- Born:
- August 5, 1946, Washington, D.C., U.S. (age 80)
Shirley Ann Jackson
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Who is Shirley Ann Jackson?
Shirley Ann Jackson (born in 1946) is an American scientist and educator. She is the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT, receiving it in particle physics in 1973.
Throughout her career, Jackson has contributed to advancements in telecommunications, including the invention of the touch-tone telephone, fiber-optic cables, caller ID, and call waiting. She is also an advocate for minority representation in academia, especially in STEM fields.
In 1995, Jackson was appointed by President Bill Clinton as head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), becoming the first African American woman to hold the position. Later, in 1999, she became the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), the first Black woman to serve as president of a major technological institute.
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For what field of science is Shirley Ann Jackson best known?
Shirley Ann Jackson is best known for her work in the field of physics. She earned a Ph.D. in particle physics from MIT in 1973, becoming the first African American woman to do so.
Her physics career began at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and later at CERN in Switzerland. Jackson's research at Bell Laboratories contributed to the development of technologies like the touch-tone telephone, fiber-optic cables, caller ID, and call waiting.
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What important 'first' did Shirley Ann Jackson achieve in her education?
Shirley Ann Jackson was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which she received in 1973 in the field of particle physics. She also became the first Black woman to serve as president of a major technological institute when she was appointed president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1999.
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What are some scientific contributions Shirley Ann Jackson has made?
Shirley Ann Jackson is an American physicist and educator. She is the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT. Her research at Bell Laboratories contributed to the creation of the touch-tone telephone, fiber-optic cables, caller ID, and call waiting.
While president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the proportion of female undergraduates rose from 24 percent in 1999 to 32 percent in 2017. Also, Jackson served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2009–14) and was cochair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (2014–17).
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How has Shirley Ann Jackson helped encourage others in STEM fields?
Shirley Ann Jackson has greatly encouraged minority representation in STEM fields. After Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, she organized the Black Student Union and proposed to recruit more Black students and faculty to MIT. Her efforts led to an increase in African American student enrollment from 3–5 to 57 per year. Jackson also served as a mentor in Project Interphase, a summer program offering support to incoming minority freshmen, and her work influenced MIT to create a Task Force on Education Opportunity to attract more minority students to MIT. Additionally, as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the proportion of female undergraduates rose from 24 percent to 32 percent between 1999 and 2017.
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What leadership roles has Shirley Ann Jackson held in education and science?
Shirley Ann Jackson has held significant leadership roles in education and science. While still a student at MIT, she helped organize the Black Student Union and developed proposals to recruit more Black students and faculty to MIT, which resulted in increased enrollment of African American students.
Jackson served as a professor at Rutgers University from 1991 to 1995. In 1999, she became the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), becoming the first Black woman to serve as president of a major technological institute. During her presidency, she transformed the school’s reputation and increased the proportion of female undergraduates. She also served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2009–14) and was cochair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (2014–17).
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Shirley Ann Jackson (born August 5, 1946, Washington, D.C., U.S.) is an American scientist and educator and the first Black woman to receive a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Jackson helped develop technologies that made communication faster and easier and was an advocate for minority representation in academia, particularly in STEM disciplines.
Jackson was a curious child, and her parents encouraged her by helping her build projects and design experiments. Jackson’s interest in scientific investigation was furthered by the space race of the 1950s. For a few summers starting at age 10, Jackson captured bees from her backyard and studied their reactions to changes in their environment. Jackson proceeded to take advanced math and science classes in high school and graduated as valedictorian of her class at Roosevelt Senior High School in Washington, D.C.
In 1964 Jackson enrolled at MIT, where she studied physics. She was one of only two African American female undergraduate students. Although Jackson encountered bigotry and exclusion from her peers, she remained focused on her academics. After Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in fall 1968, Jackson sought to create a community for Black students. She helped organize the Black Student Union and created proposals to recruit more Black students and faculty to MIT. The first year of her effort resulted in the enrollment of 57 African American students, up from 3 to 5 per year in previous years. That same year, Jackson graduated from MIT with a bachelor’s degree in physics.
Jackson served as a mentor in a summer program, Project Interphase, that provided support to incoming minority freshmen. Moreover, her work influenced MIT to appoint her to a new Task Force on Education Opportunity, which aimed to attract more minority students to MIT. In 1973 Jackson became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT, which she received in particle physics.
Jackson began her physics career at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (later Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois. She then served as a visiting scientist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland. In 1976 she returned to the United States to work at Bell Laboratories, where she conducted research on two-dimensional condensed matter systems. While at Bell, she met her future husband, Morris A. Washington, another prominent physicist. Jackson remained at Bell until 1991; her research there contributed to the inventions of the touch-tone telephone, fiber-optic cables, caller ID, and call waiting. From 1991 to 1995 she taught at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She also began to work in public policy, offering Gov. Tom Kean her input on how to bolster university science and technology programs in the state of New Jersey.
In 1995 U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton appointed Jackson head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the government agency that oversees the use of nuclear materials in the United States. To accept, she had to give up her tenured position at Rutgers and leave her husband and their son, Alan, during the workweek to commute to the NRC, just outside Washington, D.C. She was the first African American woman to serve in the position. In addition to her work with the NRC, she also led international efforts to promote nuclear safety, helping to create a group that supports nuclear safety and regulation worldwide.
Jackson returned to academic life in 1999, when she was appointed president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. She was the first Black woman to serve as the president of a major technological institute. Although her efforts to transform university policies were met with some resistance from faculty, Jackson transformed the school’s reputation and enrollment. During her presidency, the proportion of female undergraduates at RPI rose from 24 percent in 1999 to 32 percent in 2017. She also worked with Harlem Academy, a school for low-income students in New York City, providing its older students with a three-day trip to RPI. She continued to serve on numerous boards and to work in public service. During Barack Obama’s presidency, Jackson served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2009–14) and was cochair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (2014–17).
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Jackson has received dozens of awards and honours, including more than 50 honorary doctorate degrees. In 1998 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2007 she became the first Black woman to receive the Vannevar Bush Award, which honours scientists who have made contributions to the country through public service. President Obama awarded Jackson the National Medal of Science, the country’s highest honour in science and engineering, in 2016. The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University recognized her in 2018 by awarding her the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, which is given to people who have made important contributions to African American history and culture.