Black Innovators in STEM

When America's most famous inventor, Thomas Edison, tried to claim credit for his patent in the 1880s, a self-taught genius named Granville T. Woods took him to court and won. In the late 19th century, train travel was incredibly dangerous. With no reliable way for moving trains to communicate, horrific collisions were tragically common. 🚂 Granville T. Woods, born in Ohio in 1856, saw this problem and used his brilliant mind to find a solution. He was a mostly self-taught electrical engineer with a gift for seeing how things worked. In 1887, Woods patented a revolutionary device he called the 'Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph.' It was a system that allowed moving trains and stations to communicate with each other through telegraph lines. For the first time, dispatchers could know where trains were in real-time. This simple ability to communicate drastically reduced the risk of head-on and rear-end collisions, saving countless lives. But this incredible, life-saving invention caught the eye of Thomas Edison. Edison filed a legal claim against Woods, stating that he was the rightful owner of a similar technology. Woods, an African American man with far fewer resources, had to defend his patent in court against one of the most powerful and wealthy men in America. The courts sided with Woods, affirming him as the true inventor. After being defeated, it's said that Edison was so impressed he offered Woods a prominent position at one of his companies. Woods turned it down, choosing his own independence and integrity. Granville T. Woods, sometimes called the 'Black Edison,' went on to secure over 60 patents. His story is a powerful reminder of how character and truth can overcome even the biggest challenges. 🙏 Sources: Encyclopedia.com, National Archives

Gladys West, the mathematician whose work helped make GPS possible, has died at the age of 95. 🖤 For decades, she worked on a problem most of us never think about: figuring out the exact shape of the Earth so satellites could locate positions on it with extraordinary precision. West grew up in rural Virginia during the Jim Crow era. "Every day I wished and dreamed of having more: more books, more classrooms, more teachers, and more time to dream and imagine what life would be like if only I could fly away from the strenuous and seemingly never-ending work on our family farm." Realizing that education could open doors to a new life, West added, "I made a commitment to be the best I could be and absorb as much knowledge that a little farm girl could handle." As she neared graduation in her segregated high school, teachers urged her to pursue a degree in mathematics. "If you had left it to me, I would have majored in home economics," she told VPM. "I really did like geometry," she added. "I fell in love with that." Teachers noticed her talent in math early on, and she eventually became valedictorian of her high school class. That achievement opened the door to college and, later, a career few women — and even fewer Black women — had access to at the time. She spent more than 40 years working as a mathematician for the U.S. Navy at a research center in Virginia. Her work focused on geodesy — the science of measuring the Earth’s size and shape 🌍📐 This wasn’t abstract theory. Satellites rely on extremely accurate models of the planet to determine location. Small errors can lead to huge inaccuracies on the ground. West helped develop mathematical models using satellite data that made that level of accuracy possible. Those models later became foundational to the Global Positioning System — the technology that now quietly guides planes, ships, cars, phones, and emergency services around the world. Despite the impact of her work, she remained largely unknown for much of her life. Recognition came late, after GPS had already become embedded in everyday life. In a detail that feels very true to her character, the NPR piece notes that she preferred paper maps over GPS. Her story show us: • Math can change the world in invisible ways • Persistence is everything, even when recognition doesn’t come quickly • The foundations of modern technology were built by people history often overlooks Gladys West helped map the Earth so the rest of us could find our way on it. 🌎💙 Read more about her life and work: https://lnkd.in/eyzuJCn7 #WomenInSTEM #GirlsInSTEM #STEMGems #GiveGirlsRoleModels

