Physicists Carlos Handy was born on October 18, 1950, in Havana, Cuba, to a Cuban mother and an American father. His father, W.C. Handy, is known as “Father of the Blues.” Growing up in New York City, Handy attended George Washington High School where he was a top math student. In 1972, Handy earned his B.A. degree in physics...

Research physicist and physics professor Godfrey Gumbs was born on September 7, 1948 in Georgetown, Guyana to Mary Teresa Gumbs, a homemaker and Charles Alexander Gumbs, a postal worker. After graduating from Queen’s College of Guyana, he received a Guyana scholarship to attend Trinity College, Cambridge University where he earned his B.A. degree in applied mathematics in 1971. From...

Physics professor and physicist Paul Guèye was born on July 8, 1966 in Dakar, Senegal to Jupiter Guèye and Elisabeth Soumah. He earned his B.S and M.S. degrees in physics and chemistry from the University Cheikh Anta Diop in 1987 and 1990, respectively. Guèye became the first Senegalese to earn his doctorate degree in nuclear/high energy physics; receiving his...

Physicist Larry Gladney (1957 – ) is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania studying theoretical and particle physics. He works with the Collider Detector at Fermilab. Link: http://www.idvl.org/sciencemakers/Bio11.html

Physicist and professor of electrical and computer engineering, Dr. Roscoe C. Giles was born in 1949 in Oakland, California. He was raised in Berkeley, California until his family moved to Chicago, Illinois at age four. Giles attended University of Chicago Laboratory Schools from kindergarten to twelfth grade, graduating in 1966. Obtaining his B.A. degree in physics at the University...

Physicist and physics professor Sylvester James Gates, Jr. was born on December 15, 1950 in Tampa, Florida to Charlie Engels and Sylvester James Gates, Sr. His father worked for the U.S. Army, causing the family to move many times. Gates had lived in six cities by the time he reached the sixth grade. His parents always stressed the importance...

Physicist David Garrison was born on October 27, 1975 in Chicago, Illinois to parents Christine and Millard Garrison, Jr. He has two older siblings, Cassandra Guichard and Michael Garrison. He went to grade school in O’Fallon, Missouri, attending Mount Vernon Elementary School, Fort Zumwalt North Middle School, and Fort Zumwalt North High School. While in high school, he was...

Research physicist and research manager William J. Evans was born on September 16, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois to Billy Joe and Allie Bell Evans. He received his B.S. degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology. Evans went on to attend Harvard University, where he earned his S.M. degree and Ph.D. degrees in physics. Link: http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/william-evans

Physicist and federal government administrator Julian Manly Earls (1942 – ) worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for over forty years where he became NASA’s first black section head, first black office chief, first black division chief, first black deputy director, and NASA’s second black center director. As center director, Earls was responsible for research, technology...

Research physicist Darnell Eugene Diggs (1970 – ) works at the United States Air Force Research Laboratory, where his work has proved crucial to the United States Air Force’s development of new optoelectronic devices, a vital element of the country’s national defense. Link: http://www.idvl.org/sciencemakers/Bio16.html