-engineer-and-first-african-american-woman-earn-phds-two<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Black innovators in STEM who changed the world<\/span><\/i>. Orlando Science Center. (2021, May 14). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.osc.org\/black-innovators-in-stem-who-changed-the-world\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). <\/span>Katherine Johnson<\/span><\/i>. Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Katherine-Johnson-mathematician<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Fox, M. (2020, February 24). <\/span>Katherine Johnson dies at 101; mathematician broke barriers at NASA<\/span><\/i>. The New York Times. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/02\/24\/science\/katherine-johnson-dead.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

iD Tech, iD Tech, Ryan, Virginia, Kendall, Pete, Moore, J. R., Brooke, Vince, & Alycia. (n.d.). <\/span>16 Black Stem Innovators & Famous Leaders: Engineer Role models<\/span><\/i>. iD Tech. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.idtech.com\/blog\/black-stem-innovators-who-defined-modern-world<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Internet Hall of Fame<\/span><\/i>. Alan Emtage | Internet Hall of Fame. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.internethalloffame.org\/inductees\/alan-emtage<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

NASA. (n.d.). <\/span>Aprille Joy Ericsson<\/span><\/i>. NASA. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/sbir.nasa.gov\/content\/aprille-joy-ericsson<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

National Science Foundation – Where Discoveries Begin<\/span><\/i>. The National Medal of Science 50th Anniversary | National Science Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/special_reports\/medalofscience50\/washington.jsp<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Warren Washington<\/span><\/i>. CCR People – Dr. Warren Washington. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https:\/\/www.cgd.ucar.edu\/staff\/wmw\/\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Written by: Amanda Aber<\/a><\/p>\n

Date: February 23, 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

African Americans are extremely underrepresented in STEM careers. Jobs in STEM have increased by 79% since 1990, yet African Americans only make up 9% of the U.S. STEM workforce today. So, here are a few inspiring black inventors and innovators in STEM to celebrate during Black History Month! Alan Emtage You would not have Google […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":33155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[198],"tags":[497,498,506,503,199],"class_list":["post-33151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-famous-stem-people","tag-girls-and-women-in-stem","tag-idea-inclusion-diversity-equity-access","tag-stem-careers-and-internships","tag-stem-education","pmpro-has-access"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":198,"label":"Blog"}],"post_tag":[{"value":497,"label":"Famous STEM People"},{"value":498,"label":"Girls and Women in STEM"},{"value":506,"label":"IDEA (Inclusion Diversity Equity Access)"},{"value":503,"label":"STEM Careers and Internships"},{"value":199,"label":"STEM Education"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/unnamed-2.png",339,512,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Eric Magers","author_link":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/author\/magerse\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":198,"name":"Blog","slug":"blog","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":198,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":274,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":198,"category_count":274,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Blog","category_nicename":"blog","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":497,"name":"Famous STEM People","slug":"famous-stem-people","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":497,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":9,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":498,"name":"Girls and Women in STEM","slug":"girls-and-women-in-stem","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":498,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":506,"name":"IDEA (Inclusion Diversity Equity Access)","slug":"idea-inclusion-diversity-equity-access","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":506,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":503,"name":"STEM Careers and Internships","slug":"stem-careers-and-internships","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":503,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":199,"name":"STEM Education","slug":"stem-education","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":199,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":80,"filter":"raw"}],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/unnamed-2-339x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/unnamed-2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstem.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}