Shirley Ann Jackson - Advancing the World through Science and Technology



Shirley Ann Jackson was born on August 5, 1946, in Washington, D.C. to supportive parents who stimulated her through projects and experiments. As a young child, Shirley collected honeybees observing their reactions to environmental changes. Shirley attended Roosevelt Senior High School where she graduated valedictorian, took advance math and science classes. Despite other's prejudices, she earned her bachelor and doctoral degree in physics at MIT. She assisted with initiating the Black Student Union encouraging black students and staff to enroll at MIT.

Project Interphase, a summer program Shirley was a mentor at supported new minority freshmen. MIT was so impressed by Shirley's work she became a part of a task force on education opportunity. Her career started at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a scientist at European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland, and then returning to the states working at Bell Laboratories. While at Bell Laboratories she analyzed two-dimensional condensed matter systems which lead to others' inventions like fiber optic cables. Shirley was chosen by former President Bill Clinton to run the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which manages the use of nuclear materials. She guided nuclear safety and regulation worldwide.

In 1999, Shirley became the first black woman president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. When former President Obama was in office, Shirley was a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and co-chair to President's Intelligence Advisory Board. Shirley Ann Jackson has accomplished many things and accepted awards recognizing her contribution to her community and the United States. Here are some awards received National Women's Hall of Fame 1998, Vannevar Bush Award 2007, National Medal of Science 2016, W.E.B. Du Bois Medal 2018.


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