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Shirley Ann Jackson
President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Shirley Ann Jackson is the President of Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute. A theoretical physicist, she has been described by Time magazine as "perhaps the ultimate role
model for women in science." She was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973, and has served as a professor of theoretical physics at Rutgers University and as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 2007 the National Science Board awarded her the Vannevar
Bush Award for "a lifetime of achievements in scientific research,
education, and senior statesman-like contributions to public policy." Jackson also serves on the boards of a number of companies and organizations, including the New York Stock Exchange, IBM, FedEx, Marathon Oil, and the Smithsonian Institution.
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5mins
We may not know how bad global warming will get, but the possible outcomes are so dire that we need to take mitigating steps.
13mins
We need to use what we have better, use less of it, and develop credible alternative sources of energy.
3mins
The RPI president thinks four elements need to be in place to foster scientific innovation: strategic focus, transformative ideas, translational pathways, and capital.
8mins
America’s most innovative companies are having an increasingly hard time finding qualified staffers who were born in the U.S.
4mins
Young people need to be exposed early on to the wonders and the beauty of science.
35mins
A conversation with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president.