By Amy Cowen
on April 28, 2023 10:00 AM
May is Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Find out more about motivating AANHPI researchers and engineers!
How to Use this Resource
For each scientist, we have consisted of a brief biographical note, a link to a hands-on science job or activity associated to the researchers location of study, a link to a pertinent science profession profile, and a link to a biography to assist students discover more about private scientists. Educators can use this career worksheet to direct trainee exploration and reflection about STEM careers.
Update! This post has been upgraded for 2023 to include extra researchers and engineers.
This list consists of just a few of the lots of motivating AANHPI researchers and engineers who have actually made (and are making) crucial contributions to science, engineering, innovation, and mathematics (STEM). Lists like these help broaden awareness and influence trainees to get more information about these researchers and to explore related science activities, careers, and jobs.
Might is Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. As part of our ongoing work to present trainees to a wide variety of engineers and scientists and to continue to represent variety in STEM, our list of AANHPI people joins our other lists committed to Black History Month, Womens History Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month.
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, & & Pacific Islanders in Science and Engineering
1. Isabella Aiona Abbott, ethnobotanist (1919– 2010).
Isabella Aiona Abbott, from Hawaii, was an ethnobotanist who studied Pacific marine algae. Seaweed is a kind of algae, so limu is edible algae.).
( Biography).
Experiment with the Too Much of a Good Thing? Study the Effect of Fertilizers on Algal Growth environmental science job.
Career connection: Plant Scientist.
3. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, astrophysicist (1910-1995).
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was granted the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics for research study on the structure and evolution of stars. Amongst his lots of findings is the Chandra limit, which explains what occurs when white dwarf stars die. (They blow up or form great voids.) NASAs Chandra X-Ray Observatory is named in his honor.
( Biography).
Use information from the Change X-Ray Observatory in the X-Ray Vision: Seeing Into Space task.
Career connection: Astronomer.
4. Min Chueh Chang, biologist (1908-1991).
Minutes Chueh Chang was a Chinese American biologist whose research study concentrated on mammalian reproduction. His research study on in vitro fertilization added to the very first “test tube baby.” Chang was likewise included in development of the combined oral contraceptive (birth control) tablet.
( Biography).
Explore how medicines are established in the Why Arent All Medicines Pills? job.
Profession connection: Biologist.
5. Kalpana Chawla, aerospace engineer & & astronaut (1962-2003).
Kalpana Chawla.
was an aerospace engineer and the very first Indian American lady in space on NASAs 1997 Columbia area shuttle mission (STS-87) as a robotic arm operator. Chawla was an objective expert on the Columbia shuttle buss STS-107 objective in 2003 and died when the shuttle broke down upon re-entry after its 16-day flight.
( Biography).
Try out rocket style in the Model Rocket Aerodynamics: Stability task.
Career connection: Aerospace Engineer.
6. Tetsuya Theodore “Ted” Fujita, meteorologist (1920-1998).
Ted Fujita was a Japanese American meteorologist who studied storms and twisters and visited hundreds of twister websites to collect information about twisters from the consequences. Fujita, who became understood as “Mr. Tornado,” developed the Fujita Scale (F-Scale), a six-point scale to determine the strength of twisters. (Note: The present EF Scale for assessing twisters is based on the Fujita-Scale.).
( Biography).
Learn more about wind speed with the How Does a Wind Meter Work? task.
Profession connection: Meteorologist.
7. Fazlur Rahman Khan, structural engineer (1929-1982).
Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi American whose work on skyscraper style and invention of a design strategy referred to as the “tube concept” led him to be called “the Einstein of structural engineering.” Khan likewise developed the Sears Tower (later renamed the Willis Tower) in Chicago, which was the worlds highest building for lots of years.
( Biography).
Try out the design of high buildings with the Tallest Paper Tower Challenge project.
Profession connection: Civil Engineers.
8. Narinder S. Kapany, physicist (1926-2020).
Narinder S. Kapany was an Indian American physicist whose research led him to be called the “Father of Fiber Optics.” He is credited as very first utilizing the term optical fiber in 1960. His research on optics was necessary for the advancement of modern communications.
