18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the oldest technological research university in the United States.
A theoretical physicist, Dr. Jackson has had a distinguished career that includes senior leadership positions in academia, government, industry, and research. She holds an S.B. in Physics, and a Ph.D. in Theoretical Elementary Particle Physics–both from MIT. She is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from MIT—in any field—and has been a trailblazer throughout her career, including as the first African-American woman to lead a top-ranked research university.
As a theoretical physicist, Dr. Jackson’s research specialty is in condensed matter physics, especially layered systems, and the physics of opto-electronic materials. Her primary research foci were the optical and electronic properties of layered materials that included transition metal dichalcogenides, electrons on the surface of liquid helium films, and strained-layer semiconductor superlattices. She is best known for her work on the polaronic aspects of electrons in two-dimensional systems.
In 2016, United States President Barack Obama awarded Dr. Jackson the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest honor for contributions in science and engineering.
In 2010, Dr. Jackson was honored by Black Enterprise Magazine with its Women of Power Legacy Award.
Time Magazine has called Dr. Jackson “perhaps the ultimate role model for women in science.”
Relevant Courses at SUNY New Paltz:
PHY 331 – Quantum Physics
PHY 493 – Particle Physics
- The Potsdam Miracle https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1676750
- D. Datta, Math Education at its Best: The Potsdam Model, Center for Teaching/Learning ofMathematics, Framingham, MA, 1993.
- In Memoriam: Dr. Clarence F. Stephens, Sr., Karee Magee
https://www.potsdam.edu/academics/AAS/depts/math/memoriam-dr-clarence-f-stephens-sr - Mathematical Associationof Americaprofile https://archive.is/20121218011245/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search
Photo 1: http://www.biography.com/people/mark-dean-604036
Photo 2: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/1366/IBM-5150-with-CGA-Monitor/