We appreciate that the definition of a physicist is broader than the old definition of “only those have physics degrees”, particularly in the current multidisciplinary academic landscape. This page includes all of the African American women with PhDs who identify as physicists. In some cases, a person may have a degree in Electrical Engineering or Physical Chemistry, but the science that she does is physics. If they participate in the physics community and identify themselves as physicists—we include them on this page.
We have also included 4 pioneers—women who due to various circumstance did not finish their PhD, but studied advanced physics before 1980.
If you believe that you or someone you know should be included on this list, if you have a correction or update, or if you’d like to be removed please contact us using the link above.
| Graduated | Name | Field | Grad School | Undergrad | Employer | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Zelda Gills | Optics | Georgia Tech | Southern University | Lockheed Martin | http://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.4.2571/full/ |
| 2011 | Yvonne Edmonds | Physics | Stanford Univ. | McKesson | ||
| 2001 | Windy Hinton | Nuclear Physics | Hampton Univ. | Norfolk State | ||
| 1972 | Willie Hobbs Moore | Physics | Univ. of Michigan | Univ. of Michigan | Ford (Deceased) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Hobbs_Moore |
| 1987 | Willetta Greene-Johnson | Physics | Univ. of Chicago | Stanford Univ. | Loyola Univ. Chicago | https://www.linkedin.com/in/willetta-greene-johnson-29357611 |
| 2016 | Whitney Ingram | Physics | Univ. of Georgia | |||
| 2004 | Vernessa Edwards | Physics-Optics/Lasers | Alabama A & M Univ. | Alabama A&M Univ. | ||
| 2014 | Vera Loggins | Nuclear Physics | Wayne State Univ. | Univ. of Detroit Mercy | Post Doc U Michigan | |
| 2009 | Vanessa Cohen | Astronomy | Univ. of Maryland | Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis | Garrison Forest School | |
| 2012 | Trivia Frazier | Biomedical Physics | Tulane Univ. | Dillard Univ. | Dillard Univ. | |
| 2001 | Trina Coleman | Theoretical Nuclear Physics | Hampton Univ. | |||
| 2003 | Tracee Jamison Hooks | Electrical Engineering | North Carolina A & T | Howard Univ. | NASA Goddard | |
| 2009 | Tonia Venters | Astronomy and Astrophysics | Univ. of Chicago | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | ||
| 1990 | Theda Daniels-Race | Electrical Engineering | Cornell Univ. | Rice Univ. | Louisiana State Univ. | http://www.ece.lsu.edu/tdr/index.html |
| Graduate Student | Teresa Monsue | Physics | Vanderbilt | |||
| 2007 | Tennille Presley | Biophysics | Ohio State Univ. | North Carolina A&T State Univ. | Winston Salem State Univ. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tennille-presley-ph-d-3b3a1113 |
| 2008 | Telana Jackson | Engineering Electrophysics | Morgan State Univ. | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | ||
| 2009 | Taviare Hawkins | Physics | Syracuse Univ. | Univ. of Iowa in Iowa City | Univ. of Wisconsin La Crosse | |
| 2012 | Taeyjuana Curry | Physics | Univ. of Michigan | Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County | ||
| 2002 | Tabbetha Dobbins | Materials Science and Nanoscience | Pennsylvania State Univ. | Lincoln Univ. | Rowan Univ. | |
| 2015 | Staci Brown | Physics | Florida A & M Univ. | Florida A & M Univ. | Pacific Northwest Labs | |
| 2004 | Sophia Suarez | Condensed Matter Physics | City Univ. of New York | Brooklyn College | ||
| Graduate Student | Simone Brookes | Physics | NCSU | |||
| 1976 | Sigrid McAfee | Physics | NYU-Poly | Vassar College | Rutgers Univ. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sigrid-mcafee-0022b017 |
