Shirley Ann Jackson

1946-

American physicist who was the first African-American woman to earn a physics doctorate. Jackson graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She conducted research at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In 1976 Jackson accepted a Rutgers University professorship and also served as a consultant for AT&T Bell Laboratories concerning semiconductor theory. She was named chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1995 to supervise atomic energy resources. Four years later, Jackson was selected president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.