She was told by her guidance counselor to become a cosmetologist. She became a NASA rocket scientist and flew to space. Meet Aisha Bowe, Founder and CEO of STEMBoard and LINGO. Aisha grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her dad was a Bahamian immigrant who drove a taxi to pay for his own engineering degree. Her parents divorced when she was young. Her mom was 27 with no college degree and two kids. Aisha struggled in school with low confidence and low grades. A 2.3 GPA. Her high school guidance counselor sat her down and told her she should pursue cosmetology. Not because she had any interest in it, but because the counselor didn't see her as a strong student. Aisha enrolled in community college. She felt demoralized. Then her dad stepped in. He said: "Take a math class. If you take it, I'll pay for it." She took pre-algebra. Got an A, then fell in love with math. Her professor said: "You're good at this. Dream bigger." She transferred to the University of Michigan, where she a bachelor's in aerospace engineering. Next, a master's in space systems engineering. Then NASA called. Aisha became an aerospace engineer at NASA Ames Research Center. She worked on nanosatellite missions and air traffic management systems. But she wanted more impact. In 2013, while still at NASA, she founded STEMBoard, a tech company providing engineering solutions for government and commercial clients. STEMBoard landed on the Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America. Twice. Then she founded LINGO, a self-paced coding kit to teach kids STEM skills at home. The kits are now sold at Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Now it is used by over 10,000 students in 10 countries. She raised $2.3 million in venture capital, and became one of the fewer than 2% of women founders to raise over $2 million. In April 2025, she flew to space on Blue Origin's first all-female mission alongside Gayle King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sánchez. She became the first Bahamian to travel to space. The sixth Black woman to cross the Kármán line. Her father passed away in 2025. She was gifted a star in his honor. "My life changed because my dad was unwilling to accept anything less than greatness from me, even when I wasn't demonstrating that. Whenever I look up, I know he's there, still guiding me forward." What makes Aisha remarkable is that she didn't just break into aerospace. She broke in from a community college pre-algebra class after being told her ceiling was cosmetology. Aisha may be one of the most inspiring founders in STEM, yet this post might be the first time you've ever heard of her. 🔔 Subscribe to Jenny Stojkovic for more.

3D image technology has changed entertainment and science as we know it - all thanks to Valerie Thomas. This futuristic concept became a reality and continues to shape today’s technology, all thanks to this NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist and inventor. Before her invention, visual displays were limited to flat, 2-dimensional images. Then, in 1976, after witnessing an illusion where a lightbulb appeared lit despite being removed from its socket, Thomas began experimenting with concave mirrors. By 1980, she patented the “illusion transmitter,” a groundbreaking system that uses mirrors and cameras to create realistic 3D images - holograms - that forever changed how we perceive visual information. This invention was later used in NASA satellite technology, revolutionising how we analyse and interpret data from space. It has also since been adapted for use in surgery, enhancing precision in medical imaging and procedures, And, of course, has influenced the production of television and video screens, paving the way for immersive entertainment experiences. But her legacy extends far beyond holography: 👉🏾 Thomas played a critical role in developing image-processing systems for Landsat, the first satellite to send images of Earth from space. 👉🏾 She helped to develop computer program designs that supported research on Halley's Comet, the ozone layer, and satellite technology. 👉🏾 She’s received many awards for her work and her activism, including an Award of Merit from the Goddard Space Flight Center and the NASA Equal Opportunity Medal. Thomas retired from NASA in 1995, but her impact didn’t stop there. She continues to inspire generations, to enter STEM fields and break new ground. Her invention changed how we see the world - literally and figuratively, influencing everything from medical technologies to entertainment. #ReclaimingNarratives