| 1973 | Shirley Ann Jackson | Physics | MIT | MIT | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Ann_Jackson |
| 2016 | Sherita Moses | Applied Physics | Alabama A & M Univ. | Andrews University | Loyola Univ. Chicago | |
| 1994 | Shelia Nash-Stevenson | Physics | Alabama A&M University | Alabama A&M University | NASA | https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelia-k-nash-stevenson-a5432328 |
| 2006 | Shavesha Rutledge | Analytical Chemistry | American Univ | Alabama A&M Univ. | Cyfor Technology | |
| 2005 | Shannon Watson | Experimental Condensed Matter | Willam and Marry | NIST | ||
| 2012 | Serena Eley | Physics | UIUC | California Institute of Technology | Los Alamos National Lab (Post doc) | |
| 2000 | Sandra Brown | Condensed Matter | MIT | McCarter and English Attorneys at Law | ||
| 2000 | Ruth D. Jones | Physics | Alabama A & M Univ. | NASA Glenn Research Center | ||
| 1991 | Reva Williams | Astrophysics | Indiana Univ. Bloomington | Northwestern Univ. | Bennett College and Univ. of Florida | http://astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~rwilliam/ph/Curriculum_Vita.pdf |
| 2003 | Rene Baggott | Physics | Hampton Univ. | Hampton Univ. | ||
| 2010 | Renata Afi Rawlings-Goss | Biophysics | Univ. of Michigan | Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine | ||
| 2011 | Rachel McKinsey | Medical Physics | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Southern Univ. | e+CancerCare | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-mckinsey-phd-78962717 |
| 1977 [MS] | Patricia Canty Wyatt | Physics | MIT | Emmanuel College | General Electric (Deceased) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-canty-wyatt-45b258a |
| 2015 | Patrice Jackson Edwards | Physics | Florida A & M Univ. | |||
| 1997 | Pamela Blakeslee | Physics | MIT | Univ. of Chicago | Washington State Univ. | https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/43295/36889563-MIT.pdf?sequence=2 |
| Graduate Student | Olivia McAuley | Physics | Bryn Mawr | UNC-Chapel Hill | ||
| 1985 | Nola Hylton | Applied Physics | Stanford Univ. | MIT | Univ. of San Francisco | http://profiles.ucsf.edu/nola.hylton |
| 2012 | Nneka Williams | Structural Geology and Geophysics | Cal Tech | California Institute of Technology | Chevron | |
| 1997 | Njema J. Frazier | Physics | Michigan State Univ. | Carnegie Mellon University | National Defense Univ. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/njema-frazier-2496122 |
| 2012 | Nicole Campbell | Applied Physics | Univ. of Michigan | UT Arlington | Raytheon Missile Systems | |
| 2010 | Nia Imara | Astrophysics | UC Berkeley | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics | ||
| 2010 | Nantanette Craig | Physics | Florida A & M Univ. | NHMFL | ||
| 2004 | Nadya Mason | Physics | Stanford Univ. | Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | ||
| 2015 | Myriam Telus | Geology and GeoPhysics | Univ. of Hawaii-Manoa | Univ of Chicago | Hawaii Institute for Geophysics and Planetology | |
| 1975 | Muchere C. Russ | Physical Chemistry | Univ. of Pittsburgh | Howard Univ. | IBM and Huston-Tillotson Univ. (Retired) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/muchere-russ-b0258a1a |
| 2013 | Monique Walker | Physics | Howard Univ. | NASA Post-doctoral Fellow | ||
| 2011 | Monika Schleier-Smith | Physics | MIT | Harvard | Stanford | |
| Graduate Student | Moiya McTier | Astrophysics | Harvard | Columbia Univ. | http://moiyamctier.weebly.com/ | |
| 1994 | Meredith Williams | Physics | NC State Univ. | Yale | California EPA | https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/InformationResources/Exec/Meredith-Williams-Deputy-Director.cfm |
