The African-American Presence in Science

Zoom information will be shared via email.

Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) welcomes all Michigan Engineering faculty, students, and staff to attend a seminar in honor of Black History Month.

Abstract

We discuss the fact that African- Americans have, from the genesis of this country, made significant and fundamental contributions to its science and technology. In particular, we show the importance of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the development of this scientific talent. The role and impact of the University of Michigan will also be indicated. A central aspect of this talk will be a presentation of the scientific career of the African – American scientist Dr. Charles Henry Turner, who was “unknown”, but not “hidden”.
Bio

Ronald E. Mickens is the Distinguished Fuller E. Callaway Professor in the Department of Physics at Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black university.

His research focused on nonlinear dynamics and mathematical modeling, including applications of these tools to modeling the dynamics of disease. He has also contributed to the history of black scientists, and served as historian of the National Society of Black Physicists.

Professor Mickens is a Fellow of APS, and a charter Fellow of the National Society of Black Physicists. He received the Edward Bouchet Award in 2008, which recognizes a distinguished minority physicist who has made significant contributions to physics research and the advancement of underrepresented minority scientists. He is the author of Edward Bouchet: The First African American Doctorate, as well as biographies of black women in science.

In 2018, Mickens received the Blackwell-Tapia Prize, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, which “recognizes a mathematician who has served as a role model for mathematical scientists and students from underrepresented minority groups or has contributed in other significant ways to addressing the problem of underrepresentation of minorities in mathematics.”

Dr. Mickens received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining Clark Atlanta University, he was a professor of physics at Fisk University (1970-81).