The next time you make a video call, remember: a Black woman in the ‘80s made it possible. In 1982, Marian Croak joined Bell Labs with a PhD in quantitative analysis and social psychology from USC. She started in Human Factors Research. Her job: figure out how tech could make life better for real people. At the time, the modern internet didn’t exist. But she saw what was coming. Most telecom companies were betting on ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) to transmit voice, video, and text. Marian said no. She pushed AT&T to adopt TCP/IP—the protocol that still powers the internet today. Then she went further… What if your voice could travel as digital data? What if a phone call didn’t need a phone line? That’s how she helped invent the foundations of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). She worked on quality control, latency, and how to make voice over the internet sound human. Then came her second breakthrough: text-to-donate. In 2003, Marian saw AT&T build a text voting system for American Idol. Fans could vote via SMS. She had a thought: if people can vote by text, why can’t they donate too? In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, she and co-inventor Hossein Eslambolchi built it. It raised $130,000 for relief organizations. Five years later, after the Haiti earthquake, the same system raised $43M via mobile donations. She received a U.S. patent for it: “Method and Apparatus for Dynamically Debiting a Donation.” In 2013, she was awarded the Thomas Edison Patent Award for it. In total, she holds over 200 patents, with nearly half related to VoIP. By the time she left AT&T in 2014, she was Senior Vice President of Applications and Services Infrastructure, overseeing 2,000 engineers and more than 500 projects in enterprise mobility and consumer wireline tech. Then she joined Google. There, she became VP of Engineering. She helped bring broadband to underserved communities across Africa and Asia. She launched Google’s Center for Responsible AI and Human-Centered Technology, building ethical frameworks for the future of artificial intelligence. Her team is applying AI to problems such as: – Maternal health monitoring in developing nations – Early disease detection – Climate impact mitigation In her words: “AI can amplify the worst stereotypes and spread misinformation. It has to serve the deepest needs of humanity.” In 2022, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 💡Follow Justine Juillard to read 365 stories of women innovators in 365 days. Tap the 🔔 on my profile so you don’t miss a single story.

Alice Parker was a groundbreaking African American inventor whose work helped lay the foundation for modern central heating systems. In 1919, she was granted a U.S. patent for a gas-powered heating system that introduced the concept of using natural gas to heat individual rooms through a centralized structure. At a time when most homes relied on fireplaces or wood- and coal-burning stoves, Parker envisioned a safer, more efficient, and more controllable way to heat entire buildings. Her design proposed a system that distributed heat through ducts, allowing different rooms to be warmed individually rather than relying on a single heat source. This idea was revolutionary because it anticipated zoning—one of the most important principles in modern HVAC systems. Parker also focused on safety, designing her system to reduce the risk of fires, which were common with open flames and traditional stoves in early 20th-century homes. Although Parker’s exact system was not widely adopted during her lifetime, her ideas directly influenced the evolution of central heating technology used today. Modern gas furnaces, ductwork, and zoned heating systems all reflect concepts she pioneered more than a century ago. Her contribution stands as an important but often overlooked example of how Black women have shaped everyday technologies that millions of people rely on—often without knowing whose vision made them possible. #BlackHistoryMonth #blackhistory #blackgirlsrock #BlackGirlMagic

This month marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month. I'm highlighting Black mathematicians and scientists who have made lasting contributions to the world. Next up: the woman who invented technology that makes 3D imaging possible. At 8 years old, she borrowed "The Boy's First Book on Electronics." Her father refused to help her with the projects. So she taught herself. 𝗗𝗿. 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀 Dr. Valerie Thomas is a physicist, mathematician, data scientist, and inventor born in 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland. She was one of only two women majoring in physics at Morgan State University, graduating with highest honors in 1964. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 Thomas began at NASA as a data analyst in 1964. She developed the digital image-processing systems for NASA's Landsat program, the first satellite to send images of Earth from space. In 1974, Thomas led a team of 50 people for the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment, proving for the first time that satellites could predict global wheat yields. In 1976, Thomas attended a science exhibition and saw an illusion: a light bulb appeared to stay lit even after being unscrewed. The illusion used concave mirrors. She went home and began experimenting. In 1980, she received a patent for the illusion transmitter, a device that transmits 3D images. NASA adopted it immediately, and the technology has since been adapted for surgical tools, television screens, and video displays. Thomas managed the Space Physics Analysis Network, which grew from 100 computer nodes to 2,700 worldwide, becoming a critical part of the early internet. In 2018, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 𝗔𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁 When Thomas tried to touch the glowing bulb at that exhibition, her finger went right through it. She went to the library and read that the illusion relied on optical principles from her physics education. That moment of curiosity led to an invention that changed how we see 3D images today. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚. 🔄 Repost to keep amplifying these stories this Black History Month. ____________________________________ Hi, I'm Dwight Williams. A proud first-gen everything, and I help schools and districts strengthen math instruction through coaching, curriculum support, and data-informed systems that drive student confidence and achievement. 👍🏿Like | 🔔 Follow | 💬 Comment | 🔁Repost

