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OID Anti-Racist Series | "Continuing the Search for Equity: Advancing the Need for More Representation of Black Scientists in Optics and Photonics"

Abstract

The events of 2020 have forced us all to confront the dark truths of racial injustice and police brutality that so many Black people have endured for decades. The scientific community especially had its own awakening to the bias, indifference and discrimination that Black scientists have seen and experienced, including the fact that, as a whole, the many contributions that Black scientists have given to science have not been embraced nor celebrated by their colleagues, mainly because of their skin color. In this presentation, Michael Williams describes how he was able to earn the PhD in optics via historically Black colleges and universities, how the Black scientific community responded to the cry for racial equality, and why it is so important to advocate on their behalf for racial equity in the sciences.

This is an in-person event that will also be available via Zoom.

Speaker

Michael J. Williams is an alum of three Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Morehouse College (physics, 2009), Fisk University material science/physics, master's 2012) and Delaware State University (optics, PhD 2018). He has over seven years of experience in materials characterization and optical spectroscopy and two year's experience in application engineering and supply chain management. His PhD research involved the investigation of the linear, nonlinear and fluorescent characterization of various nanodiamond suspensions using well-established characterization methods and techniques.

Co-Sponsors: The HMC offices of Institutional Diversity and Career Services; Asian American Resource Center; Chicano Latino Student Affairs