Meet the First Black Woman to Discover an Element on the Periodic Table

Clarice Phelps, the First Black Woman to Discover an Element on the Periodic Table
Want to know the first black woman to discover an element on the periodic table? Then continue reading this article to find out.
Meet Clarice Phelps, an HBCU graduate from Tennessee State University who made history in the world as the first African American woman to contribute to the discovery of a periodic table element.
The element, now known as Tennessine (Ts), is a halogen with the atomic number 117.
“Taking a seat at the periodic table didn’t happen overnight, it was actually a 20-year journey,” Phelps told News Channel 5.
Phelps, who is from Nashville, developed an interest in chemistry at a young age. Her mother gave her a microscope, and she frequently experimented with mixtures in their kitchen as a child. In high school, she honed her interest in science through chemistry classes.
Phelps graduated from Tennessee State University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Phelps went on to earn a master’s degree in Nuclear and Radiation Engineering from UT Austin. She served in the Navy for four years, where she used her chemistry skills to work with radioactive materials.
Her journey continued at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she worked to purify chemicals. These purified substances were shipped to Germany and Russia to serve as target materials in the production of atomic number 117 (Ts).
In 2016, Phelps received official confirmation that Tennessine had been added to the periodic table. However, it wasn’t until 2019, when the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recognized her, that she realized she was the first Black woman to accomplish such a historical feat.
“I had to Google it, and I was still in shock. However, I remembered myself as a little girl looking for someone like me in science who could inspire me, and it changed my perspective,” she said.
Phelps, who is currently pursuing her doctorate in Nuclear Engineering, hopes that her discovery will benefit African Americans and other marginalized communities in the scientific field.
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