biography of Ann Shirley Jackson
made by : Eliannie rivera
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Early lifeLoading...
Renowned physicist and university president Shirley Ann Jackson was born on August 5, 1946, in Washington, D.C., to George Hiter Jackson and Beatrice Cosby Jackson. When Jackson was a child, her mother would read her the biography of Benjamin Banneker, an African American scientist and mathematician who helped build Washington, D.C., and her father encouraged her interest in science by assisting her with projects for school. The Space Race of the late-1950s would also have an impact on Jackson as a child, spurring her interest in scientific investigation.Jackson attended Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C., where she took accelerated math and science classes. Jackson graduated as valedictorian in 1964 and encouraged by the assistant principal for boys at her high school, she applied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Jackson was among the first African American students to attend MIT, and in her undergraduate class she was one of only two women.
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AdulthoodLoading...
later on in jacksons life she was elected to stay at MIT for her doctoral work, and received her Ph.D. degree in nuclear physics in 1973, the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate degree from MIT. Her research was directed by James Young, a professor in the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics. Jackson is also the second African-American woman in the United States to earn a doctorate in physics. She was featured on the PBS show "Finding Your Roots" Season 6 Episode 7, where she is noted as one of the leading global pioneers in science all while knowing little about her ancestry. In 2002, Discover magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.Jackson has described her interests thus:I am interested in the electronic, optical, magnetic, and transport properties of novel semiconductor systems. Of special interest are the behavior of magnetic polarons in semi-magnetic and dilute magnetic semiconductors, and the optical response properties of semiconductor quantum-wells and super-lattices. My interests also include quantum dots, mesoscopic systems, and the role of antiferromagnetic fluctuations in correlated 2D electron systems.
INVENTIONS
Dr. Jackson conducted breakthrough scientific research which laid the groundwork for the invention of the portable fax, touch tone telephone, solar cells, fiber optic cables, and the technology behind caller ID and call waiting.
Mrs. Jackson's inventions have helped many thought out the years! for instance; Police, regular people, (exc.) .
Fun Facts
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Did you know that ann shirley jackson created caller id
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She was awarded the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest honor for contributions in science and engineering by President Obama in 2015.
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She is currently the president of the prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She’s also the highest-paid president of a private college.
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She is a theoretical physicist and held senior leadership positions in academia, government, industry, and research.
quotes
¨i delight in what i fear ̈
̈ I have always loved to use fear, to take it and comprehend it and make it work and consolidate a situation where I was afraid and take it whole and work from there. ̈
̈ I very much dislike writing about myself or my work, and when pressed for autobiographical material can only give a bare chronological outline which contains no pertinent facts. ̈