| 1986 | Mercedes Richards | Astronomy | Univ. of Toronto | Univ of West Indies | Penn State Univ. | http://www2.astro.psu.edu/~mrichards/ |
| 2012 | Melissa Harrison Fortuna | Materials Science | Vanderbilt | Xavier | Intel | |
| 1986 | Mary James | Applied Physics | Stanford Univ. | Hampshire College | Reed College | http://www.reed.edu/physics/faculty/james/ |
| 2007 | Marty Baylor | Physics | Univ. of Colorado Boulder | Kenyon College | Carleton College | |
| 1997 | Martha Gilmore | Planetary Science | Brown Univ. | Franklin & Marshall | Wesleyan | http://mgilmore.faculty.wesleyan.edu/ |
| 1999 | Marta Dark McNeese | Physics | MIT | University of Virginia | Spelman College | http://www.spelman.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/physics/faculty/marta-dark-mcneese |
| 2005 | Maritza Tavarez-Brown | Astronomy | Univ. of Michigan | Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart | ||
| Graduate Student | Marion Greene | Biomedical Physics | East California Univ. | Hampton Univ. | ||
| Graduate Student | Mareena Robinson-Snowden | Nuclear Engineering | MIT | Florida A & M Univ. | ||
| 2013 | Lynnae Quick | Earth and Planetary Science | Johns Hopkins Univ. | North Carolina A&T State Univ. | NASA Goddard | |
| 2004 | Lisa Dyson | Physics | MIT | CEO Kiverdi | ||
| 2001 | Letemeskel Asfaw | Physics | Kent State Univ. | Addis Ababa Univ. | Hope Univ. College in Addis Ababa | https://www.linkedin.com/in/letemeskel-asfaw-64637920 |
| 2015 | Leslie Upton | Applied Physics | Univ. of Michigan | National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow | ||
| 2013 | Lauren Porter | Physics | US Santa Cruz | California Institute of Technology | Groupon | |
| 2012 | Lauren Denkins-Taffe | Physics | Howard Univ. | Howard Univ. | Dept of Defense | |
| 2003 | Laura Ariel Phillips | Astrophysics | Princeton | McGill (Canada) | Notre Dame | |
| 2007 | LaQuieta Huey | Physics | Alabama A&M | Grambling | NASA Marshall Space Flight Center | |
| 2004 | Kristina Woods | Physics | Stanford Univ. | CMU | ||
| 2004 | Kim Lewis | Applied Physics | Univ. of Michigan | Rensselear Polytechnic Institute | ||
| 2000 | Kharissia Pettus | Physical Chemistry | UC San Diego | University of Virginia | Freelance Science Writer | |
| Graduate Student | Kelsea Gill | Physics | Smith College | University of Manchester | ||
| 2009 | Kelly Nash | Physics | UTSA | Dillard | UTSA | |
| Graduate Student | Katrina Miller | Physics | Univ. of Chicago | Duke | ||
| 1940 [BS] | Katherine G. Johnson | Physics | West Virginia State (BS) (attended graduate school in the 1940s) | NASA (Retired) | https://www.nasa.gov/feature/katherine-johnson-the-girl-who-loved-to-count | |
| 2002 | Kandis Lea Jessup | Astrophysics | Univ. of Michigan | SWRI | http://www.swri.org/iProfiles/ViewiProfile.asp?k=8k8fy01aj15137m | |
| 2006 | Kandice Tanner | Physics | UIUC | National Cancer Institute | ||
| Graduate Student | Kalisa Villafana | Nuclear Physics | Florida State | Florida A & M Univ. | ||
| 2011 | K. Renee Horton | Material Science | Univ. of Alabama | Louisianna State Univ. | NASA Marshall Space Flight Center | |
| 2015 | Julie Dumas | Physics | RPI | Vanderbilt | ||
| 2014 | JessicaFreeman | Physics | Hampton Univ. | Hampton Univ. | Stratford | |
| Graduate Student | Jessica Esquivel | Physics | Syracuse | |||
| 2011 | Jennifer Blum | Physics | Univ. of Michigan | Columbia Univ. | United States Department of Defense | |
| 2014 | Jedidah Isler | Astrophysics | Yale Univ. | Norfolk State Univ. | Post Doc Vanderbilt | |
| 2016 | Jasmine Oliver | Applied Physics | Univ. of South Florida | South Carolina State Univ. | UF Health Cancer Center (Orlando) | |
