List of African-American women in STEM fields facts for kids

African-American women have made amazing contributions to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)! Even though it has sometimes been hard for them to get into these fields, many incredible women have broken barriers and achieved great things. They show us what's possible and inspire others to follow their dreams in science.

Here's a list of some of these pioneering women:

A

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Rediet Abebe	computer scientist	1991-	She was the first female computer scientist to join the Harvard Society of Fellows.
	Lilia Ann Abron	chemical engineering, environmental engineering	1945-	She was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in chemical engineering.
	Claudia Alexander	geophysics, planetary science	1959-2015	She managed NASA's Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Rosetta mission to a comet.
	Gloria Long Anderson	chemistry	1938-	She was a pioneer in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, studying how atoms behave.
	Treena Livingston Arinzeh	biomedical engineering	1970-	She researches adult stem-cell therapy, which helps the body heal itself.
	Estella Atekwana	Biogeophysics; tectonphysics	1961-	She is the Dean of Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of Delaware.
	Balanda Atis	cosmetic science		She is a cosmetic chemist at L'Oréal USA who helped create more makeup shades for people of color.
	Donna Auguste	businesswoman, computer scientist	1958-	She was a senior engineering manager for the Newton personal digital assistant (PDA).
	Wanda Austin	aerospace engineering	1954-	She was the former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation.

B

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	June Bacon-Bercey	meteorology	1932-	She was the first African-American woman to earn a degree in meteorology and to be a televised meteorologist.
	Erica Baker	software engineer	2006-	She is known for supporting diversity and inclusion in tech.
	Alice Augusta Ball	chemistry	1892-1916	She was the first woman and African-American to get a master's degree from the University of Hawaii.
	Patricia Bath	ophthalmologist, inventor	1942-2019	She invented laser surgery to remove cataracts, helping many people see better.
	Regina Benjamin	physician	1956-	She was the 18th Surgeon General of the United States.
	Angela Benton	internet entrepreneur	1981-	She founded NewME and Streamlytics, companies that help others in tech.
	Matilene Berryman	oceanographer, lawyer	1920-2003	She was a professor of marine science and wrote textbooks.
	Sarah Boone	inventor	1832-1904	She was the second African-American woman to get a U.S. patent, for an improved ironing board.
	Sylvia D. Trimble Bozeman	mathematician	1947-	She researches functional analysis and image processing.
	Khalia Braswell	computer scientist	2014-present	She is an American computer scientist and educator who founded INTech Camp for Girls.
	Carolyn Brooks	microbiologist	1947-	She researches immunology, nutrition, and how to improve crop growth.
	Dorothy Lavinia Brown	surgeon	1919-2004	She was the first African American female to get a general surgery residency in the South.
	Marjorie Lee Brown	mathematician	1914-1979	She was the third African-American woman to receive a PhD in mathematics.
	Kimberly Bryant	electrical engineer	1967-	She founded Black Girls Code, an organization that teaches coding to young girls.
	Joy Buolamwini	computer scientist	1989-	She founded the Algorithmic Justice League, which works to make artificial intelligence fair.
	Ursula Burns	engineer, CEO	1958-	She was the CEO of Xerox, the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company.

C

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Alexa Canady	neuroscience	1950-	She was the first black woman to become a neurosurgeon.
	Carolyn Cannon-Alfred	pharmacologist	1934-1987	She was a professor and co-author of a medical handbook.
	Majora Carter	developer, activist	1966-	She founded Sustainable South Bronx, working on environmental justice.
	Gloria Chisum	experimental psychologist	1930-	She developed eye protection for pilots.
	Mamie Phipps Clark	social psychologist	1917-1983	Her research on self-esteem in African-American children was used in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education civil rights case.
	May Edward Chinn	physician	1896-1980	She was the first African-American woman to graduate from NYU School of Medicine.
	Yvonne Clark	engineer	1929-2019	She was the first woman to get a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at Howard University.
	Jewel Plummer Cobb	biologist, professor	1924-2017	She researched melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
	Johnnetta Cole	anthropologist, educator and museum director	1936-	She was the first Black woman to lead Spelman College as its president.
	Rebecca Cole	physician	1846-1922	She was the second African-American woman physician in the United States.
	Bessie Coleman	aviator	1896–1926	She was the first African American and Native American woman to get a pilot license.
	Cynthia Oliver Coleman	chemical engineer	????--????	She was the first African American female chemical engineer.
	Betty Collette	veterinary pathologist	1930-2017	She was a pathology researcher at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
	Margaret S. Collins	zoologist	1922-1996	She was the first African American female entomologist (insect scientist).
	Carol Blanche Cotton	psychologist	1904-1971	She researched how children with spastic paralysis learn.
	Patricia S. Cowings	aerospace psychophysiologist	1948-	She was the first African American woman scientist trained as an astronaut by NASA.
	Rebecca Lee Crumpler	physician	1831–1895	She was the first African-American woman to become a physician in the United States.

