Percy Lavon Julian was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine and was a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work laid the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills.
The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is a society that was founded in 1975 at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is one of the largest student-run organizations in the United States, with core activities centered on improving the recruitment and retention of Black and other minority engineers in both academia and industry.
Soni Olufemi Olubunmi Oyekan was a Nigerian-American chemical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, author, mentor and educator. Oyekan was the President and CEO of Prafis Energy Solutions, an oil refining and energy consulting company. During his career, he has been involved in both research and development and management at a number of major oil companies. He held patents and has made other contributions in the areas of chemical engineering, oil refining, and catalytic systems, including the publication of Catalytic Naphtha Reforming Process (2018).
Cato T. Laurencin FREng SLMH is an American engineer, physician, scientist, innovator and a University Professor of the University of Connecticut.
Lloyd Noel Ferguson was an American chemist.
Jennie Patrick is an American chemical engineer and educator. As a high school student, she participated in the integration of Alabama's public schools. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979, she became one of the first African American women in the United States to earn a doctorate in traditional chemical engineering. She went on to pioneer work on supercritical fluid extraction. Her educational work has focused on the mentoring of African American and female students.
Betty Wright Harris is an American chemist. She is known for her work on the chemistry of explosives completed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She patented a spot test for detecting 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) in the field, which is used by the Federal Department of Homeland Security to screen for nitroaromatic explosives.
Saundra Yancy McGuire is the Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success and a retired professor of chemistry at Louisiana State University. She is best known for her work on science education, having written several papers and books on the subject. Her interests focus on improving student learning by involving faculty in metacognitive learning strategies.
Malika Jeffries-EL is an American chemist and professor of chemistry at Boston University studying organic semiconductors. Specifically, her research focuses on developing organic semiconductors that take advantage of the processing power of polymers and the electronic properties of semiconductors to create innovative electronic devices. She was elected as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2018.
Sharon Loretta Haynie is an American chemist who develops biocatalysis for green chemistry. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society. Haynie was the first woman to be awarded the NOBCChE Henry Aaron Hill Award in 2006 and the first woman to win the Percy L. Julian Award in 2008.
The Percy L. Julian Award was first given in 1975 by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). The award is given every one to two years. It honors black scientists who have made significant contributions to the areas of pure or applied research in science or engineering.
William Morgan Jackson is a Distinguished Research and Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at University of California, Davis and pioneer in the field of astrochemistry. His work considers cometary astrochemistry and the development of laser photochemistry to understand planetary atmospheres. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the American Chemical Society. In addition to contributing research work, he is notable as a mentor and advocate for increasing minority participation in science where he was a founders of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
Isiah Manuel Warner is the Boyd and Phillip W. West Professor of Surface and Analytical Chemistry and the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Louisiana State University. He’s also a professor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Warner has won numerous national and international awards for chemistry and mentoring of students in the sciences. He has published over 350 refereed publications and has several patents.
Linda Celida Meade-Tollin is an American biochemist and cancer researcher. In her research at the University of Arizona, she studied DNA damage, angiogenesis, and cancer invasion & metastasis; directed the Office of Women in Science and Engineering there; and was the first female chairperson of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
Gilda A. Barabino is the president of the Olin College of Engineering, where she is also a professor of biomedical and chemical engineering. Previously, she served as the dean of The Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York, and as a professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering and the CUNY School of Medicine. On March 4, 2021, she became the President-Elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Victor R. McCrary, Jr. is an American physical chemist who is vice president for research at the University of the District of Columbia. He is a fellow of the American Chemical Society and former president of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers.
Christine Sharon Grant is an American chemical engineer who is the Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement at North Carolina State University. Her research considers surface and environmental science. She is the 2022 President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Bridgette Renee Shannon is an African-American chemist who is a research scientist at 3M. Shannon was the first African-American woman to complete a doctoral degree from the chemistry department at the University of Arkansas. She is the current President of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).
Winifred Burks-Houck was an environmental organic chemist and the first female president of National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), serving from 1993 – 2001.
The Winifred Burks-Houck Professional Leadership Awards are rewarded annually by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) to recognize the contributions of African American Women in scientific and technological fields of study and work. The award is named for Winifred Burks-Houck, environmental chemist and the first female president of NOBCChE.
