Black Scientists and Engineers in Japan
Dr. Kevin Brown from Jamaica became the first Walter Massey Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory in 2019 after earning his PhD in mathematical and computer sciences from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), renamed to the Institute of Science Tokyo. During his time in Japan, Dr. Brown served as President of the Tokyo Tech International Students Association where he coordinated activities for over 1500 international students from over 70 countries. His research in Japan and at Argonne focuses on designing better supercomputers to tackle society’s grand challenges.
https://www.anl.gov/profile/kevin-a-brown
Dr. Chaevia Clendinen and Dr. Chaevien Clendinen successfully completed a one-month research visit supported by an American Chemical Society PRF award in the laboratory of Dr. Nobuaki Tanaka at Shinshu University in 2006 as undergraduates at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Dr. Chaevia Clendinen serves as the Associate Dean for Student Advancement and Diversity at the University of Chicago. https://socialsciences.uchicago.edu/directory/chaevia-clendinen Dr. Chaevien Clendinen is an analytical chemist with the Biomolecular Pathways team in PNNL’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Division and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) user program. https://acswebcontent.acs.org/prfar/2007/REPORTS/P7835.HTM
Professor Elbert Cox, the first black person to earn a PhD in mathematics in the world in 1925 from Cornell University, had his thesis signed by Tohoku Imperial University when other universities in Europe refused to sign it.
https://alumni.cornell.edu/cornellians/cox-math-phd/
Dr. Ufot Ekong a Nigerian student at Tokai University, solved a math equation in 2015 that had challenged mathematicians for 30 years, earning the highest score in the history of Tokai University enroute to earning a master’s and doctorate in electronics engineering.
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/africa/nigerian-student-ufot-ekong-solves-30yearold-maths-equation-and-breaks-academic-record-at-japanese-university-10303064.html
Professor Vikandy Mambo a geochemist, earned his Ph.D. from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1992. He is currently Dean of Rwenzori State University science faculty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
https://www.afrotrans.org/project-staff-universite-officielle-de-ruwenzori/
Terrance Reynolds graduated from Ohio University in 2017 with a degree in Specialized Studies, Interactive Media and Marketing. Shortly thereafter he moved to Japan and taught English in a small village. He taught himself computer coding to establish himself as a successful software engineer.
https://terrance.jp/advice/
Dr. Alphonse Sterling is a NASA solar physicist who spent ten years in Japan (1989 – 1999): his first two years as a postdoctoral associate at Kyoto University in Japan, followed by eight years as a contractor for the Naval Research Laboratory while working at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), outside of Tokyo, as part of the Yohkoh solar satellite project.
https://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/physics/sterling_alphonseC.html
Dr. Wade Sisk, Founder and President of Expanding Scientific Horizons, has conducted research in Japan on photochemistry/photophysics and chemical kinetics of gas phase molecules and polymer-dispersed dyes. This began with a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) postdoctoral fellowship to Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1990 followed by research at Hitachi labs (Ibaraki), the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN, Saitama), and Shinshu University (Nagano) in subsequent years.
https://www-jsps-net.jsps.go.jp/wade_sisk
Janelle Wellons, an African American who graduated from MIT and spent 5 years working for NASA JPL, was scouted and hired by a private Tokyo-based, lunar exploration company at age 27. She is a Senior Mission Operations Engineer who has served as a Flight Director for their lunar landing missions since 2022.https://www.janellewellons.com/
Making Network for Global Development (MNGD) / Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS)
Many Ethiopian Scientists and Engineers have participated in this partnership.
https://mngd.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/member