D

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Shaundra Daily	electrical engineering and computer science	2010-present	She is a professor at Duke University known for her work in human-centered computing.
	Marie Maynard Daly	biochemist	1921–2003	She was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry.
	Theda Daniels-Race	nanoengineering, electronic engineering		She is a distinguished professor at Louisiana State University and a pioneer in her field.
	Christine Darden	aerospace engineer	1942-	She was a researcher at NASA who helped design supersonic aircraft.
	Geraldine Claudette Darden	mathematician	1936-????	She was the 14th African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics.
	Mary Deconge	mathematician	1933-????	She was the 15th African-American woman to earn her Ph.D. in mathematics.
	Giovonnae Dennis	electrical engineer		She was one of the first African-American women to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.
	Elaine Denniston	Keypunch operator, lawyer	1939-	She supported the Apollo program as a keypunch operator.
Dr. Helen O. Dickens	Helen Octavia Dickens	physician	1909–2001	She was the first African-American woman to be admitted to the American College of Surgeons.
	Georgia Mae Dunston	Human Geneticist	1944-	She is a professor at Howard University and founded the National Human Genome Center.

E

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Annie Easley	mathematician and rocket scientist	1933–2011	She was a key member of the software team for the Centaur rocket stage at NASA.
	Cecile H. Edwards	nutritionist	1926–2005	She researched ways to improve nutrition for people in need.
	Joycelyn Elders	pediatrician	1933-	She was the second woman and first African American to serve as Surgeon General.
	Lola Eniola-Adefeso	chemical engineer		She co-founded Asalyxa Bio and researches targeted drug delivery.
	Anna Epps	microbiologist	1930-	She was the first female dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College.
	Jeanette J. Epps	astronaut and aerospace engineer	1970-	She was the second woman and first African-American woman to participate in ESA CAVES, an astronaut training program.
	Aprille Ericsson-Jackson	aerospace engineer	1963-	She was the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University.
	Brittney Exline	software engineer		She was the youngest African-American female accepted into an Ivy League school at age 15.
	Cassandra Extavour	evolutionary biologist		She directs EDEN, a research group that promotes using different organisms for study.

F

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Etta Zuber Falconer	mathematician	1933-2002	She was one of the first African-American women to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics.
	Angella D. Ferguson	pediatrician	1925-????	She was a pioneer in sickle cell disease research and created a standard blood test for it.
	Evelyn J. Fields	oceanographer	1949-????	She was the first woman and first African American to lead the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.
	Njema Frazier	nuclear physicist	1974-????	She is a nuclear physicist at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
	A. Oveta Fuller	virologist	1955-2022	She greatly advanced our understanding of the Herpes simplex virus.

G

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Timnit Gebru	computer scientist	1983-	She founded the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR).
	Gloria Ford Gilmer	mathematician	1928-2021	She was the first African American woman to publish a non-PhD thesis.
	Sarah E. Goode	inventor	1855–1905	She was one of the first known African American women to receive a United States patent.
	Evelyn Boyd Granville	mathematician, computer science	1924-2023	She did important early work in the field of computing.
	Bettye Washington Greene	chemist	1935-1995	She was the first African American female Ph.D. chemist to work at the Dow Chemical Company.
	Eliza Ann Grier	physician	1864–1902	She was the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in Georgia.
	Margaret Grigsby	physician	1923-2009	She was the first African American woman to become a fellow of the American College of Physicians.
	Bessie Blount Griffin	physical therapist, inventor	1914–2009	She held patents for devices that helped amputees, including an electric self-feeding device.

H

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Sossina M. Haile	materials scientist	1966-	She developed the first solid acid fuel cells.
	Betty Harris	chemist	1940-	She patented a test for detecting explosives, which is still used today.
	Paula T. Hammond	Chemical Engineer	1963-	She is a Koch Professor of Engineering and Department Head of Chemical Engineering at MIT.
	Mary Styles Harris	geneticist	1949-	She was one of the first African Americans to enroll at Miami Jackson High School.
	Alma Levant Hayden	chemist	1927-1967	She was one of the first African-American women to work as a scientist at the NIH.
	Euphemia Lofton Haynes	mathematician	1890-1980	She was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in Mathematics.
	Ruby Puryear Hearn	biophysicist	1940-	She advocates for maternal, infant, and child health.
	Gloria Conyers Hewitt	mathematician	1935-	She was the 4th African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics.
	Mary Elliott Hill	chemist	1907-1969	She is believed to be one of the first African-American women to get a master's degree in chemistry.
	Stephanie Hill	engineer		She is a vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin.
	Jane Hinton	veterinarian	1919-2003	She helped develop the Mueller–Hinton agar, which is used to test how bacteria react to antibiotics.
	Esther A. H. Hopkins	chemist, lawyer	1926-2021	She is known for her work as a biophysicist and research chemist at American Cyanamid.
	Ruth Winifred Howard	psychologist	1900-1997	She was one of the first African American women to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology.
	Fern Hunt	mathematician	1948-	She is a leader in applied mathematics and mathematical biology research.
	Yasmin Hurd	neuroscientist		She is a prominent neuroscientist.

