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2020-03-02

9 Black Chemists You Should Know About

Alma Levant Hayden, Black Chemist & Researcher

C&EN article features 9 Black chemists whose work changes lives and push boundaries through their work in chemistry

The list also includes leaders, scientists, educators, pilots who used their passion for chemistry to make innovative discoveries and pioneer scientific methods still used today.

Alma Levant Hayden

Alma Levant Hayden worked for the NIH and FDA using high tech tools to determine the composition of chemical compounds. Her research on Krebiozen (aka Creatine) prevents cancer patients from fraudulent miracle cures in the 1960s.

Read more about Alma Levant Hayden and her research efforts in an article from the Washington Times here.

Walter Lincoln Hawkins

Walter Lincoln Hawkins was a true pioneer of the 20th century, in the world of chemical engineering and polymers.

His work paved the way for many in the plastics and telecommunications industries. Hawkins was devoted to improving the lives of minorities through employment opportunities in Engineering and Science careers. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology & Innovation, in part for his work in helping rural communities establish telephone communications.  He was later inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2010.

Read more about Walter Lincoln Hawkins in an article from the New York Times, 1992 here.

Read more about Hawkins in an article on the Plastics Industry Association here.

Click here to read the full list on C&EN