| 2011 | Jasmine D. Crenshaw | Mat Sci Eng-Biomaterials | Univ of Florida | North Carolina A & T State Univ. | HHMI | |
| 1997 | Jarita Holbrook | Astronomy & Astrophysics | UCSC | California Institute of Technology | Univ. of Western Cape (S. Africa) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarita-holbrook-b6524b1 |
| 1976 | Janet Smith-Kintner | Physics | Univ. of Minnesota | Grinnell | Cornell Univ. (Deceased) | |
| 2007 | Jami M. Valentine | Condensed Matter Physics | Johns Hopkins Univ. | Florida A&M Univ. | U.S. Patent and Trademark Office | |
| 2008 | J Bianca Jackson | Applied Physics | Univ. of Michigan | Columbia Univ. | Univ. of Reading | |
| 2015 | Ivy Krystal Jones | Physics | Hampton Univ. | Tuskegee Univ. | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory | |
| 2000 | Helen Major | Optics/Plasma Physics | Howard Univ. | Lincoln Univ. (PA) | ||
| 2014 | Helen C. Jackson | Applied Physics (Nuclear) | Air Force Inst Tech | Tennessee State | Brookhaven and CEO of ElectroGenesis | |
| 1971 [MS] | Hattie Carwell | Health Physics | Rutgers | Bennett | US Department of Energy (Retired) | http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/hattie-carwell |
| 2012 | Hadiyah Nicole Green | Physics | UAB | Alabama A&M Univ. | Tuskegee Univ. | |
| 1996 | Gillian Reynolds-Titko | Physics | MIT | Hunter College of CUNY | Dupont | https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillianreynoldstitko |
| 2015 | Gayle Ratliff | Physics | Illinois Institute of Techology | Florida State Univ. | Adler Planetarium | |
| 1974 [MS] | Francine Wright Bellson * | Physics | MIT | Music Manager | ||
| 1998 | Florence Egbe-Etop | Physics | Hampton Univ. | Bowie State Univ. | ||
| 1989 | Fay Marks | Physics | Stanford Univ. | Swanlight Organization | http://www.swanlight.org/ | |
| 2010 | Fana Mulu Moore | Physics | Alabama A & M Univ. | CSPAR Univ Alabama Huntsville | ||
| 2014 | Fabienne Bastien | Physics/Astro | Vanderbilt | BS UMCP; MS Fisk | Pennsylvania State Univ. | |
| 1993 | Evelyn Hammonds | History of Science | MIT | Spelman College | Harvard (retired) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelynn_M._Hammonds |
| 2001 | Erica Thompson | Optical Physics | Hampton Univ. | Califormia Institute of Technology | ||
| Graduate Student | Erica Morgan-West | Physics | Florida A & M Univ. | |||
| 1977 | Elvira Williams | Physics | Howard Univ. | NC central | Shaw Univ. | https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Queen-Authorized-Biography-Louvenia-ebook/dp/B00VHSCLLU |
| 2003 | Elaine Lalanne | Applied Physics | NJIT/Rutgers-Newark | Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County | ||
| 1998 | Donna Washington Stokes | Physics | Univ. of Houston | Southern Univ. | Univ. of Houston | http://nsmn1.uh.edu/dwstokes/ |
| 2006 | Desiree Jangha | Nuclear and Radiological Physics-Health Physics | Georgia Tech | Hampton Univ. | AlantiCare | |
| 2000 | Denise Brown-Anderson | Optical Materials | UAB | Center for Naval Analysis | ||
| 2009 | Delonia Wiggins | Physics | Florida A & M Univ. | Broward College | ||
| Graduate Student | Delilah Gates | Physics | Harvard | UMCP | https://umdphysics.umd.edu/academics/academic-spotlight/1043-meet-delilah-gates.html | |
| 1980 | Deborah Jackson | Physics | Stanford Univ. | MIT | National Science Foundation | https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahjackson2 |
| 1999 | Dara Norman | Astronomy | Univ. of Washington | MIT | NOAO | http://ast.noao.edu/about/people/norman |
| 1990 | Cynthia R. McIntyre | Physics | MIT | Council on Competitiveness | ||
| 2013 | Cynthia Prudence | Applied math | Univ. of Rhode Island | Univ. of Rhode Island | Univ. of Rhode Island | |
