Special Events
Public Programs

African American Perspectives

Friday 3/4/2011

Allen Temple Baptist Church

Oakland, California

African American Perspectives: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill & Careers in Science featured four African American scientists with a background on chemicals and their effect on sea and land. The scientists each presented a ten-minute slideshow about their life as a scientist and why they chose to pursue their path. They were then gathered as a panel to discuss the future of science in helping fix problems like the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and their career as a scientist. The moderator of the program was Dr. Gibor Basri, Vice Chancellor of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity at the University of California, Berkeley.

 

The participating scientists included:

 

            • Dr. Krishna Foster, Professor of Chemistry, California State University, Los Angeles
            • Dr. James H. Johnson, Chair, National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology
            • Dr. F. Dale Morgan, Professor Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
            • Dr. Dawn Wright, Professor of Geography & Oceanography, Oregon State University
 
The day program with students was held at the University of California, Berkeley.  Students from Allen Temple Baptist Church's program ASPIRE attended as well as the University of California, Berkeley's chapter of Upward Bound, and the MESA group in Oakland, California.  The students were divided into groups to ask questions of the scientists and were given Flip cameras to record the responses.  The videos were then edited into short clips that were played back for the students during the closing assembly.  Students were also invited to speak as groups as to what they learned during the day and what science careers interested them the most.