Apr 27, 2022
Chemists may know James Harris
as the first Black scientist to be credited with codiscovering an
element. In fact, we referenced this in a previous episode
of Stereo
Chemistry about making
superheavy elements. But beyond this memorable factoid, details
about the accomplished nuclear chemist are scarce, and most sources
repeat the same superficial information. Kristen Frederick-Frost,
curator of modern science at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of
American History, wants to change that. After discovering that the
museum's database lacked material on Harris, she scoured archival
records and sought out former colleagues, friends, and family
members to fill in details of his life and career. In this bonus
episode of Stereo
Chemistry, host Kerri
Jansen and special guest Dr. Darryl Boyd join Frederick-Frost to
explore James Harris’s story beyond the discoveries that made him
famous. And we even get an unexpected peek into his lab, courtesy
of the US National Archives.
Boyd, a polymer chemist, previously researched James Harris while
writing a short article for C&EN’s “Black
Chemists You Should Know About.”
A transcript of this episode is available at
bit.ly/37P0qpY.
Image credit: Steve Gerber/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory © 2010 The Regents of the University of California, through the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Music credit: "Just Enough for a
Heartbeat" by Roy Young
Contact Stereo Chemistry by emailing
cenfeedback@acs.org.