Independent Historian

Eleanor Mahoney is a doctoral student of United States history at the University of Washington in Seattle, focusing on labor, the environment, memory and place in late nineteenth and twentieth-century America. She received a Bachelor of Arts in French and History from Amherst College and a Masters in Public History from Loyola University Chicago. She has previously worked for the National Park Service as Assistant National Coordinator for Heritage Areas and for a variety of heritage conservation and labor organizations in Appalachia, the Chesapeake Bay region and New Mexico.

Warren Elliott Henry (1909-2001)

Dr. Warren Elliott Henry enjoyed a long and influential career in the field of physical chemistry, working in the public and private sectors and in academia. His areas of expertise included radar technology and solid-state physics. Henry conducted experiments on magnetism as well as metallurgy, … Read MoreWarren Elliott Henry (1909-2001)

Charles Henry Turner (1867-1923)

A prolific scholar and passionate educator, Dr. Charles Henry Turner made significant contributions to the fields of zoology, entomology, and psychology. Over a thirty-year career, he published widely on not only scientific topics, but also civil rights and education, authoring over seventy articles in total. … Read MoreCharles Henry Turner (1867-1923)

Joseph Salvadore Francisco, Jr. (1955- )

An internationally-recognized chemical physicist, Dr. Joseph Salvadore Francisco, Jr. played an important role in explaining the chemical reactions driving ozone depletion in the earth’s atmosphere. At a time when diminution of the ozone layer threatened to increase humans’ exposure to ultraviolet radiation, Francisco’s research revealed … Read MoreJoseph Salvadore Francisco, Jr. (1955- )

Raye Jean Jordan Montague (1935-2018)

Raye Jean Jordan Montague, a registered professional engineer, was incredibly influential in transforming the field of marine vessel construction. A longtime employee of the U.S. Navy and a leader in its transition to the use of Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM), Montague created the … Read MoreRaye Jean Jordan Montague (1935-2018)

Evan B. Forde (1952- )

An internationally-recognized oceanographer, Evan B. Forde became the first African American scientist to complete research dives in a submersible when he journeyed miles underwater in the Nekton Gamma vehicle in 1979. An expert on the formation of submarine canyons, Forde explored the evolution of these striking geologic … Read MoreEvan B. Forde (1952- )

Eunice Gray Smith (1923-2006)

An accomplished mathematician, Eunice Gray Smith was among the first African American women hired to work at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (LMAL) in Hampton, Virginia during the 1940s. Over the course of a forty-year career at the laboratory and research center, which is part of National Aeronautics … Read MoreEunice Gray Smith (1923-2006)

Walt Braithwaite (1945- )

If you have flown on a commercial airliner in recent years, chances are you benefited from the engineering and computer science expertise of Walt Braithwaite. During his almost four decades at The Boeing Company (Boeing), Braithwaite helped transform the field of aerospace design from a manual time-consuming process to … Read MoreWalt Braithwaite (1945- )

Marsha Rhea Williams (1948- )

In 1982, Dr. Marsha Rhea Williams became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science. A successful educator and researcher in academia, Williams has also held positions in private industry and the public sector. Her scholarship examines a variety of topics, ranging from the … Read MoreMarsha Rhea Williams (1948- )

Marc Regis Hannah (1956- )

Even if you have never heard his name, it is likely you have enjoyed the work of Dr. Marc Regis Hannah. An electrical engineer with expertise in computer graphics, Hannah developed the 3-D special effects systems used widely in movies, such as Terminator 2 (1991) and Beauty and the Beast (1991), as well … Read MoreMarc Regis Hannah (1956- )