Black History Month may be about to wrap up. But February is far from the only time to honor the groundbreaking work of Black scientists and engineers.
While it’s far from a complete list, here are 10 Black researchers whose work you should know. Their discoveries and inventions have changed the course of history for human spaceflight, the COVID-19 pandemic and much more.
George Washington Carver (~1864–1943): This agricultural chemist aimed to help Black farmers by devising new uses for crops. He discovered more than 300 uses for peanuts alone, including mayonnaise, plastics and shaving cream.
Madam C.J. Walker (1867–1919): This entrepreneur, philanthropist and activist invented beauty products for Black women. Her business created jobs for some 40,000 Black women and men.
Percy Julian (1899–1975): Julian’s work as a chemist led to new treatments for glaucoma, arthritis and other conditions. It also led to the creation of a new fire-extinguishing foam, which saved thousands of lives in World War II.
See all the entries from our Let’s Learn About series
Dorothy Vaughan (1910–2008), Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) and Mary Jackson (1921–2005): These three women were “human computers” at NASA during the space race. As head of her human computer unit, Vaughan was NASA’s first Black supervisor. Johnson famously crunched the numbers to safely send the first U.S. astronauts to space. And Jackson became NASA’s first Black female engineer. She mainly studied how air flows around aircraft. Their stories are told in the book and film Hidden Figures.
Gladys West (1930–present): West used her skills as a mathematician to build an accurate model of Earth. That model was crucial for the creation of GPS.
Lonnie Johnson (1949–present): At NASA, this engineer worked on spacecraft missions to Jupiter and Mars. But he’s perhaps best known for his invention of the Super Soaker water gun.
Mae Jemison (1956–present): This engineer and physician became the first Black woman in space. She made this historic flight in 1992, when she rode the space shuttle Endeavor into orbit around Earth.
Kizzmekia Corbett (1986–present): Corbett is a viral immunologist. She played a key role in creating Moderna’s vaccine for COVID-19. That vaccine was cleared for use in record time and has been given to tens of millions of people around the globe.
Want to know more? We’ve got some stories to get you started:
This civil engineer turns to math to make energy more affordable: Destenie Nock uses computer algorithms to help identify households struggling to afford utilities. (1/29/2024) Readability: 8.1
The ancient math rule two teens proved — again: Ne’Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson proved math’s Pythagorean theorem — in a way thought impossible for 2,000 years — and they did it 10 different ways. (12/13/2024) Readability: 8.3
This chemist uses online videos to teach about the perils of microplastics: Imari Walker says her journey as a scientist and science communicator lets her talk about and advocate for her passion. (12/2/2022) Readability: 7.5
If you’ve ever used a microphone, laptop or video game controller, thank Black inventors James West, Mark Dean and Gerald Lawson.
Explore more
Lack of diversity in his field has troubled this mathematician
Meet the people behind the film Hidden Figures
#BlackBirdersWeek seeks to open the outdoors for everyone
Racism lurks in many plant and animal names. That’s now changing
Meet the first Black American to earn an evolutionary biology Ph.D. (from Science News)
Marie Maynard Daly was a trailblazing biochemist, but her full story may be lost (from Science News)
Physicist Sekazi Mtingwa considers himself an apostle of science (from Science News)
Activities
Want to meet even more Black pioneers in STEM? Check out this list from Science Buddies! On Science Buddies, you can also find a series of science experiments inspired by the work of famous Black scientists and engineers. Understand eclipses like Benjamin Banneker. Learn about ants like Charles Henry Turner. And observe chemicals like Alice Ball.
Learn more about the stories of George Washington Carver and Katherine Johnson in these science comics!
