Livilla: Welcome to The Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Livilla from NIU STEM Outreach. Natalie will accompany me today as we explore women in the STEM field, such as pioneering mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya. Natalie: The name Sofia Kovalevskaya may not sound too familiar, but she was a mathematician and a writer who greatly contributed to the theory of partial differential equations, a form of mathematics that theorizes that there is an equation for anything as long as you have your starting

Joe: Welcome to the Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Joe from NIU’s Center of Black Studies, and I’m here with Gaylen.

Joe: Welcome to the Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Joe from NIU’s Center of Black Studies, and I’m here with Gaylen. Gaylen: The 20’s and 30’s were a truly challenging time for outstanding women of color. But if there is one exemplary mathematician who overcame it all, it’s Katherine Johnson. Joe: She was one of three black students – and the only woman – to be offered a spot at West Virginia University when the state decided to quietly integrate its graduate schools in 1939, and her roles within

Joe: Welcome to the Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Joe from the NIU Center for Black Studies.

Joe: Welcome to the Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Joe from the NIU Center for Black Studies. Gaylen: And I’m Gaylen. Today we’re going to go back in time to talk about Benjamin Banneker. Joe: Banneker was born in 1731, during the time of slavery. He was a free man because his parents were both free at the time. However, rights for free African Americans were practically nonexistent. His accomplishments would be used to counter Thomas Jefferson’s claim that Blacks were naturally intellectually

Gaylen: Welcome to The Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Joe from NIU Center for Black Studies. Joe will accompany me today as we dive deep into history.

Gaylen: Welcome to The Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Joe from NIU Center for Black Studies. Joe will accompany me today as we dive deep into history. Joe: Mae Jemison might not be a household name, but she has been a powerhouse of science for the past 3 decades. She was the first black female astronaut, inspired by Lieutenant Uhura from Star Trek and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Gaylen: Just her degrees in chemical engineering, Afro-American studies, and medicine alone should

Joe: Welcome to The Sound of Science on WNIJ. We’re Joe and Gaylen from NIU Center for Black Studies.

Joe: Welcome to The Sound of Science on WNIJ. We’re Joe and Gaylen from NIU Center for Black Studies. Gaylen: Today, Joe and I will explore black history beyond the stars. Joe:  The name Neil DeGrasse Tyson might sound familiar; he was a topic of discussion in the science community and public for a long time. His interest in the stars took off when he visited the Hayden Planetarium as a child, and from there a star was born. Gaylen: Before Tyson went to Harvard, he applied to Cornell University

Jeremy: Welcome to the Sound of Science on WNIJ. I’m Jeremy from NIU STEM Outreach, and I’m here with my colleague Sam.