I

J

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Deborah J. Jackson	aeronautical engineer		She was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University.
	Fatimah Jackson	biological anthropologist		She researches human-plant co-evolution and genetics.
	Shirley Ann Jackson	physicist	1946-	She is the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate at MIT.
	Chavonda Jacobs-Young	paper scientist	1967-	She was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in paper science.
	Mae Jemison	astronaut and physician	1956-	She was the first African American woman to travel in space.
	Allene Johnson	chemist	1933–	She was an educational advisor for the New Jersey American Chemical Society.
	Ashanti Johnson	geochemist and oceanographer		She was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree in oceanography from Texas A&M University.
	Katherine Johnson	mathematician	1918-2020	She calculated the paths for many NASA missions, including Apollo 11.
	Tracy L. Johnson	molecular and cell biologist		She researches gene regulation and RNA splicing.
	Anna Johnson Julian	sociologist	1903-1994	She was the first African-American woman to get a PhD in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.
	Lynda Marie Jordan	biochemist	1956–	She was the third Black woman to receive a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
	Angie Jones	computer scientist, software engineer and automation architect		She is a software engineer with 26 patents in the United States and China.

K

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Sinah Estelle Kelley	chemist	1916–1982	She worked on making penicillin in large amounts.
	Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner	inventor	1912–2006	She held five patents, including one for an adjustable sanitary belt.
	Angie Turner King	chemist and mathematician	1905–2004	She was a professor of chemistry and mathematics at West Virginia State College.
	Emeline King	automotive designer	1957–	She was an automotive designer for Ford Motor Company.
	Reatha King	chemistry	1938–	She was a former vice president of the General Mills Corporation.
	Ruth G. King	Educational psychologist	1933–	She was the first woman president of the Association of Black Psychologists.

L

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Margaret Morgan Lawrence	pediatric psychiatrist	1914–2019	She researched how segregation affected Black children's minds.
	Katheryn Emanuel Lawson	radiochemist	1926–2008	She was one of the first African American female chemists at Sandia National Laboratories.
	Lillian Burwell Lewis	zoolologist	1904-1987	She was the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate degree from the University of Chicago.
	Chekesha Liddell	material science and engineering		She researches colloidal materials.
	Ruth Smith Lloyd	anatomist	1917-1995	She was the first African-American to earn a PhD in anatomy.
	Farah Lubin	Neuroscientist		She is a prominent researcher of how our brains learn and remember.
	Irene Long	aerospace medicine	1951-2020	She was the first female chief medical officer at the Kennedy Space Center.
	Beebe Steven Lynk	chemist	1872–1948	She was a professor of medical Latin botany and materia medica.

M

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Shirley M. Malcom	science administrator	1946-	She heads education and human resources programs at AAAS, a science organization.
	Harriet Marble	pharmacist	1885-1966	She was an early African-American woman pharmacist and the first in Kentucky.
	Cora Bagley Marrett	sociologist, science administrator	1942-	She was the deputy director of the National Science Foundation.
	Pamela McCauley-Bush	Engineer		She was the first African-American woman to get an engineering Ph.D. in Oklahoma.
	Dorothy McClendon	microbiologist	1924-2013	She developed ways to protect stored goods, like fuel, from going bad due to tiny organisms.
	Linda C. Meade-Tollin	biochemist	1944–	She was the first female chairperson of a national organization for Black chemists and engineers.
	Juanita Merchant	physiologist		She studies how the stomach responds to long-term inflammation.
	Shireen Mitchell	entrepreneur, author, technology analyst and diversity strategist		She founded Digital Sisters/Sistas, Inc.
	Victorine Louistall Monroe	Professor Emerita of Library Science	1912–2006	She was the first Black faculty member at West Virginia University.
	Ruth Ella Moore	bacteriology	1903–1994	She was the first African-American woman with a PhD in a natural science.
	Tanya Moore	mathematician		She founded the Infinite Possibilities Conference.
	Willie Hobbs Moore	engineering, physics	1934–1994	She was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in physics.

N

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Shelia Nash-Stevenson	Physicist, integration engineer		She is an integration engineer for NASA's Planetary Programs Missions Office.
	Ann T. Nelms	nuclear physicist	1929-	She studied how nuclear radioactivity lasts over time.
	Lyda D. Newman	Inventor	1885-	She patented a new type of durable hairbrush that is still used today.

