​"...you have to decide you will persist in what you're doing and that you won't let people beat you down."

• PHYSICIST
  
• Her research led to the invention of many telecommunications technologies, including the portable fax, touch tone telephone, fiber optic cable, caller ID, and call waiting
• FIRST:
  • Black woman to receive a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (prevailing in the face of significant prejudice)
  • Black American AND first woman to head the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where she created review and relicensing policies for power plants that are still used today
• Volunteered at a local hospital in the children's ward while earning her degree
• Served on many national committees, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Science Foundation
• Taught physics at Rutgers University for four years
• Honored with a lifetime membership on MIT's board of trustees
• Helped form the International Nuclear Regulators Association
• Became president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and reshaped the university into one of the top fifty universities in the country

By Shirley_Ann_Jackson_-_Annual_Meeting_of_the_New_Champions_ Tianjin_2010.jpg: World Economic Forum (Qilai Shen) derivative work: Gobonobo [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Allman, Toney. Women Scientists and Inventors. San Diego: ReferencePoint Press, Inc., 2017. Print.
Drimmer, Stephanie W. National Geographic Kids: The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals. Washington DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC, 2016. Print.
Office of the President: Biography. http://president.rpi.edu/president-biography
Yount, Lisa. A to Z of Women in Science and Math​. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1999. Print.

Biographies for Kids and Young Adults

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