Chemist and academic administrator Gloria Long Anderson was born on November 5, 1938 in Altheimer, Arkansas to sharecroppers Charley Long and Elsie Lee Foggie. As one of six children, Anderson was expected to assist with farm chores, though her parents never let farm duties get in the way of education. Anderson graduated from Altheimer Training High School in 1954...

Biologist, chemist and inventor Sharon J. Barnes was born on November 28, 1955 to Selena and William Jefferson McDonald in Beaumont, Texas. She attended Sisblee High School where she received three scholarships to attend college. In 1978, Barnes received her B.S. degree in biology-chemistry and clinical laboratory science. During her time in college she interned at clinical laboratory science...

Environmental Chemist and Academic Administrator Bobby L. Wilson (1942 – ) is Provost at Texas Southern University and served in a leadership role in the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). Over the course of his career as an environmental chemist, Wilson held three patents and won numerous research grants from institutions...

Biochemist and biochemistry professor John Watson (1940 – ) researched the regulation and metabolism of cholesterol and other sterols in biological pathways at the University of California, San Francisco for more than thirty years. Link: http://www.idvl.org/sciencemakers/Bio25.html

Chemistry professor and research chemist, Isiah M. Warner was born in DeQuincy, Louisiana, on July 20, 1946 to Humphrey and Erma Warner. He developed an interest in science and mathematics early on and conducted his first experiment by drinking kerosene to see why it created light. Warner graduated as valedictorian of his class from Bunkie, Louisiana’s Carver High School...

Chemist, artist, and author Grant D. Venerable was born on August 31, 1942 in Los Angeles, California. After receiving his B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1965, Venerable enrolled at the the University of Chicago and graduated from there with his M.S. degree in physical chemistry in 1967, and Ph.D. degree in...

Chemist and chemistry professor Albert N. Thompson, Jr. was born October 31, 1946 to Martha Furgess Thompson and Albert Thompson, Sr. in Columbia, South Carolina, (Richland County). His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father was a college professor. After attending Savannah Kay Elementary and William Miller Jr. High Schools, Thompson attended and graduated from Phillis Wheatley,...

Chemist Claibourne D. Smith was born on January 6, 1938 in Memphis, Tennessee to Lessie Minor and James Smith, Jr. At Melrose High School, he decided that he wanted to become a chemist. Smith petitioned the Memphis School Board to bring higher-level trigonometry and math courses to his school. He graduated from the University of Denver with his B.S....

Chemist Claibourne D. Smith was born on January 6, 1938 in Memphis, Tennessee to Lessie Minor and James Smith, Jr. At Melrose High School, he decided that he wanted to become a chemist. Smith petitioned the Memphis School Board to bring higher-level trigonometry and math courses to his school. He graduated from the University of Denver with his B.S....

Organic chemist James Shoffner was born on January 14, 1928 and raised on a rural plantation in New Madrid, Missouri. Shoffner’s segregated school was open only five months a year; the rest of the time was reserved for growing cotton. He transferred to a boarding school in Kansas City, Missouri where he was first introduced to chemistry and biology....