Highlighting Stories of Black Women In Science This Month

As we celebrate Black History Month this February, we've gathered stories and interviews of Black women in science. Read on!

Image by ekavesh from Pixabay

In Stories From Black Physicists in Our Collection, the AIP collected interviews from members and presented them this February in a series of not-to-be-missed articles.

Read about Lynnae C. Quick, a Senior Planetary Scientist at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Quick previously worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center  before joining the Applied Physics Lab. Currently, she focuses on modeling volcanic processes on the terrestrial planets and the icy moons of the outer solar system. Read Quick's story, and find her AIP Oral History Interviews at AIP.org. 

Director of Johnson Space Center Vanessa E. Wyche oversees a broad swath of programs, from Mission Control Center, International Space Station, Orion, and Gateway programs. Wyche has held many leadership positions within NASA. Check out this Fireside Chat with Wyche from ExploreMars.org, where Wyche outlines the roadmap to returning humans to the Moon and more on Johnson Space Center's programs. 

Join Vanessa Wyche, NASA's Acting Associate Administrator, in an exclusive fireside chat at the 2025 Humans to the Moon and Mars Summit (H2M2), held at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Moderated by J.R. Edwards, President of Explore Mars, Inc.

Scientific American interviewed Aomawa Shields in 2023 at the release of her memoir Life On Other Planets. Find the interview Only 26 Black Women Have Ever Become Astrophysicists in the U.S. Here's One Story. Shields also founded Rising Stargirls to encourage girls of all colors to learn and discover more about space. You can watch SheShields' TEDx talk "How We'll Find Life on Other Planets" on YouTube, among other videos. Shields brings an acting background to her work, giving her a unique, multifaceted approach to science. 

Aomawa Shields, How We'll Find Life On Other Planets, TedEx. 

From the Women in Astronomy blog archives, (re)read this crosspost by Dr. Jedidah Isler: On Planck's Law, Blackbodies, and the Physics of Diversity, first published in the June 2014 issue of Status. 

Happy Black History Month. We celebrate all of the contributions Black women have made in astronomy and physics and look forward to even more to celebrate.