Documentary Night: Forgotten Genius
Documentary Night: Forgotten Genius
The grandson of Alabama slaves, Percy Julian met with every possible barrier in a deeply segregated America. He was a man of genius, devotion, and determination. As a black man he was also an outsider, fighting to make a place for himself in a profession and country divided by bigotry—a man who would eventually find freedom in the laboratory.
We are celebrating this on the occasion of Percy Julian's birthday (April 4th, 1899).
Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
- Date: 12 Apr 2024
- Time: 07:00 PM to 09:00 PM
- All times are (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
-
Add Event to Calendar
- Starts 17 November 2023 08:31 AM
- Ends 12 April 2024 04:31 PM
- All times are (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Documentary Night: Forgotten Genius
Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine and was a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work laid the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills.
He later started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the wild Mexican yam. His work helped greatly reduce the cost of steroid intermediates to large multinational pharmaceutical companies, helping to significantly expand the use of several important drugs, including synthesizing cortisone.
He received more than 130 chemical patents. He was one of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry. He was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist inducted (after David Blackwell) from any field.
For more, feel free to check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Lavon_Julian
Sharan Kalwani
Documentary Night: Forgotten Genius - Percy Julian
Documentary series w/ screening about inspirational scientists, engineers and pioneers, to help reconnect us to past achievements, lest we forget!
Biography:
More will be posted later as we approach closer to the event. Any queries can be directed to the host
Address:Cyber City, Michigan, United States, 48309
Agenda
7:00 PM - Welcome and Introductions, Chapter business update; (on your own) Pizza, Popcorn and Soda Pop
7:05 PM - Documentary
8:35 PM - End of Documentary; Start of Q & A; Group Discussion
9:00 PM - Wrap Up
ALL times are in EST/EDT depending upon local daylight savings times in when effect
An IEEE Southeastern Michigan Section event. All are welcome. Consider becoming an IEEE member if such similar events are of professional/academic interest to you/ All follow ups may be sent to Sharan Kalwani
Media
Forgotten Genius - FLYER | Forgotten Genius - FLYER | 373.73 KiB |