11 Tech Trailblazers To Honor For Black History Month
In honor of Black History Month, we highlight the achievements of 11 pioneers and innovators in the field of science and technology.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/blt7eec5116bfcefe67/64cb3eccd9ec844c259e4148/Lightbulb.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
To celebrate Black History Month this February, we look at innovators who influenced modern technology. Some of these tech pioneers have had an impact on technology in ways that affect you every day, though you may not know it
Consider Granville T. Woods, an early inventor with more than 50 patents, or Gerald A. Lawson, whose work is enjoyed by anyone who has used an Xbox, Playstation, or Wii gaming console.
Woods patented the railway telegraph, which enabled trains to communicate with railway stations and prevent accidents. Lawson built the first video game system with interchangeable cartridges, making it simple for players to build game collections and for game manufacturers to sell single games.
[9 biographies of tech icons: Have you read them?]
However, despite many contributions to the technology landscape, minorities continue to make up a small percentage of the tech workforce. Tech companies promise to ramp up diversity efforts, but progress is slow moving.
Read on to learn more about the innovators we are highlighting here and how their work influenced the technology we use today. Are there any names you would add to the list?
What have you done to advance the cause of Women in IT? Submit your entry now for InformationWeek's Women in IT Award. Full details and a submission form can be found here.
Were it not for the work of James E. West, today's well-known speakers and entertainers may be using a very different means of having their voices heard. West helped build the foil electret microphone, which served as the foundation for microphones we use today.
West started his career as an acoustic scientist at Bell Labs, where he helped develop a small and inexpensive microphone that went into mass production in 1968. After his retirement from Bell in 2001, he became a research professor at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering.
During his career, West was named president-elect of the Acoustical Society of America and member of the National Academy of Engineering. He and fellow scientist Gerhard Sessler, who helped him build the microphone, joined the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1999. He received National Medal of Technology and Innovation for his foil electret microphone invention in 2006. At the time of his award, the foil electret technology was being used in 90% of the 2 billion microphones produced every year, and in other devices, including telephones, hearing aids, camcorders, and audio recording devices. In addition to his technological achievements, West advocated for greater diversity in the fields of science and technology.
Gen. Lester L. Lyles is the former Commander of the US Air Force Materiel Command, a division responsible for the USAF's Research and Development, Science and Technology, Test, and Logistics Support.
Before he became commander, General Lyles was the USAF Vice Chief of Staff and Chief Technology Officer, and prior to that held several leadership positions across the Air Force. After his retirement in 2003, he went on to lead companies, including General Dynamics and KBR Incorporated. He currently serves as chairman of the board of the United Services Automobile Association (USAA).
He is also an accomplished engineer, having earned awards including the Astronautics Engineer of the Year (National Space Club) and NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal for serving on the President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. In 2009, he was appointed to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.
Aerospace engineer Lonnie Johnson is a former member of the US Air Force who worked on Galileo's mission to Jupiter at NASA and is now dedicating his funds and efforts toward green energy projects.
Johnson is working with scientists from Tuskegee University and Tulane University to create more affordable green energy. One of Johnson's companies, Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS), is famous for developing the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter System (JTEC), which converts thermal energy to electrical energy.
Johnson is also famously known for his invention of the Super Soaker, which pulled in $200 million in retail sales in its first two years on the market.
Shirley Ann Jackson, theoretical physicist and inventor, was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in Theoretical Solid State Physics from MIT.
She was a senior leader in academia, government, industry, and research. Jackson previously served as a theoretical physicist at Bell Labs, Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and as a professor of theoretical physics at Rutgers University. Her work as a researcher laid the foundation for others to build fiber optic cables, portable fax, and solar cells.
President Obama named Jackson the co-chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board in 2014. She also serves on the Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board and Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.
Roy L. Clay played a major role in the development of Hewlett-Packard and the evolution of Silicon Valley. After learning how to code as a math major at St. Louis University, he was recruited to head up HP's computer development division.
Clay oversaw the team responsible for bringing HP into the computer market with the 2116A computer, for which he also helped develop the software. He later led HP's first Research and Development Computer Group.
