Science & Technology

Shirley Ann Jackson

Born August 5, 1946 · Washington, D.C.

The first African American woman to earn a doctorate from MIT — Shirley Ann Jackson's research in theoretical physics led to breakthroughs that made caller ID, portable fax machines, and fiber optic technology possible.

Known For

First Black woman Ph.D. from MIT

Field

Theoretical physics

Role

President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Shirley Ann Jackson showed a passion for science from childhood, collecting bees and studying their behavior in experiments at her Washington, D.C. home. She was valedictorian of her high school class and entered MIT as one of fewer than 20 Black students in the entire university.

In 1973, she became the first African American woman to earn a doctorate from MIT, completing her thesis in theoretical particle physics. Her research at Bell Laboratories in theoretical physics contributed to telecommunications advances that enabled the development of caller ID, call waiting, the portable fax machine, touch-tone telephone, and fiber optic cables.

Jackson served as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under President Clinton — the first Black woman to lead a federal regulatory agency. In 1999, she became the first Black woman president of a top-ranked research university when she took the helm of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, transforming it into a leading technology institution.