| 2015 | Crystal Bray | Applied Physics | Stanford Univ. | Exponent | ||
| 1993 | Claudia Alexander | Space Physics | Univ. of Michigan | UC Berkeley | JPL (Deceased) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Alexander |
| 2011 | Chieze Ibeneche-Nnewihe | Physics | UT Austin | UT Austin | RA Capital | |
| Graduate Student | Charlezaetta E. Stokes | Physics | Howard Univ. | |||
| 1993 | Chantale Damas | Applied Physics | UCSD | Rensselaer | Medgar Evers College | https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-chantale-damas-88597638 |
| 2010 | Chanda Prescod Weinstein | Theoretical Cosmology | Univ. of Waterloo | MIT | ||
| 2008 | Cecille Labuda | Physics-Acoustics | Univ. of Mississippi | Univ. of Mississippi | ||
| 2002 | Carol Scarlett | Physics | Univ. of MIchigan | Florida A & M Univ. | ||
| 2010 | Candice Etson | Biophysics | Harvard | Hunter College of CUNY | WesleyanåÊ | |
| 2015 | Cacey Stephens | Physics | Univ. of Chicago | Southern Univ. | Post Doc Duke Univ. | |
| Graduate Student | Brooke Russell | Physics | Yale Univ. | Princeton | ||
| Graduate Student | Bianca Lane | Physics | JHU | Hampton Univ. | USPTO detail | https://www.linkedin.com/in/bianca-lane-b9199ba |
| 1998 | Beth Brown | Astronomy | Univ. of Michigan | Howard Univ. | NASA (Deceased) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_A._Brown |
| 2014 | Bernadette Cogswell | Physics | Vanderbilt | Florida State Univ. | Post Doc Princeton | |
| 1981 | Barbara A. Williams | Radio Astronomy | Univ. of Maryland | Univ of NC | Univ. of Delaware (retired) | |
| 2002 | Aziza Baccouche | Nuclear Physics | Univ. of Maryland | AZIZA Productions, Inc. | ||
| 2006 | Ayana Holloway-Arce | Experimental High Energy Physics | Harvard | Duke Univ. | ||
| 1974 | Arlene P Maclin | Physics | Howard Univ. | North Carolina A&T State Univ. | MAC-CAE Program / Morgan State Univ. | http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/arlene-maclin |
| 1998 | Apriel Hodari | Physics | Hampton Univ. | Purdue Univ | Center for Naval Analysis | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahodari |
| 2014 | Aomawa Shields | Astronomy and Astrobiology | Univ. of Washington | MIT | Post doc UCLA/Harvard | |
| 2001 | Anouk Shambrook | Astronomy & Astrophysics | UCSC | SmartStrategies | ||
| 1973 | Anna J. Coble | Biophysics | Univ. of Illinois | Howard Univ. (Deceased) | http://www.physics1.howard.edu/people/facultyandstaff_acoble.html | |
| 2006 | Angelina Amadou | Physics | Howard Univ. | Univ. Abdou Moumouni, Niger | Howard Univ. | |
| 2007 | Angela Osterman Meyer | Astronomy | Georgia State | Georgia Tech | Culver Academies | |
| 2001 | Andrea Stith | Biophysics | Univ. of Virginia | Univ. of Colorado at Boulder | ||
| 2006 | Andrea Sealy | Atmospheric Science | Howard Univ. | Jackson State Univ. | Caribbean Institute for Meterology and Hydrology | |
| Graduate Student | Amber Lenon | Physics | WVU | Syracuse | https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberlenon | |
| 2003 | Althea G. Bluiett | Physics | Hampton Univ. | Elizabeth Univ. | ||
| 2002 | Alicia Uzzle | Nuclear and Applied Physics | Hampton Univ. | Apprentice School (Newport News VA) | ||
| 1996 | Alicia Clay-Jones | Chemical Physics | UC Davis | Loyola Univ. New Orleans | GE Capital and Loyola Univ. New Orleans | http://cas.loyno.edu/physics/bios/alicia-clay-jones |
| 2004 | Aisha Fields | Optics | Alabama A & M Univ. | Hampton Univ. | West African Development Project | |
| 2004 | Adrienne Stiff-Roberts | Physics | Univ. of Michigan | Duke Univ. | ||
| 2011 | Adrienne Block | GeoPhysics | Columbia | Ohio State | Chevron |