BHM Periodic Table @ The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

BHM Periodic Table - Scientists

Scientists

In February, UC Irvine’s Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) celebrates Black History Month by highlighting pioneers in science and technology and sharing resources to expand diversity in tech. This year, we’re following the lead of Dana Boone, a student in Florida who, in 2021, put up at a display at his elementary school of the Periodic Table of Black History, created in 2019 by staff members at the Lakeland Public Library in Florida. Using that model as a foundation, we’ve created our own version, and here are the scientists included:

1 BB Benjamin Banneker, son of an ex-slave, was a largely self-educated mathematician, astronomer, compiler of almanacs and writer. His 1773 almanac includes a letter he wrote to Thomas Jefferson against slavery and Jefferson’s response. (11.9.1731 – 10.9.1806)

5 DB David Blackwell was a statistician and mathematician who made significant contributions to game theory, probability theory, information theory and Bayesian statistics. He was the first African American member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. (4.24.1919 – 7.8.2010)

6 EB Edward Bouchet was first African American Ph.D. physicist, and the sixth person overall to receive a Ph.D. in physics from an American university. He went on to educate and inspire others as a science teacher at a school for Black students. (9.15.1852 – 10.28.1918)

7 OB Otis Boykin earned his first patent in 1959 for a wire precision resistor and his second in 1961 for an electrical resistor. Variations of his resistor models are used in TVs, computers, and radios, and his work enabled control functions for the first successful, implantable pacemaker. (8.29.1920 – 3.13.1982)

8 AC Alexa Canady, who almost dropped out of college as an undergraduate, went on to become the first African American woman in the U.S. to become a neurosurgeon.

14 GC George Carruthers was an astrophysicist who invented the first moon-based observatory, the far ultraviolet camera/spectrograph, used in the Apollo 16 mission. He also helped create the Science & Engineering Apprentice Program, where high school students spend a summer working with scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory. (10.1.1939 – 12.26.2020)

15 CS Charles Drew was a surgeon and researcher who organized America’s first large-scale blood bank. He also trained a generation of Black physicians at Howard University. (6.3.1904 – 4.1.1950)

16 MMD Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the U.S. She conducted important studies on cholesterol, sugars, and proteins and helped develop programs to increase the enrollment of minority students in medical school and graduate science programs. (4.16.1921 – 10.28.2003)

33 GWC George Washington Carver, born into slavery, went on to become an agricultural scientist and inventor who developed hundreds of products using peanuts (though not peanut butter, as is often claimed), sweet potatoes and soybeans. (1864 – 1.5.1943)

34 BWG Bettye Washington Greene is believed to be the first African-American female chemist employed to work in a professional position at the Dow Chemical Company. She went on to become a senior research specialist. (3.20.1935 – 6.6.1995)

52 RAY Roger Arliner Young was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in zoology and to conduct research at the prestigious Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. (1889 – 11.9.1964)

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1	BB	Benjamin Banneker, son of an ex-slave, was a largely self-educated mathematician, astronomer, compiler of almanacs and writer. His 1773 almanac includes a letter he wrote to Thomas Jefferson against slavery and Jefferson’s response. (11.9.1731 – 10.9.1806)
5	DB	David Blackwell was a statistician and mathematician who made significant contributions to game theory, probability theory, information theory and Bayesian statistics. He was the first African American member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. (4.24.1919 – 7.8.2010)
6	EB	Edward Bouchet was first African American Ph.D. physicist, and the sixth person overall to receive a Ph.D. in physics from an American university. He went on to educate and inspire others as a science teacher at a school for Black students. (9.15.1852 – 10.28.1918)
7	OB	Otis Boykin earned his first patent in 1959 for a wire precision resistor and his second in 1961 for an electrical resistor. Variations of his resistor models are used in TVs, computers, and radios, and his work enabled control functions for the first successful, implantable pacemaker. (8.29.1920 – 3.13.1982)
8	AC	Alexa Canady, who almost dropped out of college as an undergraduate, went on to become the first African American woman in the U.S. to become a neurosurgeon.
14	GC	George Carruthers was an astrophysicist who invented the first moon-based observatory, the far ultraviolet camera/spectrograph, used in the Apollo 16 mission. He also helped create the Science & Engineering Apprentice Program, where high school students spend a summer working with scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory. (10.1.1939 – 12.26.2020)
15	CS	Charles Drew was a surgeon and researcher who organized America’s first large-scale blood bank. He also trained a generation of Black physicians at Howard University. (6.3.1904 – 4.1.1950)
16	MMD	Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the U.S. She conducted important studies on cholesterol, sugars, and proteins and helped develop programs to increase the enrollment of minority students in medical school and graduate science programs. (4.16.1921 – 10.28.2003)
33	GWC	George Washington Carver, born into slavery, went on to become an agricultural scientist and inventor who developed hundreds of products using peanuts (though not peanut butter, as is often claimed), sweet potatoes and soybeans. (1864 – 1.5.1943)
34	BWG	Bettye Washington Greene is believed to be the first African-American female chemist employed to work in a professional position at the Dow Chemical Company. She went on to become a senior research specialist. (3.20.1935 – 6.6.1995)
52	RAY	Roger Arliner Young was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in zoology and to conduct research at the prestigious Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. (1889 – 11.9.1964)