Author: chemphasis

“Data-equatingly,
Katherine Johnson, 
As mathematician,
Will orbits apprise:
Gifts analytic and
Genius logistic
Facilitate NASA’s paths
To, through the skies.” 

The 18 April 2021 Twitter biography celebrated the life of mathematician and scientist Katherine Johnson (1918-2020).  Johnson was one of the first Black women to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and her multi-decade career there included support of multiple historic flights, including those of Alan Shepard and John Glenn.  

“Data-equatingly, /
Katherine Johnson, /
As mathematician, /
Will orbits apprise…”

Katherine Johnson was only 18 when she graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia State University, majoring in both mathematics and French. She began her career as a math teacher, but she is most well-known for her subsequent work at NASA as a “human computer” during the Space Race.  As such, she “data-equatingly” solved many complex calculations in support of mission launches, orbits, and re-entries.     

She would later note that her love of mathematics was there from childhood: “I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed … anything that could be counted, I did.”

“Gifts analytic and /
Genius logistic /
Facilitate NASA’s paths /
To, through the skies.” 

The recent movie Hidden Figures told Johnson’s story, along with those of two of her colleagues, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, during the time surrounding John Glenn’s orbit of the Earth in 1962; Glenn was the first American to complete an orbit.  

As recounted in that film, Glenn had asked that Johnson, specifically, verify the mathematical calculations surrounding his historic flight.  Johnson’s “gifts analytic and genius logistic” were central in this momentous step in American history.  Her career would continue with support of the Apollo moon landing and many other efforts until her retirement in 1986.  

Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019.  NASA also recognized Johnson’s efforts, renaming a program in her honor and presenting her with one of their “Silver Snoopy” awards, an honor which is bestowed specifically by NASA astronauts for outstanding support of the space program.   

“Deducing, computing, 
Through science poetical…
A. Ada Lovelace’s 
Efforts accrue: 
Steps archetypical.  
Quests algorithmic;
Endeavors heuristic–
From her works, ensue.”

The 17 April 2021 Twitter biography described some of the myriad accomplishments of Countess Augusta Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), whose family tree is one of the most famously interdisciplinary in history.  

“Deducing, computing, /
Through science poetical… /
A. Ada Lovelace’s /
Efforts accrue:” 
Steps archetypical.”

Ada Lovelace’s father was poet Lord Byron, and her mother was mathematician Lady Byron.  While Lovelace is most famous for her work related to computer science, she also is noted for her discussions of the imagination needed to pursue science (the phrase “science poetical” is from her own writing).  Lovelace’s “efforts accrue[d]” in a wide variety of STEM fields throughout her life, as her path crossed with those of multiple scientists and academics in the 1800s.  (Interestingly, her tutor was Mary Somerville, whose own story was briefly told here via a similar essay a few weeks ago.)  

Lovelace is likely best-known for her collaboration with Charles Babbage, who designed the Analytical Engine, a precursor to the programmable computer.  Babbage asked Lovelace to translate an article related to his work from Italian to English: “Sketch of the Analytical Engine,” which had been written by Luigi Menabrea.  As part of this process, Lovelace published notes of her own; these notes are generally considered the first computer program (“steps archetypical”).    

“Quests algorithmic; /
Endeavors heuristic– /
From her works, ensue.”

Lovelace was able to imagine the wide array of possibilities that the Analytical Engine could accomplish, beyond arithmetic calculations alone to artistic applications, as well: a wide array of “quests algorithmic [and] endeavors heuristic.”  

Via an insightful comment that elegantly intertwined the artistic and analytic branches of her family tree, she stated: “We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves.”  

Lovelace’s birthday is now commemorated as a holiday, celebrating women’s achievements in STEM, more generally. 

“Swiftly, synthetic’ly,
Alice Augusta Ball
Works towards seeds of the
Chaulmoogra trees;
Efforts invested yield
Oil’s ethyl ester and 
Thus a key treatment
To combat disease.”  

The 14 April 2021 Twitter poem was another biographical tribute.  This one celebrated the chemistry achievements of Alice Augusta Ball (1892-1916), who developed the first effective medical treatment for leprosy.  

“Swiftly, synthetic’ly, / 
Alice Augusta Ball /
Works towards seeds of the / 
Chaulmoogra trees…”

Alice Ball was a gifted researcher in synthetic organic chemistry.  She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Washington and soon after earned a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii (becoming both the first Black student and the first woman to do so).  She ultimately accepted a research position at Hawaii’s Kalihi Hospital, working with surgeon Harry Hollman on a treatment for leprosy.  It was known that chaulmoogra oil, derived from “seeds of the / [c]haulmoogra trees,” was a useful treatment for this disease.  However, the oil itself had several side effects.  It couldn’t be taken orally, as it made patients ill.  Moreover, the oil couldn’t be injected without causing unwanted blistering and pain; due to its viscous nature and water-insolubility, it would clump up under the skin.        

“Efforts invested yield /
Oil’s ethyl ester and /
Thus a key treatment /
To combat disease.” 

Ball determined that if the fatty acids in the chaulmoogra oil were converted to their ethyl esters, the medication would become water-soluble: able to dissolve in water; capable of traveling through and being absorbed by the body; avoiding the terrible side effects while remaining medically active.  This was a tremendous accomplishment, revolutionizing the treatment of leprosy.    

Tragically, Ball died soon after this discovery, at the age of 24.  Moreover, another chemist, Arthur Dean, continued her work without crediting her, publishing extensively on “Dean’s method” as a leprosy treatment.  

However, years later, the credit for Ball’s work was rightfully restored, and the pertinent technique is now known as Ball’s method.  The University of Hawaii celebrated Alice Augusta Ball Day earlier in 2022.         

“Scholar and mentor,
Prof. St. Elmo Brady:
His far-reaching teaching,
Key insights, perceives.
Chemical topics and
Goals spectroscopic will,
Illuminatingly,
Landmarks achieve.”

The next Twitter biography poem, posted on 13 April 2021, celebrated St. Elmo Brady (1884-1966), who was the first Black chemist to earn a Ph.D. in the USA.  

“Scholar and mentor, /
Prof. St. Elmo Brady: /
His far-reaching teaching, /
Key insights, perceives.”

In 1916, St. Elmo Brady earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), examining how substituent effects could impact carboxylic acids.  He spent much of his subsequent career establishing chemistry departments at multiple historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), including Tuskegee University, Howard University, Fisk University (his undergraduate alma mater), and Tougaloo College.  He impacted countless students through his mentoring efforts in teaching and scholarship.  

“Chemical topics and /
Goals spectroscopic will, /
Illuminatingly, /
Landmarks achieve.”

These last four lines commemorate just a few specific achievements from Brady’s outstanding career, centered around the theme of achieving landmarks.  As part of his work at both Fisk University and Howard University, Brady led efforts towards construction of new academic buildings. Moreover, during his tenure at Fisk University, Brady collaborated with UIUC to develop a research institute devoted to infrared spectroscopy, a technique which identifies “chemical landmarks” (functional groups) in chemical compounds through the use of infrared light (“illuminatingly,” to use a double-dactylic word).  Finally, in 2019, the American Chemical Society celebrated Brady’s achievements with the designation of a national historic chemical landmark, at UIUC.  

After Brady’s death, chemist Samuel Massie wrote an article in The Capital Chemist in 1967 in tribute to his colleague’s life and career.  He noted: “Brady not only built buildings and departments, he built men and women.  He was never too busy to listen to the problems of a student or fellow faculty member… Although he is gone as a person, his shadow remains… Truly the story of chemistry at four institutions is the lengthened shadow of a great teacher, friend and scholar.”