Biologist and academic administrator Luther Williams was born on August 19, 1940 in Wedgeworth, Alabama to Mattie Wallace Williams and Roosevelt Williams, the third of nine children. Williams grew up fascinated by living systems and was encouraged by his fifth grade math and science teacher to pursue his interest in science. After graduating from Hale County Training School in...

Physicist and physics professor Conrad Williams was born on March 1, 1936 in Warsaw, North Carolina. Williams grew up on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and as a seven year. Williams had a strong interest in science, and his mentor, a geology curator for the Museum of Natural History, taught him about rocks and rock formations. Williams graduated from...

Physicist Herman Brenner White was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on September 28, 1948. He attended Macon County public schools and developed a great interest in science at an early age. Growing up so close to the Tuskegee Institute, White was able to talk to the professors there about science. In 1966, he graduated from the Tuskegee Institute High School....

Physicist Donnell Thaddeus Walton was born on November 8, 1966 in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. He was one of three children born to Antoinette Williams. Walton attended North Carolina State University and graduated with his B.S. degree in physics and electrical engineering in 1989. Donnell went on to enroll in the University of Michigan where he studied under Dr. Walter...

Molecular biologist and biology professor William Walden was born in 1954 in Washington, D.C. to George Ray Walden and Erma Lucille Walden. After graduating from Suitland High School in 1972, he received his B.S. degree in biology from Morgan State University in 1976. During college, Walden worked as a research assistant for the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer...

Physicist and physics professor Demetrius D. Venable was born on October 11, 1947 in Powhatan, Virginia to Josephine Viola Bell Venable and James Bernard Venable. He attended Pocahontas High School where Venable’s father, who was his high school math teacher, helped spark Venable’s interest in math and science. He received his B.S. degree in physics from Virginia State College...

Physicist and physics professor Julius Taylor (1914 – ) established the Physics Department at Morgan State University and has been lauded for his mentorship and teaching. His research is in solid state physics and high-pressure systems. Link: http://www.idvl.org/sciencemakers/Bio20.html Physicist and physics professor Julius Henry Taylor was born on February 15, 1914, in Cape May, New Jersey, to Julia and Coleman...

Physicist and physics professor James Stith (1941 – ) was the first tenured black professor at the United States Military Academy in 1976, and the vice president of the Physics Resources Center at the American Institute of Physics from 1998 to 2008. Link: http://www.idvl.org/sciencemakers/Bio22.html Physicist and Retired U.S. Army Colonel James Stith was born on July 17, 1941, to Ruth Stith...

Frederick Oliver (1940 – ) served as Chair of the Physics Department at Morgan State University for over twenty years and has held research appointments at highly regarded facilities like the Argonne National Laboratory and NASA. Link: http://www.idvl.org/sciencemakers/Bio18.html

Academic administrator, physicist, and physics professor Carl Spight was born on September 8, 1944 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Erma Mae White and William Herman Spight. He was inspired to be a nuclear physicist from watching television shows like Watch Mr. Wizard, Flash Gordon, and Captain Video and His Video Rangers. His childhood nickname, Mr. Radio, was earned by fixing...