Excellence Chronicles
Engineers FTW!
STEM Weavers
Trailblazers
Great Educators
100
This electrical engineer founded Black Girls Code, which introduces programming and technology to a new generation of coders.
Who is Kimberly Bryant?
Photo: Peter DaSilva
100
She is believed to be the first woman engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Who is Hattie T. Scott Peterson? 
100
This well-known science communicator was awarded the the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2004 for his service advising Presidential and Congressional commissions on the future of the aerospace industry and space travel.
Who is Neil deGrasse Tyson? 
Photo: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Hayden Planetarium
100
This electronics engineer has been dubbed by some as the "Father of Modern Gaming."
Who was Jerry Lawson?
Photo: Strong Museum of Play
100
Located in Washington DC, this prestigious institution of higher learning boasts 11,000 students from all over the globe and, established in 1867, is one of the oldest HBCUs.
What is Howard University?
200
Known as a "human computer," she helped NASA put humans in orbit around the earth and land a man on the moon.
Who Was Katherine Johnson? 
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNIE LEIBOVITZ.
200
This Canadian-born son of fugitive slaves became a mechanical engineer and held over 50 patents related to lubrication systems.
Who was Elijah McCoy? 
Photo: Ypsilanti Historical Society
200
Wearing his life-saving "safety hood" invention, he led a rescue that saved several men's lives after the tunnel explosion under Lake Erie in 1916.
Who is Garret Morgan?
Photo: Western Reserve Historical Society
200
Graduating from Columbia University in 1947, this chemist was the first African American woman in the United States to earn a doctoral degree.
Who was Marie Maynard Daly? 
200
He was the first principal of the school that grew to become Tuskegee University.
Who is Booker T. Washington? 
Photo: Getty Images/Interim Archives
300
This ophthalmologist and laser scientist invented the laserphaco probe to repair cataracts, a keratoprosthesis device for cornea replacements, and the now widely practiced "community ophthalmology" concept to reduce blindness in black communities.
Who was Dr. Patricia E. Bath? 
Photo: National Library of Medicine
300
Liberated from the bonds of slavery, this architect engineer was considered the "Prince of Bridge Builders;" and was a legislator in Alabama.
Who was Horace King? 
Photo: Columbus Museum of Columbus, Georgia
300
This doctor of physics logged over 190 hours in space before his life was tragically cut short when the Challenger rocket exploded mid-launch.
Who was Dr. Ronald McNair? 
Photo: NASA
300
This chemical engineer and medical doctor was the first African-American woman in space.
Who is Mae Jemison? 
300
This sorority, whose motto is “By Culture and By Merit,” has lifted up women in higher education since 1908.
What is Alpha Kappa Alpha? 
Photo: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated
400
This Pittsburgh native, Westinghouse alum, and former U.S. NRC Commissioner was the longest-serving head of the United States' civilian nuclear technology program, serving two presidents and five Secretaries of Energy.
Who is William D. Magwood?
Photo: Department of Energy
400
He designed a telescope that went to the moon on NASA's Apollo 16 mission.
Fun fact: it's still there!
Who was Dr. George R. Carruthers?
Photo: NASA
400
As the chief engineer at IBM, this electrical engineer's team developed the developed the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) systems bus and the Color Graphics Adapter.
Who is Dr. Marc Dean?
Photo: The University of Tennessee, Tennessee Alumnus
400
Though he didn't have the forethought to seek a patent at the time, in 1990 this programmer invented ARCHIE - the first search engine.
Who is Alan Emtage? 
Photo: Alan Emtage
400
Liberated from slavery, he became one of the most highly regarded botanists of his day.
Who is George Washington Carver? 
Photo: Frances Benjamin Johnston, Library of Congress
500
This mathematician and mechanical engineer worked on the Manhattan Project, served as president of the American Nuclear Society in 1974-75, and was the 2nd African-American elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1976.
Who was J. Ernest Wilkins Jr.?
Photo: Dan Dry
500
A mechanical and nuclear engineer and decorated 4-star General in the United States Air Force, he served as the Vice Chief of Staff at Headquarters U.S. Air Force and assumed command of Air Force Materiel Command before retiring in 2003.
Who is General Lester L. Lyles? 
Photo: U.S. Air Force
500
This chemist lent his expertise in fluoride chemistry to the Manhattan Project, facilitating the enrichment of U-235 for the Chicago Pile, and later, the atomic bomb.
Who was Lloyd Albert Quarterman? 
Photo:
500
You can thank this woman, the first African-American woman to earn a PhD from MIT, for the essential caller-ID function on your smart phone.
Who is Shirley Ann Jackson? 
500
This HBCU (home of the Musketeers) bestows more undergraduate degrees in the biological and physical sciences to African-American students than any other university in the United States.
What is Xavier University?