Nanoscale Science & Engineering: A Brief Guide to Library Resources: Home

An in-depth look at the lives, experiences, and professional careers of Black mathematicians in the United States. Erica N. Walker presents a compelling story of Black mathematical excellence in the United States. Much of the research and discussion about Blacks and mathematics focuses on underachievement; by documenting in detail the experiences of Black mathematicians, this book broadens significantly the knowledge base about mathematically successful African Americans. Beyond Banneker demonstrates how mathematics success is fostered among Blacks by mathematicians, mathematics educators, teachers, parents, and others, a story that has been largely overlooked by the profession and research community. Based on archival research and in-depth interviews with thirty mathematicians, this important and timely book vividly captures important narratives about mathematics teaching and learning in multiple contexts, as well as the unique historical and contemporary settings related to race, opportunity, and excellence that Black mathematicians experience. Walker draws upon these narratives to suggest ways to capitalize on the power and potential of underserved communities to respond to the national imperative for developing math success for new generations of young people. Erica N. Walker is Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the author of Building Mathematics Learning Communities: Improving Outcomes in Urban High Schools.

As a conceptual framework, the collection of chapters in this volume acquaints readers with a broad overview of the characteristics and experiences of women of color in higher education. The chapters draw from theoretical and empirical work and identify gaps in the research, compare and contrast the experiences of women of color, and explore possible linkages between their experiences. Topics include trends and issues, leadership styles/characteristics, tenure and promotion, mentoring/social networks, and challenges and possibilities that weave commonalities and differences among African-Americans.

From George Washington Carver to Dr. Mae Jemison, African Americans have been making outstanding contributions in the field of science. This unique resource goes beyond the headlines in chronicling not just the scientific achievements but also the lives of 100 remarkable men and women. Each biography provides an absorbing account of the scientist's struggles, which often included overcoming prejudice, as they pursued their educational and professional goals.

Edward A Bouchet was the first African-American to receive the doctorate in any field of knowledge in the United States and that area was physics. He was granted the degree in 1876 from Yale University making him at that time one of the few persons to hold the physics doctorate from an American university. Bouchet played a significant role in the education of African-Americans during the last quarter of the 19th century through his teaching and mentoring activities at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was one among a small number of African-Americans who achieved advanced training and education within decades of the American civil war. These people provided direction, leadership, and role models for what eventually became the civil/human rights movements. The year 2001 marks the 125th celebration of his receiving the doctorate degree. This book gives a summary of his life and career.

Nearly every American can cite at least one of the accomplishments of George Washington Carver. The many tributes honoring his contributions to scientific advancement and black history include a national monument bearing his name, a U.S.-minted coin featuring his likeness, and induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Born into slavery, Carver earned a master's degree at Iowa State Agricultural College and went on to become that university's first black faculty member. A keen painter who chose agricultural studies over art, he focused the majority of his research on peanuts and sweet potatoes. His scientific breakthroughs with the crops--both of which would replenish the cotton-leached soil of the South--helped spare multitudes of sharecroppers from poverty. Despite Carver's lifelong difficulties with systemic racial prejudice, when he died in 1943, millions of Americans mourned the passing of one of the nation's most honored and well-known scientists. Scores of children's books celebrate the contributions of this prolific botanist, but no biographer has fully examined both his personal life and career until now. Christina Vella offers a thorough biography of George Washington Carver, including in-depth details of his relationships with his friends, colleagues, supporters, and those he loved. Despite the exceptional trajectory of his career, Carver was not immune to the racism of the Jim Crow era or the privations and hardships of the Great Depression and two world wars. Yet throughout this tumultuous period, his scientific achievements aligned him with equally extraordinary friends, including Teddy Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Henry A. Wallace, and Henry Ford. In pursuit of the man behind the historical figure, Vella discovers an unassuming intellectual with a quirky sense of humor, striking eccentricities, and an unwavering religious faith. She explores Carver's anguished dealings with Booker T. Washington across their nineteen years working together at the Tuskegee Institute--a turbulent partnership often fraught with jealousy. Uneasy in personal relationships, Carver lost one woman he loved to suicide and, years later, directed his devotion toward a white man. A prodigious and generous scholar whose life was shaped by struggle and heartbreak as well as success and fame, George Washington Carver remains a key figure in the history of southern agriculture, botanical advancement, and the struggle for civil rights. Vella's extensively researched biography offers a complex and compelling portrait of one of the most brilliant men of the last century.

Historically black colleges and universities are adept at training scientists. Marybeth Gasman and Thai-Huy Nguyen follow ten HBCU programs that have grown their student cohorts and improved performance. These science departments furnish a bold new model for other colleges that want to better serve African American students.

Author Diann Jordan took a journey to find out what inspired and daunted black women in their desire to become scientists in America. Letting 18 prominent black women scientists talk for themselves, Sisters in Science becomes an oral history stretching across decades and disciplines and desires. From Yvonne Clark, the first black woman to be awarded a B.S. in mechanical engineering to Georgia Dunston, a microbiologist who is researching the genetic code for her race, to Shirley Jackson, whose aspiration led to the presidency of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jordan has created a significant record of women who persevered to become firsts in many of their fields. It all began for Jordan when she was asked to give a presentation on black women scientists. She found little information and little help. After almost nine years of work, the stories of black women scientists can finally be told.