Gladys Mae Brown, a remarkable mathematician often hailed as a "hidden figure," defied the limited opportunities available to young Black girls in rural Virginia. Despite the prevailing norms pushing towards farming or tobacco processing, her academic excellence led her to Virginia State College, now Virginia State University, where she obtained a mathematics degree in 1952. Subsequently, she pursued a master's degree while navigating racial segregation and discrimination in the job market. In 1956, Gladys joined the U.S. Naval Proving Ground as a mathematician, becoming only the fourth Black employee. Renowned for her prowess in solving intricate mathematical problems manually, she later transitioned to computer programming. Her contributions were instrumental in projects like the Naval Ordinance Research Calculator and the groundbreaking Seasat satellite initiative, a pioneer in ocean surveillance technology. From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, West programmed an IBM 7030 Stretch computer to deliver increasingly precise calculations to model the shape of the Earth – an ellipsoid with irregularities, known as the geoid. Generating an extremely accurate model required her to employ complex algorithms to account for variations in gravitational, tidal, and other forces that distort Earth's shape. West's team once discovered an error during the study and out of all of the brilliant minds, she was the only one that was able to solve it. West's data ultimately became the basis for the Global Positioning System (GPS). Leading the Seasat project in 1978, Gladys West demonstrated the potential of satellites in gathering crucial oceanographic data. Her work paved the way for GEOSAT, a revolutionary satellite program enabling precise calculations of Earth's surface features. These innovations, including the development of a geoid model, significantly contributed to the accuracy of the GPS system we rely on today. Throughout her illustrious career, Gladys West continued her academic pursuits, earning multiple master's degrees and a Ph.D. even after retirement. Her memoir, "It Began with A Dream," co-authored with M. H. Jackson, not only chronicles her extraordinary journey but also stands as an inspiration for women and girls aspiring to break barriers and excel in STEM fields. Dr. West is the only black woman to be inducted into the Air Force Missile and Space Pioneers Hall of Fame and was recently inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame.

Women's History Month: Mae Jemison stands as a transformative figure in both space exploration and the advancement of women in STEM. In 1992, she made history aboard the STS-47 as the first Black woman to travel into space, a milestone that carried profound symbolic and societal significance. Her achievement not only broke racial and gender barriers within NASA but also expanded the vision of who belongs in highly technical and elite scientific fields. Jemison’s presence in space challenged long-standing norms and inspired a broader, more inclusive generation to pursue careers once considered inaccessible. Beyond her historic flight, Jemison’s contributions to STEM are both substantive and enduring. Trained as a physician and engineer, she applied her expertise to research in life sciences, human adaptation to spaceflight, and technological innovation. After leaving NASA, she founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, where she launched initiatives such as the internationally recognized science camp “The Earth We Share,” designed to foster critical thinking and global problem-solving skills among young students. Through these efforts, she has consistently worked to close opportunity gaps in education, particularly for women and underrepresented minorities, ensuring that talent is cultivated regardless of background. As a trailblazer, Mae Jemison’s legacy extends far beyond her personal accomplishments. She represents the power of representation in reshaping institutional culture and broadening participation in innovation-driven fields. Her career serves as a blueprint for perseverance, intellectual curiosity, and purpose-driven leadership. For women, especially Black women navigating underrepresented spaces, Jemison’s journey is both an affirmation and a catalyst, demonstrating that excellence and impact are not confined by historical limitations but are defined by vision, preparation, and courage.