Gloria Chisum

Last updated
Gloria Chisum
Born
Gloria Twine

1930
Alma mater
Known for
  • Developing protective eyewear for pilots in extreme conditions
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
  • Psychology
  • Visual problems associated with operating high-performance aircraft
Institutions

Gloria Twine Chisum (born 1930 in Muskogee, Oklahoma) [1] is an experimental psychologist who eventually became a board member of the American Psychological Association, among many other organizations. [2] An expert in visual problems associated with the operation of high-performance aircraft, she developed eyewear to protect pilots' eyes in extreme conditions like sharp turns, lightning, or nuclear explosion. [1]

Contents

Education

Chisum earned her BS (1951) and MS (1953), in psychology from Howard University. During her undergraduate years she pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha and was a part of the Howard University Players, a dramatic group run by students. In 1960, she earned her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. [2] Her dissertation was titled "Transposition as a Function of the Number of Test Trials". [3]

Career

During 1958–1968, Chisum taught psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. From 1960 to 1965, she researched psychology at the Naval Air Development Center. She served as the head of the Vision Laboratory from 1965 to 1980, and afterwards became the head of the Environmental Physiology Research Team. She was also a board member of several organizations, including (but not limited to) the Arthritis Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania the Aerospace Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Optical Society of America. [2]

Her research led to optical advancements for pilots such as protective eyewear. [4] Specifically, her work was focused on the creation of protective goggles that would help pilots withstand the extreme conditions sustained during flight including loss of vision during sharp turns and sudden flashes of bright light (such as those that could occur during lightning flashes or nuclear explosions), [5] including work presented at a NATO conference. [6] Her publications include a 1975 book on laboratory assessment of the AN/PVS-5 night vision goggle [7] and a 1978 book on laser eye protection for flight personnel. [8]

Chisum is the first African-American woman to join the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. [3]

Personal life

In her hometown of Muskogee, OK, on Sept. 10, 1955 Chisum married Melvin J. "Jack" Chisum (died Oct. 22, 2014). [9] [10] Both have served as chairs of the University of Pennsylvania's Harrison Society. [9] The town of Twine, Oklahoma is named after Chisum's grandfather. [1]

Honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasses</span> Form of vision aid

Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear with clear or tinted lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms, known as temples or temple pieces, that rest over the ears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warminster Township, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Warminster Township, also referred to as Warminster, is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was formally established in 1711. The township is 13.7 miles north of Philadelphia and had a population of 33,603 according to the 2020 U.S. census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night vision</span> Ability to see in low light conditions

Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vision compared to many animals such as cats, dogs, foxes and rabbits, in part because the human eye lacks a tapetum lucidum, tissue behind the retina that reflects light back through the retina thus increasing the light available to the photoreceptors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bessie Coleman</span> American aviator (1892–1926)

Bessie Coleman was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman to hold a pilot license. She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921, and is the earliest known Black person to earn an international pilot's license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night-vision device</span> Device that allows visualization of images in levels of light approaching total darkness

A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The device enhances ambient visible light and converts near-infrared light into visible light which can be seen by the user; this is known as I2 (image intensification). By comparison, viewing of infrared thermal radiation is referred to as thermal imaging and operates in a different section of the infrared spectrum. A night vision device usually consists of an image intensifier tube, a protective housing, and may have some type of mounting system. Many NVDs also include a protective sacrificial lens, mounted over the front lens (ie. objective lens) on NVDs to protect the latter from damage by environmental hazards, and some can incorporate telescopic lenses. The image produced by an NVD is typically monochrome green, as green was considered to be the easiest color to look at for prolonged periods in the dark. Night vision devices may be passive, relying solely on ambient light, or may be active, using an IR (infrared) illuminator to visualize the environment better.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goggles</span> Forms of protective eyewear that do not enclose the nose

Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and in woodworking. They are often used in snow sports as well, and in swimming. Goggles are often worn when using power tools such as drills or chainsaws to prevent flying particles from damaging the eyes. Many types of goggles are available as prescription goggles for those with vision problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval aviator (United States)</span> Officer qualified as a manned aircraft pilot in the US Navy or US Marine Corps

A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guard aviators", although they complete the same undergraduate flight training as Navy and Marine Corps crewed aircraft pilots, and are awarded the same aviation breast insignia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviator sunglasses</span> Style of sunglasses

Aviator sunglasses are a style of sunglasses that was developed by a group of American firms. The original Bausch & Lomb design is now commercially marketed as Ray-Ban Aviators, although other manufacturers also produce aviator-style sunglasses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Garrett</span> American politician

Sandy Garrett is a retired American Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Garrett is the former Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyewear</span> Items and accessories worn on or over the eyes

Eyewear is a term used to refer to all devices worn over both of a person's eyes, or occasionally a single eye, for one or more of a variety of purposes. Though historically used for vision improvement and correction, eyewear has also evolved into eye protection, for fashion and aesthetic purposes, and starting in the late 20th century, computers and virtual reality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Hill</span> American artist (1930–2020)

