Shirley Ann Jackson, noted physicist and head of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), was one of the first two African-American women to receive a doctorate in physics in the U.S. and the first to receive a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society for her work in the interaction of electrons on liquid helium films with surface excitations as a polaron problem. As the first African-American woman to serve on the NRC and the first woman and African-American to lead the NRC, Jackson reaffirmed that agency’s commitment to public health and safety.

She enhanced its regulatory effectiveness, and initiated a bottom-up strategic assessment of all NRC activities. Committed to promoting social justice, she organized MIT’s Black Student Union and worked to increase the number of blacks entering MIT. After only one year, the number entering rose from 2 to 57. On numerous educational boards, she works to advance science and the role of women in science.

Jackson’s numerous awards demonstrate the capability of women and minorities to join the leadership ranks in science and technology, education and public policy.

Additional Resources:Ambrose, Susan A. Journeys of women in science and engineering: no universal constants. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997. NOTES: "Labor and social change" series. Includes bibliographical references (p. 451-456) and indexes.

Sullivan, Otha Richards and Jin Haskins. Black Stars: African American Scientists and Inventors. Wiley, 2001. NOTES: Juvenile literature, grades 7-10.

Speech August 9, 1985, 0.1 ft. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute Archives and Special Collections. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Black Women Achieve Against Odds.