( Biography).
Try out the Using a Laser to Measure the Speed of Light in Gelatin job.
Profession connection: Photonics Engineer.
9. Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann, microbiologist (1937-2005).
Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann was a Filipino American whose research study (with her hubby) focused on cyanobacteria and microorganisms that reside in extreme environments like the Ross Desert in the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. NASA viewed her research study as a sign that microscopic life could exist on Mars. (Biography).
Explore microorganisms in the context of a various type of severe direct exposure with the Death Rays: What Duration of Ultraviolet Exposure Kills Bacteria? project.
Profession connection: Microbiologist.
10. Ellison Onizuka, engineer and astronaut (1946-1986).
Ellison Onizuka was the first Japanese American in area on the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-51-C in 1985. Onizuka was an objective specialist and passed away throughout the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986. Prior to ending up being an astronaut, Onizuka was an engineer and test pilot in the United States Air Force. (Biography).
Explore the The Physics of Artificial Gravity task.
Career connection: Aerospace Engineer.
14. Roger Tsien, biochemist (1952-2016).
Roger Tsien shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research study on the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Tsien modified GFP to produce a rainbow of colors beyond green. Using this palette of GFP colors enabled Tsien and other researchers to tag and track multiple proteins and cells in real time. (Fun fact! Tsiens research resulted in jobs like making jellyfish radiance.).
( Biography).
Experiment with GFP to make colorful bacterial art with the Genetically Modified Organisms: Create Glowing Bacteria! job.
Profession connection: Biochemist.
15. David T. Wong, neuroscientist (1935- ).
David T. Wong was a Chinese American neuroscientist whose research at Eli Lilly and Company included the discovery of fluoxetine, commonly referred to as Prozac. Fluoxetine was the very first determined selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) (although Prozac was not first to the marketplace due to several years of testing). These chemical substances are used in antidepressants. (Biography).
Check out the importance of testing in pharmaceutical development with the Hitting the Target: The Importance of Making Sure a Drugs Aim Is True project.
Profession connection: Biochemist.
17. Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997).
Chien-Shiung Wu is sometimes called the “First Lady of Physics.” Her speculative physics research study on utilizing “gaseous diffusion” to separate uranium into U235 and U238 led to massive screening at the K-25 Plant in Oak Ridge and was critical in the Manhattan Projects advancement of the atomic bomb. Wu likewise established improved Geiger counters to identify radiation levels. (Fun truth! Wu is included on a 2021 stamp from the United States Postal System.) (Biography).
Explore nuclear physics with the Watching Nuclear Particles: See Background Radiation Zoom Through A Cloud Chamber project.
Career connection: Physicist.
Images: public domain or reasonable usage, with exception of: Narinder S. Kapany (Sikh Foundation).
Roy O. Greep (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikpedia).
Ted Fujita (University of Chicago, Special Collections Research Center).
Barry Paw (BIORIRON).
Nainoa Thompson (CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikipedia).
Roger Tsien (GFDL 1.2, Wikipedia).
Peter Tsai (University of Tennessee).
David T. Wong (Indiana Historical Society).
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Minutes Chueh Chang was a Chinese American biologist whose research focused on mammalian recreation. Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann was a Filipino American whose research (with her husband) focused on cyanobacteria and microbes that live in extreme environments like the Ross Desert in the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. Tsiens research study led to projects like making jellyfish glow.).
David T. Wong was a Chinese American neuroscientist whose research study at Eli Lilly and Company consisted of the discovery of fluoxetine, typically understood as Prozac. Her experimental physics research on utilizing “gaseous diffusion” to separate uranium into U235 and U238 led to large-scale screening at the K-25 Plant in Oak Ridge and was crucial in the Manhattan Projects development of the atomic bomb.
” When you take a look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not simply from any specific piece of land, however from the solar system.” Kalpana Chawla, aerospace engineer and astronaut.
