Genealogy of African American PhD Chemists
I recently shared a copy of my article on the career and achievements of Dr. Robert Percy Barnes with a mentor in the chemical industry. (Barnes is the first African American to earn a PhD in chemistry from Harvard University in 1933.) After reading the article, she sent me an email and stated, "Your research suggests there are clusters of Black PhD chemists trained from specific individuals." My mentor couldn't be more correct about this genealogy of African American PhD chemists.
Barnes earned his PhD under the direction of Professor E.P. Kohler, who also trained Dr. Percy L. Julian. Although Julian did earn his M.A. degree in chemistry from Harvard in 1923, he was not allowed to pursue his PhD due to academic racism. Julian later earned his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1931. However, Barnes trained a number of African American chemists that earned doctoral degrees in chemistry at other institutions.
For example, Chappelle C. Cochrane earned his B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from Howard University in 1938 and 1940, respectively. Cochrane and Barnes co-authored two papers in 1940 and 1942 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), a prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal. Cochrane enrolled in the graduate program in the Department of Chemistry at The Ohio State University in 1947. He earned his PhD in 1951 under the direction of Professor Melvin S. Newman. (Another interesting historical fact is the Cochrane's wife, Lelia S. Green earned her M.S. degree under the direction of Barnes in 1938 and published a JACS paper that same year. Cochrane and Green were married in 1940.) George Reed earned his M.S. degree in 1944 under the direction of Barnes and published a JACS paper in 1947. Reed later earned a PhD in 1952 from the University of Chicago and was one of several African Americans that worked on the Manhattan Project that lead to the development of the atomic bomb that ended World War II. Reed recently passed away this year.
Lewis Gist earned his M.S. degree under the guidance of Barnes in 1949 and later earned his PhD in 1956 with Professor Henry Gilman at Iowa State University. Gilman earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1918 with E.P. Kohler. Gilman also trained other African American chemists, Dr. Nathaniel O. Calloway (PhD, 1933) and Professor Samuel Massie (PhD, 1946). The main point is that E.P. Kohler trained both Barnes and Gilman, who later trained several African American PhD chemists. Thus, E.P. Kohler established a very interesting chemistry PhD tree! As you can imagine, I am quite excited about the new directions my history of science research is now undertaking.
Sibrina N. Collins, PhD
Chemist and Historian
Barnes earned his PhD under the direction of Professor E.P. Kohler, who also trained Dr. Percy L. Julian. Although Julian did earn his M.A. degree in chemistry from Harvard in 1923, he was not allowed to pursue his PhD due to academic racism. Julian later earned his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1931. However, Barnes trained a number of African American chemists that earned doctoral degrees in chemistry at other institutions.
For example, Chappelle C. Cochrane earned his B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from Howard University in 1938 and 1940, respectively. Cochrane and Barnes co-authored two papers in 1940 and 1942 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), a prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal. Cochrane enrolled in the graduate program in the Department of Chemistry at The Ohio State University in 1947. He earned his PhD in 1951 under the direction of Professor Melvin S. Newman. (Another interesting historical fact is the Cochrane's wife, Lelia S. Green earned her M.S. degree under the direction of Barnes in 1938 and published a JACS paper that same year. Cochrane and Green were married in 1940.) George Reed earned his M.S. degree in 1944 under the direction of Barnes and published a JACS paper in 1947. Reed later earned a PhD in 1952 from the University of Chicago and was one of several African Americans that worked on the Manhattan Project that lead to the development of the atomic bomb that ended World War II. Reed recently passed away this year.
Lewis Gist earned his M.S. degree under the guidance of Barnes in 1949 and later earned his PhD in 1956 with Professor Henry Gilman at Iowa State University. Gilman earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1918 with E.P. Kohler. Gilman also trained other African American chemists, Dr. Nathaniel O. Calloway (PhD, 1933) and Professor Samuel Massie (PhD, 1946). The main point is that E.P. Kohler trained both Barnes and Gilman, who later trained several African American PhD chemists. Thus, E.P. Kohler established a very interesting chemistry PhD tree! As you can imagine, I am quite excited about the new directions my history of science research is now undertaking.
Sibrina N. Collins, PhD
Chemist and Historian
Comments
Post a Comment