Troy, N.Y. — President Shirley Ann Jackson has been named one of the “50 Most Important Women in Science” by Discover magazine. The women were chosen from across scientific disciplines for their groundbreaking scientific discoveries, their leadership, and their fearlessness in shattering the scientific glass ceiling. The November issue of Discover magazine is currently on newsstands.

“To read their stories is to understand how important it is that the barriers facing women in science be broken down as quickly and as entirely as possible,” says Discover’s associate editor, Kathy A. Svitil. “It will take goodwill and hard work to make science a good choice for a woman, but it is an effort at which we cannot afford to fail.”

Jackson is one of only two university presidents to be named in the story, the other being Princeton President and molecular biologist Shirley Tilghman.

Jackson’s citation reads:

The second African-American woman in the United States to earn a doctorate in physics, Jackson says her science education informed her work as an administrator, first as chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and now at Rensselaer.

“I was educated to address complex problems by having an intuition about the answer and by learning to break the problems down into parts that can more easily be solved. So I view myself as both a visionary and a pragmatist.”

As Rensselaer’s 18th president, Jackson has been a tireless and outspoken advocate and role model for young women in science. She embraced the term “Affirmative Opportunity” as a rallying cry to all segments of society to engage talent from every sector of the population.

“The demographic reality is this: when you combine these groups — ethnic minorities, women, and persons with disabilities — you have a majority of the population,” said Jackson. “This new majority comprises the engineers of the future, and the future of engineering, and of science.”

In a recent white paper for BEST (Building Engineering & Science Talent), Jackson identifies what she calls “The Quiet Crisis: Falling Short in Producing American Scientific and Technical Talent” and calls upon policymakers to integrate underrepresented groups into the technical workforce.

“There is a quiet crisis building in the United States — a crisis that could jeopardize the nation’s pre-eminence and well-being,” said Jackson. “The crisis stems from the gap between the nation’s growing need for scientists, engineers, and other technologically skilled workers, and its production of them. It has been mounting gradually, but inexorably, and if permitted to continue, it could undermine the global leadership America currently enjoys.”

Jackson holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from M.I.T. (1973) and a B.S. in physics from M.I.T. (1968). She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2001). She also is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991), and the American Physical Society (1986). She is a member of a number of other professional organizations. Jackson holds 18 honorary doctoral degrees.

In January 2001, Jackson received the “Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award” from the American Association of Physics Teachers. In 1993 she was awarded the New Jersey Governor’s Award in Science (the “Thomas Alva Edison Award”).

She serves as a trustee of the Brookings Institution. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Council on Competitiveness, and on the Council of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable. She is a Life Member of the M.I.T. Corporation (the M.I.T. Board of Trustees). She also is a trustee of the Liberty Science Center (N.J.), the Pingry School (Martinsville, N.J.), and the Emma Willard School (Troy, N.Y.).

Contact: Megan Galbraith
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