Asian American and Pacific Islander Scientists
Asian American and Pacific Islander scientist highlight presentation by Elvis Umaña and Hrishikesh Tupkar.
File: Asian-American-and-Pacific-Islander-Scientists.pdfAsian American and Pacific Islander Scientist Highlights
Isabella A. Abbott
“I call the endemic plants the first Hawaiians. Gingers and heliconias will grow elsewhere. The endemic plants will not. This is their home. It’s like the Hawaiian people – they belong here.” – Isabella Abbott
Dr. Isabella Abbott was an ethnobotanist from Hawaii. After receiving her undergraduate degree in botany from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and her master’s degree in botany from the University of Michigan before becoming the first native Hawaiian woman to receive a PhD in science. As a leading expect on Pacific marine algae, she authored over 150 publications and was credited with the discovery of over 200 species of algae. For all her research work, she was awarded the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal from the National Academy of Sciences and in 2008, received a lifetime achievement award from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources for coral reef studies. After her passing in 2010, the University of Hawaii established a scholarship to support research in Hawaiian ethnobotany and marine botany.
Har G. Khorana
The scientist who built the world’s first synthetic gene.
Dr. Khorana was an Indian-American biochemist who obtained his B.S. (1943) and M.S. (1945) degrees from Punjab University and went on to earn his doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Liverpool (1948). After his post-doctoral work, he accepted a position at the Institute for Enzyme Research at UW-Madison. Khorana became known as the first scientist to chemically synthesize oligonucleotides, the world’s first synthetic gene. He was also the first scientist to completely synthesize a functional gene outside a living organism (1972), which led to the development of processes such as PCR in the future. Among many awards, Khorana was awarded the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine and the National Medal of Science in 1987.
Uma Chowdhry
“I had the courage to dream the impossible.” – Uma Chowdhry
Throughout her career, Chowdhry made major contributions to ceramic catalysts, conductors, and superconductors at DuPont. She studied physics at the University of Mumbai, then obtained her PhD in Material Science at MIT. At DuPont, she joined the R&D department and helped develop ceramic pastes used in photovoltaics and electronic packaging. Although hesitant to give up lab work, Chowdhry pursued an early opportunity to join management as a lab director, and she eventually led as DuPont’s Chief Science and Technology Officer. Chowdhry was elected as an American Ceramic Society Fellow and member of the National Academy of Engineering.
John Pham
Editor-in-Chief of Cell journal.
John Pham was born in the Florida in the late 1970s. Pham obtained his bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and music at Bates College before earning his Ph.D. at Northwestern. Pham completed post docs at Harvard and Bringham and Women’s Hospital. His research focused on RNA splicing and RNA interference to modify cellular protein production. In 2008, Pham joined the advisory board for Molecular Cell where he improved data transparency and archiving. In 2018, Pham became the Editor-in-Chief of Cell Journal. So far Pham has pushed to expand Cell’s coverage to immunology and genomics. Pham has also improved diversity at Cell, growing the advisory board from 20% to 50% women and reviewers from 18% to 33% women. Pham is an LGBTQ+ activist and has spoken at Elsevier Pride and WorldPride NYC.
Kalpana Chawla
“I never truly thought of being the first or second someone, or being a small-town girl. This is just something I wanted to do. If you want to do something, what does it matter where you are ranked?” – Kalpana Chawla
Dr. Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American astronaut and aerospace engineer. Chawla’s passion for aviation originated at a young age from going to local flying clubs to watch planes with her father. She earned a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, where along her path she was dissuaded by professors due to lack of opportunities of women in India following this career path. Persisting despite this, after becoming a U.S. citizen, Chawla achieved an M.S. from UT-Arlington (1984) and a Ph.D. from the UC-Boulder (1988). Beginning work at NASA upon earning her Ph.D., Chawla performed research on computational fluid dynamics around aircrafts. To provide opportunities for young girls interested in science, Chawla’s secondary school was invited to participate in the NASA Summer Space Experience Program. Further, after applying to be an astronaut, she became the first woman of Indian origin to go to space, which she achieved on Space Shuttle Columbia (1997) as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. She was also selected for a second flight in 2003, but unfortunately, the crew was killed due to Columbia disintegrating upon re-entry into the atmosphere, leading to significant organizational changes at NASA. For her contributions, multiple celestial objects are named after her. Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Also, numerous institutions in the United States and India have named buildings in her honor and set up scholarship funds to encourage girls to pursue careers in science.
David T. Wong
“I do not see this as a conflict. I believe that mental illness has a biological origin. Medication is one of God’s ways to provide a method of healing and at the same time alleviate suffering.” – David T. Wong
David T. Wong is a Hong Kong-born American neuroscientist. Dr. Wong was born to a religious Christian family and was inspired to pursue pharmaceuticals due to his family and faith. Although Dr. was expected to run the family machining business, his calling was in medicine. David obtained his B.S. in chemistry at National Taiwan University and Seattle Pacific College, paying for his tuition by cleaning and painting university offices. He studied biochemistry at Oregon State University, and a Ph.D. at the University of Oregon in 1966. He performed his post-doc at U Penn where he lived out of a garage. After his post-doctoral studies, Dr. Wong joined Eli Lilly with a determination to improve lives. In 1987, Dr. Wong discovered the antidepressant fluoxetine, A.K.A. Prozac. Since its invention, fluoxetine has helped over 4.5 M people. He is a current adjunct professor at the University of Indiana.