After leaving HP, Clay founded ROD-L electronics, which focused on safety testing for electrical products. The company created the world's first Safety Certified Hipot and Ground Continuity Testers, and partnered with industry leaders, including HP and IBM, to further product safety testing.
Also a political figure, Clay was the first African American to become Councilman and Vice Mayor of Palo Alto, Calif., during the 1970s. He is known among some as the "godfather of black Silicon Valley" because of his work to create opportunities for African Americans in the field.
George Alcorn is known as a physicist and inventor, particularly in the fields of aerospace and semiconductor devices. He earned his master's degree in nuclear physics, and PhD in atomic and molecular physics.
Alcorn is best known for his invention of the imaging X-ray spectrometer, which helps scientists determine the composition of materials. This technology helped scientists better understand solar systems and objects in space. Alcorn received NASA's Inventor of the Year award for his invention, which was patented in 1984.
Over the course of his career, Alcorn worked for Philco-Ford, IBM, and NASA, where he was named a deputy project manager for his success in developing new technologies. He later became head of the Goddard Flight Space Center's Evolution program, where he oversaw the space station. He has received several awards for his work, including the Government Technology Leadership award and NASA-EEO medal.
Aerospace engineer Guion Bluford, Jr., was the first African American to go into space. His first trip was in Aug. 1983 as a member of the crew of the Orbiter Challenger on the mission STS-8.
Bluford is a retired member of the US Air Force, and served as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. He later earned his PhD in aerospace engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology and flew a total of four space missions during his career as a NASA astronaut. A few years after his final space mission, Bluford was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997 and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.
Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space. Her first trip was aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in Sept. 1992.
Jemison was a physician before she decided to become an astronaut. She went on her first space mission as a science mission specialist, which put her in charge of science experiments aboard the shuttle. After receiving several awards and honorary doctorates, she went on to teach at Dartmouth College, and to establish the Jemison Group, an organization that encourages science education and advancement of technology.
John Thompson's extensive tech career has brought him to the helm of several technology companies. In addition to his current role as CEO of Virtual Instruments, he serves as board chairman of Microsoft.
Thompson began his career at IBM, where he stayed for 28 years and held several leadership positions before becoming the general manager of IBM Americas. He was then appointed as president and CEO of Symantec in 1999. At the time, he was the only African American to be the CEO for a major tech business.
In 2010, he became CEO of Virtual Instruments, which builds products to ensure the performance of apps deployed in virtualized and private cloud environments. He was on Microsoft's board for two years before taking Bill Gates's place as chairman in 2014.
Computer engineer and inventor Mark Dean was one of the 12 IBM engineers who built the IBM PC. He holds three of IBM's original nine PC patents. He was also a member of the team that built the interior architecture enabling PCs to connect with printers and monitors.
Dean had a long career at IBM, and was the first African American to become an IBM Fellow. He served as VP of Worldwide Strategy and Operations for IBM Research, and was most recently CTO for IBM Middle East and Africa. He currently teaches at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, where he is the John Fisher Distinguished Professor in the school's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
"When I helped design the PC, I didn't think I'd live long enough to witness its decline," said Dean in a blog post. He claims PCs are not being replaced by another type of device, but by new ideas about how computers can influence progress.
Inventor Otis Boykin influenced several of the devices we use today with the invention of a resistor. His inventions have been used in devices from televisions to pacemakers.
Boykin's initial resistor, patented in 1959, went on to be used in televisions and radios. It was two years before he improved on his original design to create a resistor that could handle pressure and temperature changes. The second resistor, which was also less expensive than the first, generated demand from tech companies such as IBM and put Boykin on the map.
Boykin died of heart failure in 1982. Over the course of his career he patented 28 electronic devices.
Inventor Otis Boykin influenced several of the devices we use today with the invention of a resistor. His inventions have been used in devices from televisions to pacemakers.
Boykin's initial resistor, patented in 1959, went on to be used in televisions and radios. It was two years before he improved on his original design to create a resistor that could handle pressure and temperature changes. The second resistor, which was also less expensive than the first, generated demand from tech companies such as IBM and put Boykin on the map.
Boykin died of heart failure in 1982. Over the course of his career he patented 28 electronic devices.
-
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like