Bettye Washington Greene facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bettye Washington Greene
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| Born | March 20, 1935 |
| Died | June 16, 1995 (aged 60) Midland, Michigan, U.S.
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| Other names | Betty Greene, Bettye Washington |
| Alma mater | Tuskegee Institute, Wayne State University |
| Spouse(s) | William M. Greene |
| Children | Willetta Greene Johnson, Victor M. Greene; Lisa Kianne Greene |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physical chemistry |
| Institutions | Dow Chemical |
Bettye Washington Greene (March 20, 1935 – June 16, 1995) was an American chemist who worked in industry. She was the first African American woman with a Ph.D. (a high-level science degree) in chemistry to get a professional job at the Dow Chemical Company. At Dow, she studied materials like latex and polymers. Dr. Greene is seen as an important early African American scientist.
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Early Life and Education
Bettye Washington was born in Fort Worth, Texas. She went to public schools that were separated by race. She finished I.M. Terrell High School around 1952.
She then went to Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. She got her bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1955. After marrying William Miller Greene in 1955, she went to Wayne State University in Detroit. There, she earned her Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1962. She also taught chemistry to college students during this time. Her Ph.D. paper was about how to figure out the size of tiny particles in liquids.
She was chosen to be part of Sigma Xi, which is a special society for science researchers.
Career at Dow Chemical
In 1965, Dr. Greene started working at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan. She was the first African American woman to join the company in a professional science role.
Dr. Greene became an expert on polymers. She often shared her knowledge with other teams at Dow. She researched colloid and latex chemistry. This included how latex interacts with paper.
In 1970, Dr. Greene was promoted to a senior research chemist at Dow Chemical. In 1973, she joined another research group at Dow. Here, she continued to work with latex. She looked for ways to make latex better by using different polymers. She was promoted again in 1975 to senior research specialist. She kept working for Dow Chemical until she retired in 1990.
Dr. Greene published several papers about how latex can be spread out again after drying. She also published work on how to measure the surface tension of liquids.
Important Patents
Dr. Greene received several patents during her time at Dow Chemical. A patent protects an invention.
- Latex-based adhesive (1990): This patent was for a sticky material made from latex. It could be used to make adhesive tape.
- Stable latexes for coatings (1985 & 1986): These patents described ways to make special latexes. These latexes contained phosphorus. They could be used to coat paper and other materials.
After many years of helping science, she passed away in Midland on June 16, 1995.
Community Involvement
Dr. Greene was a founding member of the Midland, Michigan Alumni Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. This is a national public service group. It focuses on helping African American women. The Midland chapter started in 1984.
See also
In Spanish: Bettye Washington Greene para niños