Joan Hill, also known as Che-se-quah, was a Muscogee Creek artist of Cherokee ancestry. She was one of the most awarded Native American women artists in the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France Winddance Twine</span> Native American ethnographer

France Winddance Twine is a Black and Native American sociologist, ethnographer, visual artist, and documentary filmmaker. Twine has conducted field research in Brazil, the UK, and the United States on race, racism, and anti-racism. She has published 11 books and more than 100 articles, review essays, and books on these topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Ladd-Franklin</span> American psychologist and logician (1847 - 1930)

Christine Ladd-Franklin was an American psychologist, logician, and mathematician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoggleWorks</span> United States historic place in Reading, Pennsylvania

GoggleWorks Center for the Arts is a community art and cultural resource center located in Reading, Pennsylvania. The mission of the GoggleWorks is “to transform lives through unique interactions with art.”

Scholar, educator, and philanthropist Herschel Leibowitz is widely recognized for his research in visual perception and for his symbiotic approach to conducting research that both advanced theory and helped in the understanding and relief of societal problems. His research on transportation safety included studies of nearsightedness during night driving, vision during civil twilight, an illusion that underlies the behavior of motorists involved in auto-train collisions, susceptibility of pilots to illusions caused by visual-vestibular interactions, and the design of aircraft instrument panels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Staggs</span> American politician

Barbara Masterson Staggs was a longtime educator in Muskogee, Oklahoma and a legislator in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. During her time in the legislature, Staggs assisted as a member of the Common Education Committee and was integral in passing many bills, such as one that lead to the creation of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee.

John Lott Brown was a university administrator and professor.

Kate Frank was a Missouri-born, Oklahoma teacher who taught for nearly 50 years. She was instrumental in the founding of the Oklahoma Education Association, served as its first president, and later, donated the initial monies for the trust that became a legal defense fund for educators. She served as vice president of the National Education Association in the 1940s and was the first national Retired Teacher of the Year recipient. Honored by many awards, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Ramsey Leslie</span> American teacher and composer

Nellie A. Ramsey Leslie was notable as a teacher, musician and composer, working in Louisiana and Mississippi, and then in Indian Territory and Corpus Christi, Texas, where she founded a musical conservatory for girls. Born into slavery in Virginia, after emancipation she gained schooling in Ohio and moved to Louisiana to teach for the Freedmen's Bureau. She attended the Normal School of Straight University and gained further training as a teacher. Teaching in Louisiana, Mississippi, Indian Territory, and Texas, Leslie educated freedmen and their children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise L. Sloan</span> Vision scientist (1898-1982)

Louise Littig Sloan was an American ophthalmologist and vision scientist. She is credited for being a pioneer of the sub-division of clinical vision research, contributing more than 100 scientific articles in which she either authored or co-authored. Her most notable work was in the area of visual acuity testing where she developed and improved equipment. Sloan received her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College in experimental psychology. She spent a short period of time in both Bryn Mawr's experimental psychology program as well as the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. The majority of her career, however, was spent at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute where she directed the Wilmer Laboratory of Physiological Optics for 44 years. In 1971, Sloan was the second woman awarded the prestigious Edgar D. Tillyer Award by Optica (formerly Optical Society for her many achievements in the field of vision.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chisum, Gloria Twine – 1984". Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Gaylord Pickens Museum. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Sammons, Vivian Ovelton (1990). Blacks in Science and Medicine. U.S.A.: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation. p.  54. ISBN   0-89116-665-3.
  3. 1 2 3 Ryan, J (17 February 2011). "Black Women on the Board of Trustees". UPenn Black History Project. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  4. Bradby, Mary; Bonnie Winston; Mark Paikoff (1989). "Black Engineers of the Year". US Black Engineer & IT. 13 (1): 50.
  5. Warren, Wini (1999). Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. pp.  29. ISBN   0-253-33603-1.
  6. Chisum G.T.; Morway P.E. (5–9 April 1976). "Integration of Aviator's Eye Protection and Visual Aids in AGARD Conference Proceedings No 191, Visual Aids and Eye Protection for the Aviator". Defense Technical Information Center. U.S. Department of Defense. pp. C2–1 to C2–7. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  7. Chisum, Gloria Twine (1975). "Laboratory assessment of the AN/PVS-5 night vision goggle". Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. Warminster, Pa: Naval Air Development Center. 46 (11): 1390–4. PMID   1212145.
  8. Chisum, Gloria Twine (1978). Laser eye protection for flight personnel, vol. 1. Warminster, Pa: Naval Air Development Center.
  9. 1 2 "Moving forward and making a difference". Penn Impact 2020. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  10. Report, Tribune Staff (26 October 2014). "Dr. Melvin J. Chisum, 92, retired physician". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2021-02-16.