O

P

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Carolyn Parker	mathematician, physicist	1917–1966	She worked on the Dayton Project, which was part of the Manhattan Project during WWII.
	Jennie Patrick	chemical engineering	1949–	She was one of the first African American women in the U.S. to earn a doctorate in traditional chemical engineering.
	Hattie Scott Peterson	civil engineer	1913–1993	She is believed to be the first African-American woman to get a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.
	Clarice Phelps	nuclear chemist		She was the first African-American woman to help discover a chemical element (tennessine).
	Vivian W. Pinn	pathologist	1941-	She was the Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
	Chanda Prescod-Weinstein	theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, cosmologist, writer	1982 -	She is possibly the first African-American woman to be a professor in theoretical cosmology.
	Jessie Isabelle Price	veterinary microbiologist	1930-2015	She found the cause of a common disease in duck farming in the 1950s.
	Sian Proctor	African American explorer, scientist, STEM communicator, and aspiring astronaut		She is a professor of geology, sustainability and planetary science.
	Johnnie Hines Watts Prothro	chemist	1922–2009	She was one of the first African American nutritionists and food scientists.

Q

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Lynnae Quick	planetary scientist, planetary geophysicist	1984 -	She is a planetary scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. An asteroid was named in her honor.

R

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Mary Logan Reddick	neuroembryologist, biologist	1914 - 1966	She was possibly the first African-American woman scientist to get a fellowship to study abroad.
	Eslanda Goode Robeson	chemist	1896–1965	She was the first black head histological chemist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
	Gladys W. Royal	chemist	1926–2002	She was one of the early African-American biochemists.

S

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Antoinette Rodez Schiesler	chemist	1934 - 1996	She was the director of research at Villanova University.
	Lyndsey Scott	computer programmer	1984-	She is a lead iOS software engineer and also a fashion model.
	Alberta Jones Seaton	embryologist, biologist	1924-2014	She was one of the first African-American women to get a doctorate in zoology.
	Nashlie Sephus	Artificial intelligence engineer		She is an AI engineer and CTO of a startup acquired by Amazon.
	Cheryl L. Shavers	semiconductor engineering and management	1953-	She was the first African-American Undersecretary of Commerce for Science and Technology.
	Mabel Keaton Staupers	Nursing administrator	1890 - 1989	She helped end segregation in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII.
	Susan McKinney Steward	pediatrician, homeopath	1847-1918	She was the third African-American woman to earn a medical degree.
	Moogega Cooper Stricker	Planetary protection engineer	1985-20??	She is a NASA engineer working on the Mars 2020 rover.
	Thyrsa Frazier Svager	mathematician	1930-1999	She was one of the first African-American women to receive a PhD in mathematics.
	Latanya Sweeney	computer scientist		She is known for her work on k-anonymity, which helps protect privacy in data.

T

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Valerie Thomas	physicist and inventor	1943-	She invented the Illusion Transmitter and oversaw NASA's Landsat program.
	Lisette Titre-Montgomery	Game Developer	1998-	She is an Art Director and Game Developer who has worked on many popular video games.
	Margaret E. M. Tolbert	chemist and science administrator	1943-	She was the first African American and first woman to lead a Department of Energy lab.
	Rubye Prigmore Torrey	chemist	1926–2017	She developed a way to break down hydrogen sulfide.

V

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Powtawche Valerino	mechanical engineer		She was the first Native American to earn a PhD in engineering at Rice University.

W

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Chelsea Walton	mathematician	1983 –	She is an associate professor at Rice University.
	Dawn Ward	synthetic chemist	1973 –	She creates molecules that fight the Hepatitis C virus.
	Gladys West	mathematician	1930 –	Her work on satellite geodesy models was used in GPS.
	Jessica Ware	evolutionary biologist, entomologist.		She studies the evolution of insects.
	Marguerite Williams	geologist	1895 – 1991	She was the first African American to earn a doctorate in geology in the United States.
	Geraldine Pittman Woods	science administrator	1921–1999	She helped create programs that encourage minorities in STEM fields.
	Dawn Wright	oceanographer, geographer	1961-	She is an expert in mapping the seafloor and marine geographic information systems.
	Jane C. Wright	cancer researcher, surgeon	1919-2013	She was a pioneering cancer researcher known for her work in chemotherapy.

Y

Image	Name	Field(s)	Dates	Notes
	Josephine Silone Yates	chemist	1859-1912	She was one of the first Black professors at Lincoln University.
	Roger Arliner Young	zoology	1889-1964	She was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Zoology.

See also

• List of Women in Technology International Hall of Fame inductees
• STEM pipeline
• National Society of Black Engineers
• African American women in computer science
• List of African-American women in medicine