Celebrating the Achievements of Black Scientists for Black History Month
October is Black History Month and as science is such a huge part of our DNA at Nourish London, we wanted to celebrate black scientists and some of the incredible contributions they have made to our world today.
Malone Mukwende
Malone Mukwende developed an interest in science from an early age, particularly how people look when they are well and unwell. However, when he started medical school at St George’s, University of London, 3 years ago, he noticed that medical students were only taught how to diagnose conditions on white patients.
“There was a lack of signs and symptoms on Black and Brown skin… and I didn’t understand why we weren’t getting taught the full spectrum of people… I decided I needed to do something to challenge this issue myself,” he said.
He approached one of his professors who connected him with another professor, and together the three developed theMind the Gaphandbook.
The online handbook includes images and descriptions of clinical signs and symptoms in Black and Brown skin. His work spread worldwide. Since its publication in August, the handbook has been read in 102 countries and added to recommended reading lists at many universities and hospitals in the U.K.
Dr Melrose Stewart
Dr Melrose Stewart was born in Jamaica, attended grammar school in the UK and qualified as a physiotherapist at the Bristol School of Physiotherapy. Her main areas of interest have been in achieving equity in health and social care and in promoting physical and mental health and well-being with a specific focus on ageing. Her mission is also to counteract the negative stereotypes around getting old. She received an MBE in 2020 for services to physiotherapy and was one of the experts on the multi award-winning Channel 4 TV documentary “Old Peoples’ home for 4 Year Olds”.
Melrose also sees the fight for equity and justice as a fundamental part of her activities. She was founder member of the BAME Network of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and is currently a member of Her Majesty’s Judiciary in Employment and Disability Appeals and Personal Independent Payment Tribunals.
Dr Mark Richards
Dr Mark Richards was born in Nottingham and is of Jamaican parentage. He is an atmospheric physicist and Lecturer at Imperial College London. His main research is in the area of remote sensing of trace gases in the atmosphere, with particular emphasis on air quality and urban air pollution. He also co-founded a technology business (Duvas Technologies) that develops instruments which monitor and map air quality in real time (like a weather map but for air pollution).
Dr Richards is currently Head of Physics Outreach, and through this he has shared his experiences with many young people from all walks of life, to help them prepare for further study and eventual careers in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering , and Maths]. He has been involved in several initiatives in the UK, US, Caribbean, and Africa that all aim to inspire the next generation of STEM thinkers.
Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)
Katherine Johnson’s love of maths earnt her the nickname “computer” early in her career. She helped NASA put an astronaut into orbit around the Earth and played a crucial role in calculations for the first moon landing. Celebrated in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures” she joined NASA as a research mathematician in Langley Laboratory’s all-Black West Area Computing Section. By analysing flight test data and using geometry for space travel she was able to conduct calculations to help send astronauts to the moon and back and checked critical flight path calculations for Apollo 13.
