Carolyn Brooks facts for kids

Carolyn Branch Brooks (born July 8, 1946) is a brilliant American scientist. She is known for her important work in understanding how our bodies fight off sickness (immunology), what foods we need to stay healthy (nutrition), and how to grow more crops (crop productivity). In 2018, she became a special faculty member called "emerita" at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She taught there for over 30 years and won many awards for being an amazing educator.

Early Life and Education

Carolyn Brooks was born on July 8, 1946, in Richmond, Virginia. Her parents, Shirley Booker Branch and Charles Walker Branch, owned a grocery store. Her grandparents and older sister also helped raise her.

When she was young, her family moved, making it harder for her to get to her old high school. Every day, Carolyn rode the public bus across town. She didn't realize that, because of the segregation laws at the time, she was supposed to sit at the back of the bus. She just sat behind the driver. Later, when civil rights protests began, she found out she had been an activist without even knowing it!

Discovering Science

As a student, Carolyn attended a special summer school for African American science students at Virginia Union University. There, she was inspired by a speaker who worked in medical microbiology. With support from her parents and teachers, she decided to follow her interest in science.

She received scholarships to six different universities. She chose to study microbiology at Tuskegee Institute (University) in Alabama. Even though she grew up in a city, she discovered a love for agriculture at Tuskegee. She learned about George Washington Carver, a famous scientist who promoted growing different crops instead of just cotton.

Family and Further Studies

At the end of her second year at Tuskegee, she married Henry Brooks. He was also studying agriculture. While she was an undergraduate student, she had her first two children, both boys. She graduated in 1968 and then earned her master's degree from Tuskegee. During this time, she had her third child, a daughter.

Later, while earning her PhD in microbiology from Ohio State University, she had her fourth child, another daughter.

Research and Career

Dr. Brooks's PhD research looked at how special cells called T cells fight off the malaria parasite Plasmodium. After that, she studied what elderly people needed to eat to stay healthy at Kentucky State University. She found a link between tiny amounts of minerals in a person's hair and their diet. This helped doctors understand some health problems caused by not eating well.

Working at UMES

In 1981, Dr. Brooks joined the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in Princess Anne, Maryland. She worked there as a researcher and mentor. After 13 years, she became the dean of the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences. She also became the research director for the 1890 Land-Grant Programs.

In 1997, she became the executive director to the president and chief of staff at UMES. From 2007, she also led the Association of 1890 Research Directors. This group helps administrators who work in agriculture and food sciences at the nation's 19 historically black land-grant universities. Dr. Brooks strongly believes in these universities. She said her colleagues are like a family who want to help these universities grow and succeed.

Agricultural Productivity

Dr. Brooks's research at UMES focused on making farms more productive. This included finding ways to make plants stronger against pests. She did this by developing special bug-killing microbes and using different farming methods. These methods included using chicken waste (poultry litter), weaning calves, and composting.

She also studied how microbes (tiny living things) work with plants. Her work looked at how bacteria help plants like legumes get nitrogen from the air (called nitrogen fixation). She also studied how microbes interact with other crops, like strawberries.

Dr. Brooks has done research in several countries, including Togo, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, and Egypt.

Global Impact

From 1984 to 1985, Dr. Brooks traveled to Togo and Senegal in West Africa. There, she researched ways to grow more African groundnuts. Her work helped increase the amount of many different food crops grown in West Africa.

She also worked with the USAID and the USDA. As part of this team, she helped create partnerships with research centers and universities in South Africa. She also represented UMES in meetings with universities in Egypt.

Awards and Achievements

Dr. Brooks has received many awards and honors for her important work:

• She helped UMES get over $4 million in funding for research and teaching.
• In 1988, she received an award at the first White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This award recognized professors for being excellent educators, researchers, and role models.
• She received an award from the Maryland Association for Higher Education in 1990.
• In 2013, she received the George Washington Carver Public Service Hall of Fame Award.
• She was named the Minton Laureate by the American Society of Microbiology.
• She was inducted into the USDA NIFA Hall of Fame.
• She was recognized as one of Maryland’s 100 Top Women.
• She received the Excellence in Leadership Award from the Experiment Station Section of the Association of Public Land Grant Universities.