Students are learning about these scientists during Black History Month. Students are encouraged to learn more about scientists and to explore related science projects and careers for scientists they find inspiring. For each scientist, students are reading a short biographical highlight and exploring hands-on science projects related to the scientist's area of study.
Marie Daly (1921–2003) was a chemist who studied the relationship between cholesterol and heart health. Her research disclosed the relationship between high cholesterol and clogged arteries and increased our understanding of how foods and diet affect the health of the heart and the circulatory system. Daly also taught biochemistry at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The two greatest obstacles Daly faced were her color and her gender. It was not very common for women to work in laboratory sciences in the 1940s, and it was not common for African Americans to do so, either. Daly was both, which made her career achievements all the more impressive.
"Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub." That is the sound the doctor hears when he or she uses a stethoscope to listen to your heart. The doctor listens to make sure the heartbeat sounds normal and has a regular, steady rhythm. But did you know that you can figure out how fast your heart is beating without a stethoscope? This is done by taking your pulse. Today, we are going to learn how to measure our pulse at rest and our pulse after exercise.
Mae Jemison (1956 - ) went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992 and became the first African American woman in space. She is also a trained medical doctor, served as a Medical Officer in the Peace Corps and currently runs BioSentient Corp, a medical technology company.
Since Mae wanted to be a scientist, she faced double discrimination as an African-American woman. There had also been few African-American astronauts and no African-American female astronauts prior to Mae's selection in 1987. She overcame all of these obstacles.
Here are some other facts about Mae Jemison you might not know:
Jemison is a trained dancer -- she built a dance studio in her home and even brought a poster from her dance school on her space mission. But when she was debating whether to go to medical school after college or become a professional dancer her mother advised her, “You can always dance if you’re a doctor, but you can’t doctor if you’re a dancer.”
She began college at Stanford University to study chemical engineering when she was only 16 years old.
Jemison faced many roadblocks to her dreams of pursuing science. Once, when Jemison said she wanted to be a scientist when she grew up, her teacher asked if she meant a nurse. She later founded The Earth We Share (TEWS), an international science camp that encourages science literacy for all.
She’s afraid of heights, but she didn’t let that stop her from going into space. She says she relied on the strength of her ego to push forward.
She was on an episode of Star Trek! Jemison began each of her shifts in space by saying, “Hailing frequencies open,” a reference to Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek. In 1993, Jemison appeared in her own episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as Lieutenant Palmer.
"The thing that I have done throughout my life is to do the best job that I can and to be me." – Ebony Magazine, October 1987
"Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations...If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won't exist because you'll have already shut it out ... You can hear other people's wisdom, but you've got to re-evaluate the world for yourself." – At the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, November 2009