The first Native American to receive a Ph.D. in Physics.
Fred Begay was born on the Ute Mountain Indian reservation in Towaoc, CO on July 2, 1932. Begay was taught traditional songs and ceremonies as a child and cites his spirituality as a source of abstract thinking throughout his education. At the age of 10, Begay was required to attend an Indian Affairs boarding school and taught to farm, regardless of his interests. At 18, Begay enlisted in the US Army to fight in the Korean War, and did not finish his high school education. Upon returning to his reservation in 1955, the Navajo tribe had received federal education funds for veterans, and Begay enrolled at the University of New Mexico along with GED evening courses. Begay would earn his BS, MS, and PhD from UNM in nucelar physics. After graduating he would become a staff scientist at Los Alamos Labroratory where he studied the origin of gamma rays and solar neutrons. He also studied lasers for thermonuclear plasma energy sources. He also held teaching fellowships at Stanford and the University of Maryland and received the NSF Lifetime Acheivment award in 1994.